Smart Home (connected home, home networking) News

Digital Media Adapters opening the door to the Smart Home ecosystem
Sep 10, 2018 – The worldwide market for smart home devices grew 38.5% to 130.1 million shipments in 2Q 2018, according to IDC. Outside of smart TVs, digital media adapters accounted for the largest share of the smart home devices market.
News categories: IDC, Adam Wright, Jitesh Ubrani, Digital TV, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Streaming, Worldwide

DiscVision appointed as Alexa Voice Service Solution Provider
Sep 7, 2018 – DiscVision has announced that it is a qualified Alexa Voice Service (AVS) Solution Provider. The DiscVision SDK with AVS integration allows device makers to build Alexa into products ranging from TVs to smart speakers and more.
News categories: DiscVision, Digital TV, IBCShow, Middleware, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, Worldwide

U.S. voice-activated speaker sales to grow 50% by 2019
Aug 14, 2018 – According to The NPD Group, sales of voice-activated speakers will add an incremental $1.6 billion dollars to the U.S. technology industry through 2019, as these devices are leveraged both as an interface to smart home services and as digital assistants.
News categories: NPD Group, Stephen Baker, Big Data, Market Research, Smart Home, USA

Google closes gap on Amazon in smart speaker market in Q2 2018
Aug 13, 2018 – According to Strategy Analytics, Amazon’s global smart speaker share of shipments fell to 41% in Q2 2018 from 44% in Q1 and 76% in Q2 2017. By contrast Google has increased its share to 28% in Q2 2018, up from 16% during the same period last year.
News categories: Strategy Analytics, David Watkins, David Mercer, Big Data, Market Research, Smart Home, Worldwide

DishTV launches Skill for Amazon Alexa in India
Aug 8, 2018 – Dish TV India has launched its skill for Amazon Alexa in India. The DishTV skill will help to users find programs and provide recommendations on programs, movies, sports and music. Once enabled, the skill allows users to interact with DishTV through voice commands.
News categories: Dish TV India, Amazon, Anil Dua, Dilip R.S., Digital TV, India, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart Home

65% of U.S. broadband households bought at least one CE device in 2017
Aug 2, 2018 – According to Parks Associates, 65% of U.S. broadband households bought at least one CE device in 2017. The company reports that U.S. broadband households now own an average of 8.6 connected computing, mobile, and entertainment devices.
News categories: Parks Associates, Jennifer Kent, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart Home, USA

US consumer technology sales to reach record $377 billion in 2018
Jul 31, 2018 – AI, voice-recognition and fast connectivity – critical ingredients for smart speakers, smart home technologies and smartphones – will help spur overall U.S. consumer technology industry revenue to $377 billion in retail revenues in 2018, according to the CTA.
News categories: Consumer Technology Association, Gary Shapiro, Steve Koenig, Rick Kowalski, Digital TV, Market Research, Mobile, Smart Home, USA

Home-grown platforms reinvigorate European smart home market
Jul 31, 2018 – Long challenged to emulate growth rates in the U.S. market, the European smart home market and its proponents are increasingly finding a way to develop and adapt smart home offerings to suit the specific requirements of the disparate European market.
News categories: ABI Research, Jonathan Collins, Europe, Market Research, Smart Home

Smart audio report offers insight into user behavior and attitudes
Jul 18, 2018 – With smart speaker ownership over 43M in the U.S., these devices have quickly expanded beyond first adopters. An NPR/Edison Research report offers a preview into the realities of mainstream use and reveals opinions about brand activations and messaging within the voice assistant ecosystem.
News categories: NPR, Edison Research, Market Research, Smart Home, USA