Register

I agree with the Privacy Policy

In The News

IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

February 01, 2024

home automation

The Boston Globe

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

Cutting the Cord: What won't happen in 2016

Parks Associates research analyst Glenn Hower is prepared to be proved wrong, but he remains skeptical about an Apple streaming entry. "With Sling TV and PlayStation Vue in the market, Apple is now pl...

Everybody’s Doing It: How People Use Their Smartphones

Smartphones owners can’t keep their content on their phone, a Parks Associates survey of broadband households found. Thirty-five percent of smartphone owners stream music to speakers, and 24 percen...

IoT-Ready Smart TVs: What's The Potential?

Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director of research, also sees potential. “There are a number of potential use cases for the TV as a smart-home controller,” she said. “The TV display can be used as a...

Apple's Next? Brains Of An iPhone 6S In A 5S Body

Many consumers demanded bigger screens, and the move paid off for Apple. The larger iPhone was Apple’s best seller ever. But not all Apple consumers made the switch. According to research firm P...

‹
1
2
...
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
...
714
715
›