Control4 is holding its third C4Yourself Day June 13, it said Monday. It gears the event to homeowners, architects, builders and design professionals to “get hands-on” with smart home technology in at-home settings, it said. CEO Martin Plaehn said it's a way for dealers to show a smart home can “juggle more than feature at a time,” while highlighting the value of a customized, professionally installed system. Host showroom dealers can demonstrate integrated smart home with scenes that lock down the house, change lights from cooking to dining mode and set a scene for watching a TV show in vignettes depicting kitchens, living rooms and outdoor spaces, with lifestyle scenes tailored to their market. Homeowners are increasingly familiar with smart products such as light bulbs, door locks and cameras, but they need an introduction to the idea of a professionally installed, integrated system, said Parks Associates analyst Brad Russell: “Consumers need to experience them ‘out of the box’ and in “real-life settings." Control4 has certified 210 Control4 dealer showrooms to date.
Thirty-one percent of U.S. homes own a smart speaker, CTA reported, up from 8 percent three years ago, marking the second consecutive year of almost 100 percent growth in household ownership. “Americans are embracing AI tech in the home at unprecedented levels,” said Steve Koenig, vice president-research, who said the rise in ownership indicates consumers endorse the benefits of artificial intelligence and voice recognition to help with everyday tasks. TVs (95 percent), smartphones (91 percent) and laptops (75 percent) are the most commonly owned tech devices in American homes, according to a survey of 2,608 U.S. adults, 18 and older, March 7-14. Seventeen percent of households own a smart appliance, led by smart light bulbs, thermostats, home security cameras and robotic vacuums, it said. Smart home devices are projected to see the biggest gains in household adoption in the next year, with first-time purchasers making up the largest proportion of prospective buyers, looking primarily for smart door locks, smart door bells and smart home hubs, it said. In personal audio, U.S. households adopted wireless earbuds and headphones in greater numbers over the last year, with growth outpacing wired versions, said CTA. Combined ownership of wireless earbuds and headphones ownership is at 48 percent of households. A third of respondents had a “strong intent to buy” a wireless unit, likely carrying wireless adoption beyond wired versions “very soon,” it said. Among wearables, smartwatch adoption grew by five points to reach 23 percent household ownership this year, narrowing the gap with fitness trackers, which grew four points to reach 29 percent of households.
Qualcomm announced support Thursday for Google Assistant and Google Fast Pair on the Qualcomm Smart Headset platform. Smart Headset, based on Qualcomm’s QCC5100 series low-power Bluetooth audio chips, includes hardware and software required for manufacturers to create differentiated wireless stereo earbuds and headsets with support for Google Assistant for various product tiers and categories, said the company. The reference design supports push-button activation for Google Assistant, which connects to the Google Assistant app running on a smartphone. The platform comprises processing capability, connectivity options, voice assistant interfaces and premium audio technologies.
Fierce price competition put intense pressure on many Android tablet vendors, while Apple, Huawei and Amazon gained share in Q1, Strategy Analytics reported Wednesday. Promotional discounts fueled Amazon’s post-holiday quarter, pushing shipments 21 percent higher year on year. Huawei had 8 percent growth, primarily in China and Europe, Middle East and Africa, said analyst Eric Smith. Most Windows detachable 2-in-1 vendors are targeting the premium enterprise market, a crowded space made more competitive by the launch of three Apple iPad Pro models this year. Market share for Windows tablets slipped a point to 14 percent, and shipments dropped 13 percent to 5 million units, said analyst Chirag Upadhyay. Apple’s Q1 iOS tablet shipments grew 9 percent to 9.9 million, for 27 percent market share, a 3-point bump, said Smith, and average selling price for the iPad Pro line grew to $490 from $451.
Three smart home devices mark the “tipping point” at which consumers want to consolidate products with a control system, blogged Parks Associates Wednesday. Smart garage door openers, thermostats and irrigation controllers have the most diverse multichannel distribution, said Parks. Easy-to-install, do-it-yourself devices, such as lighting and smart plugs, have the largest share of retail sales, but as smart home adoption expands, new sales channels can address the demand for more targeted, integrated solutions that work across devices, it said. Retail is the leading channel for smart home purchases, but the expanding market is opening “new paths to market” for insurance companies, homebuilders and other channels, said analyst Brad Russell.
Control4 unveiled a Wi-Fi access point for improved wireless network performance Monday. An advanced chipset is said to deliver faster speeds, lower latency and “seamless roaming” across the network as end users add to the number of bandwidth-intensive applications in the home such as 4K video streaming, multiplayer gaming and VoIP calling.
Bose is taking preorders on customizable replacement lenses shipping May 19 for its two styles of Bose Frames "audio sunglasses" with miniaturized electronics in each temple. Basic lenses for the Alto and Rondo styles of eyewear cost $19.95, and polarized step-up lenses are $29.95. The Frames themselves are $199.95 and produce “rich, immersive sound for you, while others hear practically nothing,” said Bose. The sunglasses appear to be available for sale now at the Bose online store. Best Buy is taking preorders for expected May 21 availability.
Global smartphone shipments declined 6.6 percent to 310.8 million units, “a clear sign that 2019 will be another down year,” said IDC Tuesday. Shipments declined 4.1 percent, “inclusive of a first quarter” that was down 3.5 percent, roughly “just half of what the market experienced in Q1 this year, it said. "The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50%.” That made the brand “a clear number two in terms of market share,” and it’s “closing the gap” on leader Samsung, it said: “This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is very likely what we'll see" in 2019.
Garmin’s recent launch of its Marq line of smart “tool” watches “expands our reach to the upper end” of the smartwatch category, said CEO Cliff Pemble on a Q1 call Wednesday. “Where we’re at today is obviously not the upper end of where watches are in total,” he said. “We feel very good about it. We’ve received high marks in terms of the design of the product and the materials we’ve selected.” Garmin is just starting “to deliver those devices into the field,” he said. “We’ll start to see some impact from that.” Introduced in mid-March, the six models in the Marq series range in price between $1,500 and $2,500. The fitness-tracker category also is moving “upmarket,” said Pemble. More consumers are adopting “high-end” trackers like Garmin’s $299 Vivomove HR with heart rate technology “as opposed to a basic tracker band,” he said. “Margins on high-end trackers are lower than those of basic bands, he said. “Depending on mix, of course, that impacts the overall segment margin.” The stock closed 6.6 percent lower Wednesday at $80.06.
Video collaboration and gaming fueled Q1 growth at Logitech, said CEO Bracken Darrell on a Tuesday earnings call. Revenue grew 9 percent to $2.79 billion, a company record, it said. Trends fueling growth, said Bracken, include the movement toward equipping offices for cloud-based video calls, surging, growth of PC game play, and associated peripherals, and the “explosion of content creators.” Content is being created by professionals and by consumers in a "Starbucks" or a bedroom, dorm room or outdoors “right now,” said Bracken. He cited an employee’s five-year-old niece is infatuated with YouTube videos from a seven-year-old boy whose Ryan ToysReview show pulled in $22 million last year. Content creators edit, stage and format at a desk using a PC -- and peripherals Logitech sells -- such as a keyboard, mouse, webcam and microphone. Logitech's PC peripherals business has grown for six consecutive years without “specifically designing for that user,” he said. Vincent Pilette, chief financial officer, is leaving Logitech at the end of May to pursue a senior role at an undisclosed company, said Darrell. Nate Olmstead, who joined as vice president-finance this year, will be interim chief financial officer.