30 Most Popular Home Tech Stories of 2017: IoT, Alexa, Z-Wave Win the Year

Time and again, CE Pros tell us they want more stories about running a home-technology integration company, generating recurring revenue, keeping up with HDMI, and quashing big-box retailers and their mass-market security and home-automation systems.

Apparently, the pros are doing their due diligence, lapping up everything CE Pro publishes about Amazon Echo, Google, Nest, Z-Wave, IoT, video doorbells and, oh yeah, some custom-oriented news from time to time. We expected voice control and Control4 (Nasdaq: CTRL) to nab the top spots, but Z-Wave was an unexpectedly hot topic this year. 

So was Joe Whitaker, who landed in the Top 6 with two of his 2017 endeavors (#2 and #6). Soon, he'll be up there for a not-very-good take on #3.  Here are the most-clicked CEPro.com stories of 2017.

1. Amazon’s Decision on ZigBee vs. Z-Wave Makes No Sense (Not sure why Z-Wave stories were so popular in 2017)

2. Cheap Echo Dot Meets Premium Multiroom Audio: The Genius of Origin Acoustics’ Valet Amp

3. New Sonos API Disrupts Home Automation Integration, But Lays Solid Foundation

4. Control4 Finally Integrates Directly with Ring Video Doorbell … Sort Of (Doorbell integration was a sore spot, and highlight, in 2017)

5. Logitech to Sell New $400 Harmony Pro Remote Only Through Pro Installers, not DIY (the June 2016 story that keeps on giving)

6. Smart-Home Dealer Drops Amazon Echo on Doorsteps, Gets Control4 Business

7. Hands On: Onkyo TX-RZ810 A/V Receiver Is Reliable, Affordable Choice (CE Pros kept on clicking this Nov. 2016 review)

8. ADT Reveals 2017 Plans, Protection 1 Integration, Connected Home Opportunities

9. What Can You Do If an Employee ‘Steals’ from You? (Three years after the story was written, employers still want to know ….)

10. DoorBird May be Best DIY/Pro Doorbell Camera for Home Automation Integration (Posted in April 2016, doorbell integration is still a hot topic)

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    NEXT: Top 2017 Mergers & Acquisitions in Security, IoT, Consumer Electronics, A/V

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11. Z-Wave’s New ‘SmartStart’ Dramatically Simplifies Home Automation Installs (More Z-Wave … why?)

12. Best Wi-Fi Doorbell Revealed by Clare Controls at ISC West

13. Inside the Vivint Smart Home Stores at Best Buy: A Huge Paradigm Shift

14. Leedarson’s Arrival Sensor: The Most Interesting Little Z-Wave Device at ISE 2017 (and still more Z-Wave)

15. Sonos Doesn’t Hate Home-Automation Channel; They Just Don’t Communicate Well

16. Control4 Works with Google Home, Google Assistant for IoT Voice Control via IFTTT

17. CES 2017: Chromecast Built-In Comes to Sony, JBL, Pioneer, Onkyo, More

18. Goodbye, Zonoff: IoT Provider Sunk by Alarm.com, Icontrol, Honeywell, ADT

19. New HDMI 2.1 Specification Transmits 48Gbps to Handle 8K60Hz with HDR, 4K120Hz

20. Savant CEO Bob Madonna Sets the Record Straight

21. Now This is Disruptive: I Just Set Up a Free Smart Home Consultation with Amazon

22. Control4 Adds If/Then Engine to Home Automation, Lets End Users Tweak System

23. How Dish is Winning by Cannibalizing Itself: AirTV, Dish-on-a-Stick, Native Alexa Voice

24. Exclusive: URC Total Control 2.0 is Complete Overhaul of Flagship Home Automation System

25. CoeLux: The $40,000 Artificial Skylight Everyone Will Want

26. Time to Ditch 120V AC? How a Low-Voltage, DC-Powered Home Might Work (Still getting clicks from Nov. 2015, Grayson Evans' piece on the DC-powered home is still … hitting home … but the industry has seen little progress.)

27. Judge Halts New ‘Ring Protect’ Smart Home Security System in ADT Lawsuit

28. SI’s Launch of the Decade: Motorized Shades Like None Other

29. Leviton Launches Mass-Market Home-Automation Platform, Starting with Wi-Fi Lighting

30. Honeywell Sues to Block Icontrol, Alarm.com Merger on Antitrust Grounds