Voice Control Engine Choice Key to Future Adoption of Smart Home Platform, Says ABI

December 18, 2019 |Smart Home

The millions of dollars spent on smart speakers with voice control will help convert over 128 million more homes to smart homes by the end of 2020, blogged ABI Research Tuesday. The connectivity embedded in the voice control front end devices will determine the connectivity consumers look for in door locks, lights, sensors, key fobs, wireless security cameras and more as they build out smart homes: “A voice control device is for life, not just for the Holidays," said analyst Jonathan Collins. With “no clear standard and no interoperability” between major smart home protocols, each new smart home is a battleground for each connectivity protocol to gain a foothold, said Collins, saying each added device underpins adoption of more devices leveraging the same connectivity protocol. Bluetooth, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Thread, Propriety, and Wi-Fi are competing to deliver connectivity in smart home devices, “often side-by-side in the same device,” with each sporting features and ecosystem drivers that appeal to specific original equipment manufacturers, systems providers, and consumers' requirements, he said. To date, Amazon has supported ZigBee via Alexa while Google Nest leverages the Thread protocol to communicate within the home to sensors and other devices: both also rely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. New and reengineered wireless protocols will be available to players between 2020 and 2024, he said. A shift toward a more standardized approach is underway, said Collins; until then, the primary protocol will be 802.15.4-based offerings. Bluetooth adoption will see strong growth from 177 million smart home devices to 418 million between 2019 and 2024. The future potential for low-power wide area networks, and the promise of 5G to deliver direct connectivity to appliances and high-bandwidth smart home devices, could be a “further disruption point for connectivity in the smart home, encroaching into how Wan connectivity is delivered to devices and systems,” said the analyst.