Voice control is the "standout category" for smart home device control, ABI Research reports-- and one set for a brighter future thanks to solid marketing and the leveraging of smartphone digital assistants.
As a result, the analyst predicts voice control devices such as the Amazon Echo will represent around 30% of smart home device spending by 2021 (or annual shipments reaching 600 million, up from 40m in 2015), despite only being around since 2014. This is thanks to big names pushing in the category, with Amazon taking the lead followed by Google, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft.
“Voice control will not only draw in new consumers to smart home functionality, but it will help transform a wide variety of new and emerging smart home services and devices into more attractive investments,” ABI adds. “The stage is set for voice control to become the heart of any smart home system.”
Further aiding the success of voice control offerings is seamless interoperability with more connected devices. This means both vendors and installers need to address the integration of products with voice control platforms.
Go ABI Research Deems Voice Control the New Breakout Star in Smart Home Technology