Smart Speakers and Voice Control

Smart speakers and voice control are the highlights of home automation this 2017.

15:10 28 December 2017

2017 has been a rather good year for the smart home. Although the most popular products are still thermostats, smart lighting and security products, smart speakers and voice control are arguably the highlights of home automation this 2017.

 

The growing popularity of the Amazon Echo range and Google Home has given smart home automation a massive boost. This provided consumers an easy way to control all of the smart home products, ranging from CCTV cameras to smart lighting and thermostats. They also have added functionalities that make computing a lot more personable and accessible. These include allowing users to get calendar appointments and answering simple question without having to reach out for their phone constantly.

 

The popularity of smart assistants has been taken advantage of by many companies, integrating Google Home or Alexa into their products. These include Sonos One, a full-on multi-room music player that has Alexa built-in and Google Assistant-powered LF-S50G. Smart assistants have also played the role in the increasing number of smart devices. This year, Ikea joined the fray with its rather good Tradfi smart lights. It now has plans to move into audio, collaborating with Sonos.