THE TOP 5 MOST TALKED ABOUT SMART DEVICES

What once felt like a gimmick, smart home automation is becoming a normal part of everyday life for people across the world. In fact, an IHS Markit study cited by CNBC reported that “in 2016, 80 million smart home devices were delivered worldwide, a 64 percent increase from 2015,” And smart home devices are going to become an even bigger part of our day-to-day as people grow savvier to this tech.

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Here’s an overview of the most talked about smart devices.

1. Smart Assistants

Google Home and Amazon Echo — voice assistants that can do just about everything with a simple command — are perhaps the most well-known smart devices on the market. According to Parker Associates, “The adoption rate of smart speakers with voice assistants grew from 5% of U.S. broadband households in Q4 2015 to 12% in Q4 2016.”

Popular Smart Speakers and Assistants: Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation; Amazon Alexa), Google Home (Google Assistant), Apple HomePod (Apple Siri), Sonos One (Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa), Harman Kardon Invoke (Microsoft Cortana)

2. Smart Hubs

Google Home and Amazon Alexa are also two of the most popular smart hubs. With a smart hub, you can access and control all of your other home automation devices through a single device. It’s important to note, however, that though most voice assistants are also hubs, not all hubs can serve as voice assistants.

If voice assistants aren’t your thing, Samsung SmartThings Hub is another way you can link all your smart devices together in one place. Though people have been slower to catch on to using smart hubs — only 9% of people with smart home devices use smart hubs — it’s a growing trend. People with smart assistants, for example, are quicker to use this feature, with 28% of them using their assistants as smart hubs to control other devices.

Popular Smart Hubs: Amazon Echo Dot, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings Hub, Wink Hub 2

3. Smart Thermostat

Nest claims people save 10-12% on their heating bills and around 15% on their cooling bills when using its smart thermostat. And that’s because Nest’s thermostat, like other smart thermostats, learns your schedule and develops a system to fit your needs, rather than you programming it yourself.

Popular Smart Thermostats: Nest Learning Thermostat, Ecobee4, Honeywell Lyric T5

4. Smart Security Systems

In a report by University of North Carolina Charlotte’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, 83% of burglars said they check for security systems before attempting a break-in. A smart security system is a budget-friendly way for you protect and monitor your home without having to pay a monthly fee to security companies. Even better, most of these smart security systems sync with add-ons like smart locks and sensors so you can arm and disarm your home with the push of a button or a voice command.

Popular Smart Security Systems: Nest Guard, Piper nv, Canary Flex, Blink Home Security

5. Smart TVs

Smart TVs have become a fixture in most homes nationwide, with 168.1 million people using a smart TV in 2017. One of the fastest-growing smart devices in recent years, smart TV’s popularity shows no sign of stopping.

Popular Smart TVs: Sony X900E, Samsung MU9000, Sony Bravia A1 OLED, LG OLED C7

Honorable Mentions

Some smart devices seem like a no-brainer, but others may take a while to catch on in popularity. Below are a few devices that could become the next big thing in a few years.

1. Kohler’s smart toilets
2. FitBit’s smart scale
3. LG’s smart vacuum

Takeaway

Smart home automation isn’t just the future, it’s here. No longer the novelty many believed them to be, smart devices have come a long way to improve people’s lives. Keeping up on current trends and understanding how to harness it to fit your lifestyle will help you benefit from this always evolving tech.

Explore our smart home to learn more about how to outfit your home with the latest smart devices.