Spending on smart home systems and services in the US will hit $18 billion in 2014 and more than double to $39 billion by 2019, said Strategy Analytics.
Apple, Google and Samsung are among the big consumer brands posturing for position in the market as ADT, Vivint, Comcast and AT&T drive growth in the interactive security market.
Bill Ablondi, director of Smart Home Strategies at Strategy Analytics said: “Interactive security will take the revenue lead from professionally installed home control and entertainment systems in the overall US smart home market and Nest’s acquisition of Dropcam signals Google’s desire to become a disruptive force in this market.”
Security service providers will drive revenue growth in the US market as ADT and Vivint run neck and neck in front with each having more than 800,000 residential subscribers and FrontPoint, the online reseller Alarm.com’s platform, not far behind, according to Strategy Analytics’ Smart Home Strategies latest forecast.
Comcast’s Xfinity Home is likely to catch up with the frontrunners in 2014 with AT&T’s Digital Life also in the chase.
Lowe’s Iris self-monitoring and control system currently has a big lead on Home Depot for the DIY customer, but Staples, Amazon and Smartlabs, with Microsoft now selling INSTEON devices in its stores, will intensify the battle for DIYers.
Apple’s HomeKit caused a stir when introduced in June. It has perked up iOS devotees to smart home applications, but it remains a dark horse in the race.
Google’s Nest acquiring Dropcam adds another cool product to their portfolio and another point of “learning” about what goes on in homes for future Google/Nest applications.
