Smart bathroom products are emerging

New product demonstrations at CES 2020 along with brand announcements throughout this quarter reveal that bathroom products are among the next wave of products in the home to become smart. Several companies including Kohler, Electric Mirror, and TOTO, provided displays for products such as smart shower heads, baths, mirrors, and toilets.

Along with the smartening up of bathroom fixtures, Shine has developed a bathroom assistant robot that automates toilet cleaning and maintenance. Pani has launched a water monitor that monitors water consumption and leaks from water sources in the bathroom. The device from Pani also offers users recommendations on how to save water. Oral B has also released a new toothbrush with AI that helps improve brushing quality.

This next wave of smart home products is emerging from startups and traditional players. Multiple brands have released new connected products geared at improving convenience and helping consumers monitor and address daily living challenges. Companies are also focused on launching products with AI capabilities that have high value at launch. As a result, the smart home market continues to attract new customers. Twenty-nine percent of US broadband households report owning at least one smart home device, up from 24% in Q4 2018.

Activity increases in smart video industries

Smart cameras and smart video doorbells are already among the most popular smart home devices in the US. However, at CES 2020, and throughout the previous quarter, several companies including Swann, Xcentz, and Reolink launched new smart cameras and several others including Eufy, Swann, abode, Zmodo, and Blue by ADT announced products that will be released later in the year. Similarly, new video doorbells were released from ELAN and Arlo, and several brands including Eufy, Blue by ADT, Array by Hampton, Tuya, and First Alert Onelink announced products that will become available in coming months. The new cameras boast high resolution, wide-angle viewing, and AI capabilities for facial recognition. There is the push to reduce the market price of smart cameras and video doorbells. A number of smart cameras have entered the market at price points of approximately $50. These relatively low price points are eliminating a key purchase inhibitor. Adoption of smart cameras and video doorbells both increased over the past year. Smart camera adoption increased from 10% to 12% of US broadband households from the end of 2018 to the end of 2019; video doorbell adoption increased from 8% to10% over the same period.

We will continue to study how these industries evolve. Parks Associates hosts insightful panel discussions on major technology trends at its annual CONNECTION Summit at CES and CONNECTIONS conferences. CONNECTIONS US will be held May 19-21 in San Francisco.