NEWS Smart home device
NEWS Smart home device sales up 26% in 2017 Solid growth forecast for connected devices in key smart home categories International Data Corporation has announced results of its “tracker research” programme covering the fast-growing market of smart home devices, covering smart speakers, digital media adapters, lighting, thermostats, and more. In 2017, 433.1 million smart home devices were shipped worldwide, growing 27.6% from the previous year. Looking ahead, IDC anticipates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5% as the market balloons to 939.7 million devices shipped in 2022. Within the smart home market, the smart speaker category, which includes devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, will remain the fastest growing category throughout the forecast. Meanwhile, shipments for most other categories, with the exception of video entertainment products, will experience a doubledigit CAGR during the same period. "The smart home market is still in its infancy but we're already seeing some significant changes in consumers' and vendors' approach," explains Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. "There's less of a focus on having a central hub and apps as the center of the interface as hardware makers race to create interoperability with smart assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. On the other hand, consumers, while still somewhat hesitant to anthropomorphise smart assistants, are beginning to expect a more natural user interface to the myriad of smart home devices." CATEGORY HIGHLIGHTS Video Entertainment devices, inclusive of smart TVs, digital media adapters, and other IPconnected video devices, are forecast to deliver a CAGR of 8.3% for unit shipments over the 2017–2022 forecast period. These devices are also expected to capture around three quarters of the dollar value of the entire smart home market as the average sale price (ASP) for TVs will be among the highest. Leaders in the TV category during 2017 were Samsung and LG while category leaders for digital media adapters during the same period were, in order, Amazon, Google, and Roku. Home Monitoring/Security is comprised of devices like connected door locks, cameras, moisture sensors, door bells, and more. IDC expects this will remain the second largest category in terms of unit shipments through 2022 as products become easier to deploy in the home and will not require consumers to have a "DIY attitude" to integrate these products with their smart assistants devices, Smart Speakers with builtin smart assistants have captured the spotlight recently as major new brands like Apple have entered the market. In addition, Amazon and Google have been quick to respond by offering additional models and price points through their first-party speakers and by partnering with numerous other brands to bring Alexaor Google Assistant-enabled speakers. What remains to be seen is how long the partners can survive since the sale of hardware stands to be the smallest part of the overall revenue associated with this category SMART HOME DEVICES BY CATEGORY, 2017 AND 2022 (Value in US$M) Product Category 2017 Value (US$M) 2022 Value (US$M) CAGR, 2017 – 2022 Video Entertainment 3,091.48 1,063.36 9% Home Monitoring/Security ,271.30 ,136.50 23% Smart Speaker ,401.39 ,431.00 32% Lighting ,120.53 ,511.32 26% Thermostat ,774.35 ,875.91 17% Others ,532.54 ,963.93 17% TOTAL 2,191.59 6,982.02 11% Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker, March 2018 16
ADVERTORIAL NEWS Eve drives secure Smart Home innovations Smart home accessories business Eve Systems places security at the heart of its business Lars Felber, PR Director at Eve Systems, says his company is looking forward to presenting its product range at IFA. We started by asking him about the key products in the company’s range. Our product line is comprised of different categories: In the lighting category, there are lamps, switches and outlets. The security category includes sensors and alarms. The comfort line-up features air quality sensors, weather stations, irrigation systems, radiator valves and more. WE’LL INTRODUCE THE SECOND GENERATION OF EVE ROOM AT IFA Eve Door & Window is a contact sensor that will keep track of how many times your door or window was opened, and for how long. If you have an Apple TV or HomePod, HomeKit can even send notifications to your iPhone when the sensor’s state changes. It’s an inexpensive, easy-to-attach device. Coming soon is Eve Window Guard, a patented break-in sensor that detects tampering and breakage. Later this year, we’ll ship Eve Lock, developed in cooperation with Assa Abloy. How do the notifications work? Using Apple’s Home app, you can enable notifications for select HomeKit accessories like Eve Motion and Eve Door & Window. When the HomeKit-enabled accessory’s state changes, it will report the event to your home hub which, in turn, will notify you via your iPhone screen. All communication occurs via direct end-to-end encryption – neither Eve nor Apple can see what happens in your home. What will be your “star” launch at IFA? We’ll introduce the second generation of Eve Room, an indoor sensor with HomeKit technology that tracks air quality, temperature and humidity. New features include an E-Ink display, a built-in battery that can be charged via any USB power source, and an elegant aluminum bezel with rounded corners. The new Eve Room is another example of Eve Systems taking HomeKit accessories to the next level. The combination of advanced sensor technology and fully wireless operation with an E-Ink display and a stunning, sleek enclosure truly is a leap forward in connected home sensors. Eve Room senses indoor air quality by measuring volatile organic compounds (VOC), temperature, and humidity. Its large E-Ink display sports a wide viewing angle so indoor conditions are visible at a glance from anywhere in the room. What are the security concerns around Smart Home accessories? Roughly two years ago, a large-scale cyber-attack hit parts of the Internet in the US and Europe. Responsible for the attack were IoT devices – cameras, routers, baby phones and more – that were hacked and infected with malware dubbed Mirai, which rendered them Botnet slaves. Back then, the target of the DDoS attack was a DNS provider. Are security concerns a barrier to consumers buying into the Smart Home? So far, most people don't seem to mind if their IoT device gets used in a DDoS attack as long as it continues to function normally, but this attitude would change quickly if millions of devices were to be bricked. Eve has safeguarded its accessories – can you explain the work you have done to make your products secure? Eve accessories rely on Apple’s extremely secure HomeKit technology. Unlike other smart home products, they don’t rely on any non-HomeKit APIs – especially proprietary and undocumented cloud APIs. So, the only reasonable attack path is through an iOS device (iPhone or Apple TV), which is much harder to crack than your typical run-of-the-mill IoT cloud-connected accessory. How important is IFA as a platform for you to present your products to the world and develop your partnerships? IFA is a fantastic opportunity for consumer technology companies to get feedback from end users and industry experts alike. It's the place to be to put your products in front of journalists and buyers from all over the world Lars Felber PR Director, Eve Systems EVE ACCESSORIES RELY ON APPLE’S EXTREMELY SECURE HOMEKIT TECHNOLOGY www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 27 th August 2018 17
