VOICE CONTROL & CONL& Home Entertainment
VOICE CONTROL & CONNECTED AUDIO
24 Switchbot Onero H1 robot Smart homes smarter sales Smart homes smarter sales
AI is a hot topic for consumer electronics, says Steve May, but its benefits could be a hard sell on the shop floor unless you connect the dots…
S
mart home evangelists have spent much of the past decade promising a connected future for one and all. Today, that vision has become an everyday reality for a sizable chunk
of the population.
Which begs the question: what comes next - and how to sell it?
At CES 2026, manufacturers were clear in their intent. Smart home entertainment is evolving into an AI-driven ecosystem built around personalisation, automation, and ease of use.
AI itself is no longer the headline attraction. If every TV, soundbar and streamer on the shelf claims some form of intelligence, the differentiator becomes what that intelligence actually does for the customer - and that’s where sales conversations, and joined-up product patter, can make a difference. TVs are a good example. Screens are getting smarter, albeit in ways less obvious than simple connectivity. Powered by surprisingly
adept AI routines, auto flagging of content can select picture modes based on frame analysis (Filmmaker mode for movies, Sports for footie, and so on), which not only saves viewers the bother of visiting picture menus (which they have historically ignored anyway) but effectively implements an auto pilot to ensure the best viewing experience. It’s a genuine value.
Understanding the smart home market New research from Argos offers useful clarity on the smart home market, and what’s driving it forward - and it seems that for many consumers, audio is still their defining experience of smart living.
Released at the tail end of 2025, the Argos Smartest Homes Index, based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults using smart home technology, reveals that entertainment remains the backbone of connected living, with smart speakers the most widely owned devices,
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cited by 74 per cent of respondents. These are followed closely by smart TVs and streaming devices at 73 per cent. Interestingly, security is emerging as a major
growth driver, with 58 per cent of users now owning smart security products. Heating and energy control are also seeing a sharp rise in interest, with searches for ‘smart thermostat’ up 311 per cent and ‘smart heating’ up 173 per cent in just three months. Smart lighting, owned by 27 per cent of users, continues its steady rise as another entry point.
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