Smart Home Trends We’ll See In 2019

In January this year LG Electronics US marketing vice-president David VanderWaal told those assembled at the Consumer Electronics Show, 2018 would be “the tipping point for the smart home and, more importantly, for the smart connected lifestyle”.

As we round out the year his forecast appears to have been correct.

Now, Australian households have on average 17.1 connected devices in 2018, up from 13.7 in 2017, according to research firm Telsyte.

Telsyte further forecasts this number will continue to grow to 37 by 2022 or 381 million Internet-connected devices nationally.

Adoption in 2018 was driven by the arrival of smart speakers in Australia, with Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod officially joining the line-up of suitably savvy assistants who would help control the art smart home.

Behind the scenes, the NBN rolled out across the nation, opening smart home capability and improved internet to hundreds of thousands of households.

Meanwhile, smart technology continued its shift from the luxury item of the few to the mainstream necessity of the many, with real estate agents and developers noting smart home technology was an attribute that buyers now actively seek.

So, as we close the chapter on 2018, and look to the new year ahead, what’s on the horizon for the smart home over the next 12 months?

Here are our hit predictions for the top smart home trends we’ll see in 2019.

More adoption

As internet capability improves, awareness rises and product prices drop, we’ll see an increased adoption of smart homes safety tech in the year ahead.

In 2018, the smart home transformed from a luxury to mainstream acquisition, with the arrival of smart speakers illustrating the potential benefits of the smart home.

Statista notes 2018 saw smart home market penetration in Australia hit 19.1 per cent. By 2023 it’s expected to increase to 41.9 per cent, with smart appliances, control and connectivity, home entertainment, and security leading the push.

They anticipate in Australia in 2019:

Smart appliances will have a market value of US$309.8 million (up from $237.8 million in 2018)
Control and connectivity will have a market value of US$282.2 million (up from $205.3 million in 2018)
Home entertainment will have a market value of US$225.7 million (up from $198.4 million in 2018)

Security will have a market value of US$221.9 million (up from $168.9 million in 2018)
Energy management will have a market value of US$121.2 million (up from $90.6 million in 2018)
Comfort and lighting will have a market value of US$116.9 million (up from $86.7 million in 2018)

More products

In just a few weeks the Consumer Electronics Show will take place in Las Vegas, revealing all the latest bright, shiny, new tech gadgets from around the globe.

CES has already flagged there will be a major focus on smart homes at this year’s event, with everything from “basic security monitoring to smart appliances, lighting, window coverings, irrigation, and entertainment systems” on display.

Last year’s CES brought us innovations in smart mirrors, bathrooms, dishwashers and a whole host more.

Meanwhile, smart appliances will continue to increase in availability and decrease in price as they shift into the mainstream.

(We’ll be watching CES closely in 2019, so stay tuned and check our coverage of all the new products available).

More voice control

Voice control is considered the future of the smart home, and 2019 will see it increasingly utilised, more intelligent and applied more widely.

This year was a big year for smart speaker adoption in Australia as Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod joined Google Home in catering to the local market.

It was also a year that saw new incarnations of the smart speaker revealed. Google delivered the smart display HomeHub, Amazon revealed Echo Show, and Facebook announced its new calling and messaging device Facebook Portal.

In mid-2018, Canalys noted globally smart speaker adoption had doubled from 50 million to 100 million installed units over the previous 12 months. They also forecast it would hit 225 million installed units by 2020.

Many of these devices offer a new centralised way to experience and control the smart home purely by voice.

Smart speakers move beyond the smart home

As smart speaker adoption increases, 2019 will see speaker manufacturers set their eyes on targets beyond the domestic realm.

“Amazon and Google will now take their devices beyond the smart home and deploy them in a range of scenarios,” Canalys predicted.

“Their business development teams are targeting commercial opportunities, such as hotels, offices, gyms and airports, with initiatives such as Alexa for Business and Alexa for Hospitality.”

Smart wearables get set to connect

Just as 2018 was a big year for smart speakers, it also saw a bump in smart wearable adoption, and this too will have impacts for the smart home in 2019.

Telsyte noted around 680,000 smart watches were sold during 2018, up by more than 80 per cent from 2017.  

Other wearable categories, like smart glasses also gained interest in Australia.

“Telsyte research found 30 per cent are aware of smart glasses, and one-in-five are showing signs of being interested in buying one, especially if the design is slim and light (like sunglasses) and it is priced similarly to a smartphone or tablet.”

The upshot for the best smart home solutions?  Increased adoption will see increased interest in how these items tie into smart living.

There will be a focus on how the readings taken from wearables can interact with features of the smart home. So, a smart watch that knows your sleep scheduled may soon tell your home to dim the lights and shut off the TV at your usual bedtime.

5G

After trials this year on the Gold Coast, 5G mobile internet is set to roll out in 2019, and this will have major implications for smart home connectivity and beyond.

5G looks set to impact smart home adoption and living in a series of ways. Firstly, and importantly in Australia, 5G will offer a viable alternative to fixed internet access. At the moment the NBN is rolling out across the nation, but there remain remote communities and regions that will not be able to access it.

Instead, they may have access to 5G, which means they too have the potential to embrace smart home living.

Other major benefits will be seen in areas like video streaming, smart home security and augmented or virtual reality.

In a study on the Australian Mobile Services Market, Telsyte found there is growing interest amongst consumers for home Internet services based on 5G technologies, with one in three households interested in subscribing to such services.

“This equates to around three million households potentially using 5G either as a primary or additional access technology as early as 2021,” they found.

The smart home ecosystem will matter

As more and more Australians dip their toe into the waters of the smart home revolution, they will begin to understand how critical proper installation and programming is to the ideal smart home experience.

Smart speakers will give them a taste of what’s available, but attention will soon turn to have everything working intuitively, seamlessly and effortlessly.

Many will appreciate that a device in your home that you can operate via your smart phone of Google Home does not a smart home make.

A true smart home combines connected devices together under one simple system to make your life easier, healthier and more efficient.

Rather than having multiple apps to control individual items, a genuine smart home allows an entire environment to transform in response to a time of day, at the push of a button or by voice command.

Potential revealed

Meanwhile, a greater number of Australians will enjoy first-hand experience of what a true smart home experience can offer.

As their neighbours and friends adopt smart home technology, they will understand that a smart home offers the benefits of energy efficiency, improved security, and greater independence for the elderly and disabled.

And just as home buyers and developers sought out smart home technology in 2018, more and more will see smart home features and intuitive living as a must-have feature when it comes to buying or building a home.

About Lera Smart Home Solutions

Lera Smart Home Solutions is a leading installer of smart home technology in the greater Sydney region. Our team boasts over 20 years’ experience in IT networking, programming and the electrical industry. We have sourced the most reliable and cost efficient solutions from around the world to provide the very best in smart home solutions, and work with our clients to understand their needs.

You can learn more about transforming your house into a smart home here, or contact us directly for further advice.