Vivint Smart Home agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle allegations that its sales reps deceived federally insured lenders into approving financing for customers’ buys of Vivint’s home monitoring products, violating the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, said DOJ Wednesday. The government contended that Vivint reps used personal funds from 2017-20 to cover initial financing payments for customers who sought financing to buy Vivint’s products. The reps made false and misleading statements to lenders about creditworthiness of the Vivint customers to make it appear that they, not the reps, made the initial payments. The company is “pleased to have reached this resolution related to certain past sales practices by some of our sales representatives," emailed a spokesperson. "In addition to cooperating with the DOJ, we have addressed the issues and continue to strengthen our compliance policies, practices and procedures.”
A third of smart device owners in U.S. broadband homes stepped up usage of their devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, but challenges are rising with increased market adoption, said Parks Associates analyst Patrice Samuels Tuesday. A growing percentage of smart home device owners now experience multiple problems with their devices each year, led by 46% of smart lock owners, she said. Some 16% report home network problems have disrupted work-from-home activities during COVID-19.
Silicon Labs and China-based Orvibo cooperated to develop a line of Zigbee smart home devices, said the semiconductor company Thursday. Orvibo’s MixPad series product lines use a Silicon Labs SoC to connect smart home panels and switches to connected lighting, drapes, HVAC systems and home security devices, it said.
The smart home security camera market will reach $11.89 billion globally by 2027, expanding at a 15.7% compound annual growth rate through the forecast period, reported Grand View Research. The rising prevalence of security devices in smart homes for complete control and access remotely “is generating higher demand for these security cameras,” it said. North America dominates the smart home market with a 40% global revenue share. It’s estimated that U.S. smart home revenue will exceed $32 billion by the end of 2021.
Vivint’s Q3 revenue grew nearly 10%, “reflecting healthy consumer demand for smart home and security services,” said CEO Todd Pedersen on a Wednesday call. It added nearly 127,000 subscribers, up 14% from a year earlier, he said. “In today's environment of uncertainty, homeowners are spending more time thinking about and investing in their homes,” he said. “Consumers continue to expect increasingly complex smart home solutions that include integrated door locks, exterior cameras, interior cameras, lighting controls and thermostats that are professionally installed, monitored and serviced.” The stock closed 8.3% higher Thursday at $18.79.
The transformational smart home will “reshape" both "consumer services and citizen interactions,” ABI Research reported Thursday, outlining six concepts driving investment and adoption. The “sentient home” will automatically adjust in real time to changes in weather and individuals’ presence and preferences, said Jonathan Collins. The “cooperative home” will be part of a network of homes integrated within an area to manage, control, use and share resources efficiently, while the “new lifestyle home” will support more activities within a smaller footprint. “Home as a business” will support new revenue-generating services for residents; the “low-impact” home will automate control of selection, delivery, and consumption and disposal of goods and services “in a push toward zero environmental impact;” and the “marketplace home” will define how smart home management providers control access to consumers, said the analyst. New capabilities will emerge across sensing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and robotics. An ecosystem of smart home service companies will emerge to assist and manage how new and existing vendors and industries extend their smart home reach, Collins said: Though tech giants like Amazon and Google appear to have outsized influence in determining the future of the smart home, “that underestimates the wave of change coming to the smart home market and the opportunities that lie beyond the scope of even today’s largest smart home players.” ABI predicts global smart home spending will grow at a 24.4% compound annual growth rate to $317.6 billion by 2026.
The U.S. lighting fixture market, coming off a “challenging” 2019 due to slowing LED sales and U.S. trade policies, will shrink 5% this year to $19.5 billion, said Research and Markets Wednesday. Global contraction is pegged at 9%. “The propelling force of LED-base lighting has faded and the industry is watching smart connected light as the new driver of growth,” said the research firm. Last year, 14% ($1.9 billion) of U.S. local production was slated for export; 84% of the residential market was satisfied by imports. China remains the top importing country, while Mexico and Canada are “catching up,” it said.
Anker announced a smart video doorbell in its eufy line. The wired Security Video Doorbell 2K Pro ($199) has five-day continuous 2K recording with HDR to its internal 32 GB memory, with free local storage, said the company Wednesday. It can be triggered to begin recording only when the doorbell’s button is pressed or when motion is detected, Anker said. The doorbell has on-device human detection and facial snapshot notifications, two-way audio and voice compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Service providers can now offer Alarm.com’s Z-Wave Smart Water Valve+Meter, said the company Monday. It alerts homeowners to water emergencies and to how much water is being used, and it can shut off water automatically when a leak is detected, said the company. It identifies excessive or continual water flows to help prevent water damage, plus health and safety issues that can result from prolonged low-volume leaks. Customers can monitor water usage remotely via app, it said.
Aqara bowed a camera hub with Apple HomeKit Secure Video support. The G2H hub streams footage via Apple’s Home app in 1080p resolution and stores 10 days of recordings on supported iCloud accounts with no extra fees, with end-to-end encryption. Customers can be notified if humans, animals or moving objects are detected, it said Friday. The hub is available on Amazon for $69.