Smart Home (connected home, home networking) News

Tech4home unveils Voice Remote Control for RDK and Metrological STBs
Jan 14, 2020 – Tech4home has launched the first BLE voice remote control for RDK and Metrological enabled set-top boxes. The remote allows voice commands to be used to change channel, launch an app from the Metrological App store, and more.
News categories: Tech4home, Miguel Oliveira, Steve Heeb, Jeroen Ghijsen, Digital TV, RDK, Set Top Box, Smart Home, UX, Worldwide

Skyworth unveils smart home lineup at CES
Jan 14, 2020 – Skyworth unveiled its smart home system and full lineup of smart household appliances at CES 2020. Skyworth's Q91 8K Ultra HD TV and W81 Wallpaper OLED TV series led the lineup. The Q91 series is based on MediaTek's S900C TV SoC.
News categories: Skyworth, CES2020, Digital TV, In-Car, Semiconductor, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

54% of US homes now have at least one Smart Home device
Jan 7, 2020 – Smart homes have now become the majority in the US. A Strategy Analytics survey taken in Q4 2019 suggests that 54% of homes own at least one smart home device, with the most popular being smart speakers, interactive security systems and smart thermostats.
News categories: Strategy Analytics, Jack Narcotta, Market Research, Smart Home, USA

Amazon expands features and solutions for Fire TV Edition partners
Jan 6, 2020 – Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has expanded its Fire TV Edition program, delivering opportunities for developers, operators, device makers and manufacturers across multiple categories including automotive, smart TVs, soundbars and streaming media players.
News categories: Amazon, Marc Whitten, Luke Motschenbacher, Fathi El-Dwaik, Tony Wang, Ed Mas, CES2020, Digital TV, In-Car, Middleware, OTT, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, Worldwide

Synaptics announces video SoCs with built-in secure AI framework
Jan 6, 2020 – Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) has announced its VideoSmart VS600 family of multimedia SoCs designed with human perceptive intelligence for smart displays, smart cameras, video soundbars, set-top-boxes, voice-enabled devices and computer vision IoT products.
News categories: Synaptics, Saleel Awsare, Blake Kozak, CES2020, Digital TV, ICs, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Worldwide

U.S. consumer technology sales to hit $422 billion in 2020
Jan 5, 2020 – Skyrocketing popularity of streaming services and wireless earbuds along with 5G connectivity and AI-enabled devices will drive revenue growth for the U.S. consumer tech industry to a record $422 billion in retail revenues in 2020, according to the CTA.
News categories: Consumer Technology Association, Gary Shapiro, CES2020, Digital TV, In-Car, Market Research, OTT, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

VIZIO unveils SmartCast 4.0 and new voice remote
Jan 5, 2020 – VIZIO has announced SmartCast 4.0, an upgrade to its smart TV platform. VIZIO is also introducing a new push-to-talk Voice Remote, which allows users to more easily access their content using their voice, while also supporting other smart home queries.
News categories: VIZIO, Bill Baxter, Digital TV, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA, UX

LG to unveil 2020 8K TV lineup with next-gen AI at CES
Jan 3, 2020 – LG Electronics will introduce its expanded 8K TV lineup next week at CES 2020 – eight TVs with new 77- and 65-inch class models joining LG's existing 88- and 75-inch screen sizes. Every model exceeds the 8K Ultra HD definition set by the CTA.
News categories: LG Electronics, CES2020, Digital TV, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

Open Connectivity Foundation introduces Smart Home standard
Jan 2, 2020 – The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) has announced that products from BSC Computer, COMMAX, Haier, LG Electronics, Resideo, Samsung and SURE Universal will be showcased in completely interoperable smart home demonstrations at a press event in Las Vegas on January 6, 2020.
News categories: Open Connectivity Foundation, Viktor Ariel, Jörg Hofmann, Woo Seok Byun, Guohuo Chen, I.P. Park, Scott Harkins, CES2020, Smart Home, Worldwide