The European smart home market reaches 22 million units in Q2 2019, IDC reports-- a 17.8% Y-o-Y increase with CEE showing the biggest growth (43.5% Y-o-Y) even as W. Europe holds the lion's share of the market (86.47%).

The analyst expects such growth to continue in the near future, with shipments rising from 107.8m in 2019 to 185.5m in 2023 at a CAGR of 14.5%. Video entertainment and smart speakers are to make 65% of the 2023 shipment total.

Smart speaker shipments total 4.1m units on the Quarter, a 33.2% Y-o-Y increase. Amazon takes back the lead in the quarter thanks to the release of the Echo Show 5, following Google taking first place for the first time in Q1 2019. Smart speakers record the biggest annual growth, with Google and Amazon leading in CEE, since consumers consider local language support essential when buying such a device.

URC gets further capabilities with the launch of a two-way IP module for Total Control of the Pentair IntelliTouch pool and spa control system.

The module allows customers using any URC Total Control interface to control all Pentair Pool & Spa products compatible with the IntelliTouch system, including pool pumps, cleaners, heaters, pool lights and water features. The integration requires a Pentair i-Link home automation protocol interface adapter. Installers can program macros with device events, status queries or set modes (such as "Party Mode" or "Romance Mode") using either URC Accelerator or TC Flex programming software, with activation using a URC Total Control 2.0 controller.

Around 26% of the €225 billion Europeans spent in 2019 on Technical Consumer Goods is going for smart appliances such as cameras, air treatment, TVs, audio systems, robotic vacuum cleaners and smart LEDs, GfK reports.

In total, GfK predicts the smart device (excluding smartphones and smartwatches) market will increase by 9% in 2019, from €122bn in 2018 to €133bn. Smart home technology is changing at an "unprecedented" pace over the past decades, and it is not over. For instance, smart TVs account for 80% of TVs sold in Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain in 2019, while robot vacuum cleaners make 12%. Around 4% of dishwashers sold also have some measure of smarts.

However, while the smart home dream resonates with consumers, the present reality is one of a collection of isolated smart devices. Despite 42% growth in smart appliance and H1 2019 revenue growth of 25% for smart energy and lighting, the largest smart category, smart entertainment and connectivity, accounts for €6.3bn turnover despite showing 0% Y-o-Y growth in H1 2019 in the 5 European markets (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain).

According to IDC, the global smart home device market is set to grow by 23.5% in 2019 to reach 815 million devices, before shipments total over 1.39 billion in 2023 with a 5-year CAGR of 14.4%.

"Driving the market's growth over the next few years is a combination of downward pressure on prices from intensifying competition, rising adoption of smart assistants and rising consumer awareness of the conveniences, costs savings, and energy reductions that smart home devices provide," the analyst says.

SnapAV announces further additions to the Control4 Smart Home OS 3 at CEDIA Expo 2019, including voice control capability via Google Assistant, 3rd party smart doorbell integration and the CA-10 home automation controller.

“Control4 Smart Home OS 3 was designed as the ultimate solution for today’s smart home, giving each homeowner a unique and personalised experience that unifies all connected devices for control in a single platform,” SnapAV says. “But Control4 OS 3 is also designed to evolve with the needs of homeowners and the industry. We’re setting the bar even higher with new personalisation features and integrations with tens of thousands of devices, which now includes voice control using Google Assistant.”

Crestron releases Home OS 3, the update to the smart home operating system the company claims "unlocks the full potential of the Crestron smart home," all with an easy to use interface on both mobile devices and TSW touchscreens.

Home OS 3 also promises "hundreds" of new features, together with "remarkably fast" deployment for installers. It supports multiple homes, with new icons to save favourites and easy access to the most commonly used functions. Customers can personalise the UI using photos of the home to represent rooms, together with other intuitive display features. Enforced end-to-end encryption secures communications.