A utopian future where every house has a flying car and a domesticated robot is still a dream. Our Jetsonian future may still be in the works, but the building blocks of the intelligent home have taken on some clarity.
Our voices will control our future homes.
A report by Edison Research said that 42% of people consider voice-activated smart speakers as essential to their everyday lives. Nine out of 10 people cite music as the prime reason for owning a device, but the ability to control your home just by speaking aloud is ticking a lot of boxes.
According to an NPR-commissioned Smart Audio Report, 35% of device owners use a smart speaker to control connected devices such as lights, thermostats and appliances. Around 34% of people said that their smart speaker was part of a home security system, with 20% using it to control outdoor lighting or garden sprinklers. In fact, 48% of people said that the control of smart home devices was one reason to invest in a device such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home.
Sixty-five percent of people said that they would not want to return to a life without a smart speaker. As a result, device owners are voice-activated device evangelists.
“As smart speaker owners continue to diversify their use of these devices, it’s no surprise that 69% have encouraged their friends to adopt the devices as well,” the report said. “Among smart speaker owners, 45% expect to purchase another device—and, of the non-owners surveyed, more than half say they are likely to purchase their first smart speaker in the next six months.”
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