40% of Smart Home Light Bulb Owners Control Their Devices by Voice, Says Parks

Four in 10 smart home light bulb owners in the U.S. use Amazon Echo or Google Home to control their devices, said a Thursday Parks Associates report. In 2016, U.S. consumers bought an estimated 14 million voice-controlled smart speakers, said analyst Dina Abdelrazik. The digital assistants have the potential to “connect all the moving parts of a connected lifestyle,” and simplify the user experience, said Abdelrazik. While Amazon Echo and Google Home are the most used devices for controlling most smart home products, Samsung Smart Things, Apple HomeKit, and IFTTT (If This Then That) were more commonly used for control of water shutoff valves, she said. Analyst Patrice Samuels called voiced control “a catalyst for growth in the smart home industry.” Parks will present research on voice control at its Connections conference, Jan. 9, at CES.