Column inches in newspapers and on tech blogs may still outnumber the devices in the average consumer’s home but 2017 could be the year that the Internet of Things (IoT) truly becomes a thing.
According to Juniper Research, by 2021, the number of connected devices, sensors and activators in use will total 46 billion, that’s a 200% jump on the number of IoT devices linked to the web that are forecast to be in use by the end of this year.
This explosive increase will be due in part to affordability — costs are starting to stabilize and to fall. However, the move to the mainstream will be slow unless many companies in the market find a way of simplifying their products, or at least increasing awareness of what benefits they can bring.
This clarity and simplicity is why relatively new devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, which both respond to natural language voice commands, are already starting to find an audience.
“Online giants have the scale and technology to take risks in new areas of innovation,” said Brett Sappington, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates. “In some cases, these innovations are transforming whole sectors of the connected home.”
In fact, Parks Associates believes that voice control is the key to unlocking the consumer IoT market and will prove to be the prevailing connected device trend of the coming year, because consumers are already more than at ease with a host of smart devices around their homes.
According to its latest data, the average US broadband home contains at least eight computing or mobile devices, plus two connected home devices such as smart lighting or a smart thermostat.
“Consumer interaction with the devices and services in their lives — at home, in the car, on the go — will continue to evolve in 2017 to be more personal and targeted,” said Jennifer Kent, Director, Research Quality & Product Development, Parks Associates. “Approximately 50% of US broadband households plan to buy a smart home device in the next 12 months.”
As well as voice control coming into its own, the research company also expects to see virtual reality become a more social experience over the coming year and the line between wearable fitness trackers and smartwatches and genuine healthcare tracking devices to blur and to become more connected.
“The Internet of Things is driving the reinvention of consumer technology and entertainment markets,” said Sappington.
