Some 137 million smart devices costing $16 billion are on track to ship globally this year, said a Wednesday Futuresource report, up 37 percent from 2018. A slowdown in home hub sales is being offset by growth in other segments, it said. The smart home category is one of the fastest growing in CE, said analyst Jack Wetherill, with security and monitoring, led by smart locks and video doorbells, expected to have the biggest share. Retailers and service providers are playing a key role in raising awareness and getting products in front of consumers, said Wetherill. Voice assistants are a “key ingredient” for smart home device adoption, but it’s not routinely being built into devices, said the analyst, noting most vendors offering voice capability are taking a “works with” approach that requires a separate smart speaker. Amazon and Google’s approach to “only provide certification to devices that integrate a single VA technology” reduces the volume in the “built in” device market, he said: “Smart home may begin to follow the lead of home audio” where the Sonos One smart speaker allows users to choose Alexa or Google Assistant, “albeit not both at once.” Bose has the same approach in its smart speakers and sound bars, he noted. Parks Associates reported Wednesday that a quarter of U.S. broadband homes plan to buy a smart video doorbell this year, and 25 percent plan to buy a smart speaker. Penetration of self-installed security systems increased by 10 percent over the past two years, it said. Some 43 percent plan to buy a smart home product this year, “but many markets have struggled to transform this interest into actual sales, specifically among new buyers,” said analyst Elizabeth Parks.
Wireless Speaker and Audio (WiSA) developer Summit Wireless updated its view of the addressable market for WiSA technology Wednesday, saying it expects 20 million WiSA Ready TVs to be available globally next year and 3 million-5 million WiSA transmitting devices. “As WiSA, its members, and retailers roll out a new wave of innovative product with entry level price points under $1,000 for a 5.1 immersive audio system, we believe a $45 million serviceable available market (SAM) is created for Summit Wireless in 2020 and beyond,” said CEO Brett Moyer. Summit’s WiSA Association announced Tuesday that TPV, which markets Philips TVs in most markets outside of North America, will introduce WiSA-ready TVs, bringing to seven the number of TV brands that have committed to the technology (see 1908060023).
Wi-Fi will drive adoption of 17 billion smart home devices by 2030, reported Strategy Analytics Wednesday. The current 802.11ac standard covers three-quarters of expected 2019 device sales, while Wi-Fi 6 will be a third of device sales by 2023, said SA. This year, smart TV devices will be 29 percent of all home Wi-Fi devices in use but overtaken by smart home devices in 2020, it said.
Two days before the next Energous earnings call -- where it likely would have faced more investor questions about the Delight personal sound amplification product (PSAP) that hadn't materialized before its May earnings call -- Energous trumpeted the arrival of such a product Tuesday on Amazon for $349. The Delight Oasis-RC PSAP is the first hearable sold in the U.S. with Energous’ WattUp wireless charging technology. The product hadn't yet drawn any reviews when we checked Tuesday and shipping date was given as Aug. 14-22. Energous first said it planned to develop reference designs for embedded WattUp charging capabilities in SK Telesys' products for the Asian and global markets in 2014. In December, Energous CEO Steve Rizzone gave Q1 as the arrival time for the Delight PSAP, co-designed with the Korean communications equipment company (see 1812270001). Rizzone acknowledged then multiple delays for the product, maintaining the “customer funnel is robust” for CE products in “growing vertical markets.” In a statement Tuesday, Delight CEO Jae Ho Him said the U.S. is a key market for the Oasis. It wasn’t clear if Korea regulators had approved Energous’ RF-based charging technology, which received FCC certification for sale in the U.S., but an Energous spokesperson emailed that the Oasis-RC is shipping in the U.S. only at this time. Delight has not submitted the product for regulatory approval in Korea yet: "We expect the product will be available in other countries outside of just the U.S. in the future, however," she said. On Energous’ May Q1 earnings call, Rizzone said “the lack of a well-defined path to regulatory approval” in China, Japan and Korea had “a delaying effect on product launch decisions and timing that we did not anticipate.” Rizzone said having a product with WattUp technology launch on Amazon was “a significant step forward” in Energous’ wireless charging mission. Dooroo Lim, SK Telesys manager, called Oasis a “next generation product that we believe solves the major pain point hearing aid and PSAP users have historically experienced, which is frequent battery replacement.” The news release announcing Oasis-RC referred to the product having versions for the right and left ears. Only the right ear version was available Tuesday.
Amazon Prime Student members can get the company's Music Unlimited for $0.99, said Amazon Tuesday. Existing Prime Student members can add the offer to their monthly or annual Prime Student membership plan; college students who haven’t tried the service yet can sign up for a six-month free trial at amazon.com/primestudent, it said. The announcement comes after Spotify management last week attributed lower-than-expected Q2 subscriber adds to a marketing miss for its student-targeted service (see 1907310054). Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy pegged the shortfall at less than 1 million, attributing it to lack of awareness about the company’s lower cost student subscription program that had “no awareness at all.” Spotify’s Premium Student subscription is $4.99 per month for the trio of Spotify's on-demand music service, Showtime and Hulu.
Consumers who try to support Amazon’s Happy School Year promotion are out of luck if they try to participate using an Alexa voice-control device that’s not an Echo, we found Monday when trying to support the cause. When we asked our Sonos One, with Alexa inside, the cost of donating a backpack for students in need, Alexa said, “Hmm, I’m not sure.” When we followed the exact request given in a news release announcing the program -- “Alexa, donate to Happy School Year" -- Alexa told us, “To donate to Happy School Year, you need to have an Echo device. Thanks for your interest.” In response to our question why the capability was available only on Echo devices, an Amazon spokesperson emailed: “The experience is only available on 1P [first-party] devices,” without elaborating. Backpacks are priced $9-$25, she said. For the program, customers with an Echo tell Alexa to donate, “and Alexa will take it from there,” said the release. Alexa confirms the backpack purchase, and Amazon fills a backpack with school supplies, “at no additional cost to the customer,” and ships it to Communities In Schools, a provider of in-schools resources and support. The program is part of Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq-to-School events that will donate school supplies to 5,000 students in need; the curated list of supplies includes pencils, pens, a ruler and a notebook. Amazon is matching donations, it said.
Beginning Tuesday, AT&T Wireless Unlimited & More Premium customers can choose a Spotify Premium subscription from one of seven entertainment options, for no extra charge, said the companies Monday. Other select AT&T customers can sign up for a six-month free trial of the Premium music streaming service in the beginning of an “ongoing collaboration" between the two companies, they said. It’s the latest pairing of streaming content companies and mobile operators, as smartphone upgrades have stretched out: Verizon and Google announced a partnership in April (see 1904230059) for free access to YouTube TV, and in January, Verizon announced a free Apple Music account for customers in its top two subscriber tiers (see 1901160010).
Google outlined sustainability commitments Monday, saying by 2020, 100 percent of shipments going to or from customers will be carbon neutral. In 2022, 100 percent of Made by Google products will include recycled materials with a goal to maximize recycled content wherever possible, blogged Anna Meegan, head of sustainability, consumer hardware. Commenting on the pervasiveness of phones, tablets, computers and smart speakers in consumers’ lives, Meegan said building the devices and getting them into consumers’ hands “takes a lot of resources and disposing of our old electronics can create significant waste.” From 2017 to 2018, Google’s carbon emissions for product shipments decreased by 40 percent, she said, and its Power Project will bring 1 million energy-saving Nest thermostats to families in need by 2023. Much of the Nest product portfolio was produced with post-consumer recycled plastic, she said.
The Entertainment Software Association rejected President Donald Trump’s comments on video games as a contributor to violence in the U.S. in a Monday speech addressing the weekend's mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton: “We must stop the glorification of violence in our society," Trump said, including “the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace." Video games “positively contribute to society, from new medical therapies and advancements, educational tools, business innovation, and more,” ESA emailed. “Video games help players connect with family and friends, relieve stress, and have fun. We encourage parents who have concerns about age-appropriate video game content to visit ParentalTools.org to learn more how to control what games are played in their homes.” The trade group referenced its comments following a video game meeting at the White House in March 2018 citing scientific studies establishing “no causal connection between video games and violence.” More than 165 million Americans play video games, “and billions of people play video games worldwide,” said ESA. “Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the U.S.”
A survey by shopping rewards app Shopkick found 60 percent of U.S. consumers will adjust where they shop if impending tariffs announced by the Trump administration take effect. The survey of 30,799 users, released Friday, was done June 28-June 30, before President Donald Trump’s Thursday tweet putting the 10 percent List 4 Section 301 tariffs into effect Sept. 1 on Chinese imports not previously tariffed. Of the 60 percent of consumers aware of the impending tariffs, some 40 percent reported having already seen prices increasing on store shelves, and 38 percent expect a household cost increase of up to $500; 30 percent expect a hike of more than $1,000. Roughly 60 percent said they plan to adjust the retailers they frequent; 44 percent plan to cut down on shopping; 29 percent are stocking up on goods now and 25 percent will switch to American-made goods, said the survey. Thirty-four percent of generation Z respondents were aware of tariffs vs. 74 percent of baby boomers. Half of millennials plan to reduce spending vs. 38 percent of baby boomers, 62 percent of whom plan to seek alternate options to cut costs, it said. Though the arrival and scope of tariffs are uncertain, consumers are “thinking ahead and plan to adjust their shopping habits and destinations, ushering in a new age of consumer shopping habits that American retailers will be forced to adapt to,” it said.