Smart homes will change in 2024. If you don't believe me, just think about how many devices in your home respond to or can be controlled by “Hey Alexa” or “Hey Siri.” And think about how many of those devices there were a year ago.
Smart home technology used to be primarily defined by combining one of the best smart speakers, some smart lights, and sometimes a smart thermostat. Perhaps some of the early adopters who went all out had a few more. But over the past year, we've seen Matter's slow but steady progress, the rise of AI, and the continued dominance of rival companies trying to make better and cheaper smart home devices than their competitors. I did. We are truly on the brink of a revolution.
It may not be as life-changing as it was when our great-grandparents turned on the light bulb for the first time, but the march toward intelligent, autonomous, and intuitively interactive homes is rapidly accelerating. And 2024 could be a pivotal year, with more smart home products across the board, featuring universal compatibility, built-in AI, and a focus on improving efficiency. unknown. Oh, and there will be robots too.
Matter standards may finally catch on
For those of us who saw the open source standard Matter arrive at the end of 2022, it seemed like a game-changer in the world of smart home technology. The protocol aims to break down barriers between different ecosystems, allowing you to purchase a Matter-certified smart device that “works with Alexa” and continue to use it in another ecosystem. His 500 companies collaborated on this new standard, but it doesn't seem to have made as much of an impact as hoped, at least to the general public.
We can't say for sure that 2024 will be the year of Matter, but version 1.2 was just released in October, adding compatibility support for nine new categories, including robot vacuums, air purifiers, dishwashers, and refrigerators. Ta. Add in the fact that more products will have this standard as more new products are released, and it will soon become as universal as we had hoped.
For example, the first robot vacuum to support Matter, the SwitchBot K10 Plus, will arrive in the last months of 2023, and Panasonic just launched a room air conditioner with this standard in December this year, but now it is available in India. It seems only available. We will continue to see more products equipped with Matter.
The important thing is that it can continue to trickle or turn into a deluge, but in 2024 the problem will start to become more important.
The next smart home appliance to become popular
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Gorodenkoff)
Smart hubs and lights are already pretty established, so we'll no doubt see more of them as Amazon rolls out new versions of the Echo, such as the new Echo Show 8, but we'll see a lot more growth in other areas. It will be done.
Already last year, smart home air purifiers and dishwashers were introduced. For example, LG has a number of home appliances that not only support the ThinQ app, but also connect that app to Alexa for hands-free control.
So something new may inevitably happen in 2024 (with one exception, which we'll get to later). Instead, a variety of home appliances with smart home capabilities will be widely deployed in kitchens, laundry rooms, and other areas.
In fact, companies tend to be tight-lipped ahead of CES (held from January 9th to 12th this year), but we suspect there will be a boom in smart home appliances announced at the upcoming conference. is guessing. For a little taste, consider the Pawport pet door or Leafi's Nova smart home blinds debuting there.
efficiency, efficiency, efficiency
In fact, we're almost past the point where manufacturers will first release smart home versions of their “dumb” devices in 2024. Almost all features this side of Backscratcher are currently available in the app.
What we will continue to see more of is the overall concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) being promoted to increase efficiency within the home. Certain devices can already be automated on a schedule, such as smart lights and smart thermostats. Additionally, Apple HomeKit and Alexa's ability to create routines across multiple smart devices has been around for a while.
But more will happen. For example, you'll be able to schedule the smart home pet doors and blinds mentioned above, allowing you to create more detailed routines.
We've seen some speculation that AI will transform these routines into more automated situations, but no company has announced anything concrete. There are vague references to the ecosystem needing to be able to respond to you in your space in real time, such as starting your routine at 4pm instead of 5pm because you got home an hour before him.
LG has already announced robots centered around the Zero Labor Home concept, but the company has yet to explain what this vision is. All we know is that the robot will autonomously walk around the house and manage various smart home devices, including turning off smart lights in unoccupied rooms.
However, we already know that Alexa will be powered by AI, so you'll be able to create complete routines with just voice commands without having to launch the Alexa app. And as far as that AI goes, you may have noticed that your preferred voice assistant already sounds a little more human-like, for better or worse.
The future is robotics
(Image credit: Future)
But there's one area where it feels like we've finally entered the future. That is a personal robot. Long gone are the days when dog-like robots were kicked around by seemingly heartless scientists.
We're not yet at the Roy Batty stage of cyborgs, but personal companions like the Enabot Ebo X are already available to patrol your home. And as we mentioned in our review of that particular robot, ChatGPT aims for more intuitive interactions.
Of course, there are two key factors that will influence how widely adopted pet robots and robot companions become. The first is the price. For example, Enabot Ebo X costs $999 / £999 GBP / AU$1,699. The second factor is how the AI is implemented. The user experience of the Enabot Ebo X is a bit clunky, from setup to operation. Perhaps if a firmware update introduces ChatGPT or some kind of AI functionality, its operation will become much more intuitive.
Without AI, a robot would essentially have one or two competencies, whether it's a security camera like the Ebo It becomes a wheeled device with just a mop pad (it also works with Alexa), but it also automatically returns to the base station to clean the mop pad from time to time. Yet, at the end of the day, it's just a self-sustaining vacuum.
Once AI enters the picture, these robot friends will start popping up everywhere. Given the speed at which artificial intelligence is advancing, it's not hard to imagine that even more intelligent robots will be released in 2024.
We don't really know what's going to happen to robotics in 2024, but we do know that Amazon Astro, first announced three years ago, will be a part of it, as Astro for Business was just recently made available to the public. I am. It's only a matter of time before it reaches your home.
it's all about the price
As smart home devices mature, prices will come down, as with all technology. Newer, cutting-edge ones, such as robot companions, may not, but the ability to connect to the smart home ecosystem does not significantly increase the overall cost of modern smart home devices.
For example, it's already possible to talk to the Amazon Fire TV soundbar, which costs just under $120 (about £95). Alternatively, you can now get a full panel of curtain lights from Govee for $129.99 / £159.99 (approx. AU$190). This isn't cheap, but it's pretty affordable for a set of string lights that you can adjust on the fly using just your voice.
Just throw away one more product. We reviewed his Cosori Pro III Dual Blaze back in June and were mostly impressed by its smart features that let you control and monitor it remotely. What's more, this app can actually integrate your smart home with Alexa and Google Assistant (though for some reason this isn't the case in the UK), so you can not only receive notifications but also add time just by using your voice. can. More importantly, it's not that different from most decent fryers, which cost $149.99 / £179.99.
Essentially, you don't have to pay as much for smart home connectivity as you used to, just because the concept of smart homes and their associated devices has already matured and matured for some time.
conclusion
2024 will be an exciting year for smart homes. That's not because we're going to see a ton of advanced products we've never seen before, robots aside, but because smart home devices are becoming the norm in every corner of our homes. Additionally, as Matter continues to become even more widely adopted, it will be easier to buy what suits your needs without worrying about what kind of ecosystem it has.
Artificial intelligence and efficiency efforts will play a big role, especially as every brand wants to make the claim that automation and routinization can save you X amount of money. Most devices will probably also cost less.
2024 will be a good year for the world to embrace smart homes, making them more than just a playground for early adopters. Or at least tell that to my dad and his one smart light bulb.