Hardware-1st Business Model 'Unsustainable' for Smart Home Cameras: SA

A “sea change” is coming in the smart home surveillance camera market, said Strategy Analytics Wednesday, saying device-only business models based on lowest selling price are “unsustainable.” The hardware-first business model adopted by brands including Wyze, Xiaomi, Reolink and eufy that spurred “tremendous growth” in the category “is showing signs of winding down,” SA said. Amazon’s Blink and Ring brands, Arlo and Google Nest will set themselves apart at the top of the market with software offerings that bring in new customers and protect installed bases, it said; brands viewed as hardware-only will be viewed as commodities and could be knocked out of the market altogether. The leading smart home camera brands “will look more like software developers than device companies,” said analyst Jack Narcotta. Consumers evaluate surveillance cameras based on how they can be integrated into their daily routines, he said, and AI-powered video/image analytics, package detection and trainable facial recognition are some of the features consumers find valuable. Video resolution beyond 1080p, advanced night vision capabilities, and integration with digital assistants are important to consumers but much less than in the past, said analyst Bill Ablondi.