According to Parks Associates, nearly 14 million new smart home controllers will be sold in the United States in 2024.
"Device manufacturers are increasingly aware of the negative impact of security and privacy concerns on smart home industry growth, so major players including Google and Amazon are designing device features to restrict accessibility to consumer data," said Patrice Samuels, senior analyst at Parks. "Over the past few months, companies have taken measures that also demonstrate a commitment to improving consumer online privacy."
Parks Associates research indicates that only 37% of U.S. broadband households surveyed trust that companies with access to their data will keep it safe.
"The development of facial and fingerprint authentication allows device manufacturers to establish a level of security stronger than voice, but still convenient to the consumer," Samuels said. "Ultimately, voice technology will develop, where unique voices can be used for biometric authentication in and of itself, but current far-field voice recognition technology is not yet up to the security challenge."
Other findings indicate:
- The smart home industry is pouring resources into after-sales support.
- Insurance providers continue to seek inroads into the smart home space.
- Connectivity issues continue to threaten the smart home user experience.