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SMART HOME INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS FOR 2023
(No Ratings Yet)- March 31, 2022
- by Ezlo Admin
It looks like 2023 is going to be another exciting year for IoT and related technologies.
As we approach the New Year, all of us tend to ask the same question — what can we expect in the coming year? We make plans and resolutions and hope that the new year will be better than the previous one.
Industries and technologies are asking themselves the same questions — what is waiting for them in 2023? In this article, we have put together some predictions for the IoT and home automation sector in 2023.
If asked to put the future of IoT in one sentence, we’d say that IoT will definitely get bigger. For example, Gartner predicts that by 2020, 95% of all new products will contain IoT.
Since smart homes are directly related to IoT, this prediction immediately concerns the smart home industry, as well. It means that there will be more smart homes and smart home devices, which is great, as smart homes are mostly about saving time for their owners. More free time — more opportunities to do something more exciting than checking if you have closed all windows before leaving for the weekend.
So, let’s look in this crystal ball and see what the future of home automation has in store.
More Connected Devices
In the coming year, the overall number of smart devices will increase, and more device types will be made smart. We are already used to smart lights, smart vacuum cleaners, smart sensors, but what would you say to a smart yoga mat? Yes, it exists. The SmartMat monitors your asanas and adjusts to your body while storing your data in the mobile app and suggesting customized trainings.
It seems we are about to see more smart home devices in 2023.
Voice Control Is Getting Bigger
The number of people recognising the convenience of voice assistants both in home automations and in dozens of other tasks is increasing. Consequently, the number of devices compatible with voice assistants is increasing, as well. Entire smart home systems can be built around a voice assistant which can either control your smart devices directly or via a hub.
In this respect, another trend is also quite apparent. Users are not very eager to install a separate app for each device or hub they add to their smart home systems, thus integration options are becoming the key factor. And here Amazon Echo and Google Home are the obvious leaders, so many device manufacturers will ship their new products already supporting integration with the Echo or Google Home, or even both.
By the way, you can gauge the expansion of voice assistants in our life by the fact that in 2018, selected BMW cars will come with Alexa on board. That’s right, you will be able to talk to her while driving.
Cyber Security Will Face New Challenges
Cyber attacks have become a true headache for the IoT industry, as each connected device is a potential security breach. Unfortunately, smart homes are not immune from hacker attacks, either, so the manufacturers of home automation devices pay a lot of attention to security issues and to the ways of increasing the safety and protection of the user’s data.
Ransomware is getting more sophisticated, and there have already been examples of hacking a smart thermostat. Obviously, if a thermostat can be compromised, what can stop the hackers from getting into a smart doorlock or window sensor? Only a set of security measures matching the skill and toolset of the attackers, of course.
The existing evidence suggests that in future cyber criminals might attack with malware combining several types — DDoS, ransomware and others. This trend is directly related to the increase of the number and variety of IoT devices, as they are getting difficult to control and their vulnerabilities are hard to predict.
With such abundance of connected devices, security automation is going to become one of the main directions of development. Using automation to set security rules and monitor the traffic will ensure more prompt response to threats and better control, as well as reduce the human factor.
Quantum computing, being a huge breakthrough in the computing universe, has its flip side, too. Higher computing speed, performance and efficiency can be also put to use by hackers. Quantum computing may heavily affect the cryptography principles used nowadays to encrypt data. Many industries using IoT technologies in their flows will have to deal with possible consequences of quantum computing-related threats. The good news is that quantum computers are still at the prototyping stage, however, IoT manufacturers should secure their devices against future threats, too.
Interior Design Also Has A Couple of Things to Say
The standard requirements to smart home devices are the same: they have to be reliable, secure, easily integratable, power-efficient, straightforward in configuration… and beautiful. Or, at least, inconspicuous. They should blend with the design or emphasize it. And the device manufacturers listen — smart devices are starting to look like vases or pieces of furniture, smart lighting is placed strategically to enhance interior design solutions, devices which cannot be made beautiful are cleverly hidden.
Just a couple of months ago, Amazon presented a new generation Echo speaker which, in addition to various technological improvements, comes in six different designs.
This trend is definitely going to continue, and device manufacturers will consider the appearance of their product one of the priority requirements.
It looks like 2018 is going to be another exciting year for IoT and the related technologies. We are going to witness quite a number of new solutions, some of them being truly unexpected. We are letting technology into all aspects of our life, and it is amazing. Of course, there will be difficulties and challenges, but difficulties only make the goal more valuable and challenges are much easier when one is well-prepared.
So, happy 2023 and stay tuned for news from the connected world!