UPDATED 14:08 EDT / NOVEMBER 06 2014

SiliconANGLE's Smart World Round-up NEWS

Smart home wars: Google vs. Apple, Amazon & Samsung

SiliconANGLE's Smart World Round-up

SiliconANGLE’s Smart World Round-up

Smart home tech is set to add $1.9 trillion to the global economy by 2020, according to Gartner Research. With recent innovations for networking and devices, the battle for supremacy on the smart home landscape between Apple Inc., Google Inc., Samsung Group and Amazon.com Inc. is starting to heat up.

Here, we take a look at the strategies that each company is following and what they’re offering to try and gain a home field advantage in the emerging smart homes market. We also discuss the topic of home automation customer service, a component that may help one of these companies gain more of an advantage.

Networking

 

The further expansion of Google Fiber places Google in a position of being the only company out of the four to be in the ISP business. Google Fiber boasts a connection that’s up to 100 times faster than today’s average broadband and Wi-Fi speeds with 802.11a/b/g/n including 3×3 MIMO antennas and dual concurrent radios. Although Google Fiber is only available in three cities, the company is targeting an expansion to 34 more cities in nine metro areas.

Apple has the AirPort Express Base Station to boost wired home network connection speeds. It supports dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and allows simultaneous signal transfer at 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. Some drawbacks are that it can be difficult to set up and only connects Apple products.

Samsung recently announced the development of its 60GHz Wi-Fi technology for release early next year. It enables wireless transfer speeds of up to 4.6 Gbps per second, the maximum speed possible with existing consumer technologies. Like Apple’s AirPort Express Base Station, the technology is set to support Samsung’s own connected devices.

There’s currently no news of Amazon working on a network, but there have been reports of the company’s plan to boost hiring by at least 27 percent over the next five years at its secretive R&D unit called Lab126. This move may mean that the company is working on smart home technologies including networking towards the underlying infrastructure to power the Internet of Things. Amazon is set to invest $55 million in Lab126.

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch for Amazon, as the company is already selling infrastructure services to enterprises through its Web Services business. This is another sector where Amazon and Google directly compete, as their own business needs for large scale web infrastructure has positioned both companies to develop services around their in-house experience.

Each company has networking limitations. Apple and Samsung’s networking capabilities only allow for connections between their own devices. Google has the potential to gain the most ground here, but Fiber’s expansion is rather slow.

Open Standard Initiatives

 

To support the growing number of connected devices for the home, open source cooperatives provide the framework to encourage shared knowledge and the development of standards necessary for the smart home industry to reach full mainstream adoption.

open house neon light sign birdhouse winter snowTo that end, Google and Samsung are already member to the same consortium. Google’s Nest Labs, Inc. and Samsung, along with ARM Holdings, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Silicon Laboratories, Inc. and lock maker Yale, launched a new low-power wireless network in July called Thread. This open network connects gadgets in the home, allowing them to communicate with each other. As an IP-based wireless networking protocol, Thread doesn’t require the use of hardware. It’s designed to support a variety of products in the home and is currently compatible with 250 products, with a version of it now running on Nest thermostats. Although Thread is open technology, it’s unclear whether or not the protocol specifications will be available to non-members.

Encouraging the development of apps and devices for connected gadgets, Samsung is also part of a consortium with Dell and Intel to drive the development and adoption of open standards and protocols. Called the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC), its aim is to define the connectivity requirements and ensure interoperability for the billions of devices that are set to make up the Internet of Things (IoT), regardless of form factor, operating system or service provider. The OIC also plans to deliver open source implementations for a variety of IoT market opportunities and vertical segments.

At this time, Apple seems less inviting to open source for its HomeKit. The HomeKit APIs are only compatible with home configuration or home automation services apps on iOS.

There’s no word yet of whether or not Amazon is going to look into open source. However, considering that its devices are set to connect directly to the store, it seems unlikely.

Samsung and Google seem to be the most involved in terms of open source for smart homes and may snag the lead due to Apple and Amazon’s limitations.

Devices

 

 

In terms of devices, Apple’s HomeKit platform is currently at the center of smart home adoption for remote control devices and driving the mainstream trend for home automation. However, beyond core products including the iPhone and iPad, Apple doesn’t really seem that driven to manufacture other smart home products, like connected refrigerators or coffee makers. The company has, however, partnered with familiar brands like Phillips to leverage the many home automation devices already in use. This aspect makes Apple’s further progression in the smart home device market questionable.

Woman with smart home device

In contrast, the Samsung Smart Home Service does offer its own home automation hardware. The platform additionally comes with its own automation service that uses a single integrated platform to connect and control smart TVs, home appliances and smart phones.

Google’s home automation can be expected to focus around Android. It could also support iOS devices if the company acquires startups that already support Apple’s operating system.

On the contrary, Amazon seems to be focused more on selling devices and other products as opposed to crafting its hardware. In an exclusive interview for Reuters, two anonymous sources stated that some things Amazon is testing are a one-button Wi-Fi device that lets customers order products and wearable devices. Host of The Smart Home Show Michael Wolf recently stated in a blog post, “…I believe the company would basically look to create a ‘point of sale’ touch point in nearly every part of the house. Basically wherever they could stuff a sensor and some intelligence that could connect to a person’s Amazon account.”

Apple, Google and Samsung are all strategizing to partner with third-party vendors to make their devices compatible with a wider range of products. Amazon’s focus on direct sales sensors, however, shows that there may not be a need for product compatibility.

Storefronts and Servicing

 

Access to retail outlets for discovering, researching and purchasing smart home products is a key component of consumer adoption, and Amazon has a clear advantage when it comes to a home automation storefront. The company is really pushing the retail aspect of smart homes by centralizing products and services from various brands and manufacturers and making them easy for consumers to search for. Amazon’s Home Automation storefront also provides introductory guides for those looking to learn more about smart homes. When the company releases its own smart home products, it may be likely that they will sell exclusively on Amazon. It can also be foreseen that customers may be able to connect directly to an Amazon smart home customer service representative on their Kindle for assistance.

apple store genius bar customer service educationSamsung also has an online storefront, but solely sells its own products on there. The company also offers a variety of ways for customers to get help and support. Some options include step-by-step instructions on the Smart Simulator, remote service via TV and live video chats with a Smart Service representative. Customers can also find service locations and schedule repairs.

Google’s Fiber Space storefront offers customers a great way to learn more about Fiber and smart home configuration from members of the Google Fiber team. The Fiber Space stores are, however, only located in the limited areas where Fiber is currently available.

As Apple’s HomeKit was just recently announced, there isn’t any information on a storefront or servicing model for it at this time. However, we can probably guess that there could be a HomeKit Store possibly integrated with or attached to existing Apple stores somewhere down the line.

Servicing

Because smart home technology is still a new concept, it’s going to need a strong servicing component. The complexities of connecting more and more devices and apps risk hindering consumer adoption if there isn’t any service to support technical difficulties. The company that can provide consumers with the best support may be the one to gain a big chunk of ground in the smart home arena.

Servicing is a component that could work in tandem with smart home storefront efforts, particularly for those players with brick-and-mortar locations. Apple is the frontrunner in this regard, and already has an established Genius Bar for servicing and teaching customers.

feature image by Newtown grafitti via photopin cc
photos by: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamiltonsamsungtomorrow and DaveMN via photopin cc

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