June 2021 ertonline.co.uk


The pandemic has impacted product categories


differently. The smart home industry – inclusive of smart security and monitoring, lighting, climate, power and hub devices – grew by 29 per cent (volume) in 2020, with 103 million smart security and monitoring devices and 17 million smart lighting devices shipped, reports Futuresource Consulting. In this age of the doorstep delivery, Ring X Line,


for example, makes it easy to respond efficiently to the huge number of home deliveries that are happening, whether people are at home or not. It also gives peace of mind by connecting families together, like checking that Granny left the house for her daily walk and got back safely again. Detectors and lighting segments have also


been positively impacted with volume growth rates of 44 and 40 per cent respectively in 2020. “Consumers have found an added need to


protect their families against possible fires or smoke given they are spending more time at home,” says Neelesh Choudhury, Futuresource Research Analyst, “whilst the extra time is also


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leading to more purchases of items that aid in automation and comfort.” Continues Exertis Head of Smart Tech and


IoT, Rod Slater: “In the early stages of lockdown we saw a huge increase in sales of voice assistants as their almost ubiquitous communications capabilities became a lifeline for some families and this was followed by a huge increase in demand for smart doorbells and cameras.


is their ability to automatically add new services and features as and when they become available. This means that while manufacturers advance core hardware, screen technologies and platform development, the customer can expect content features to be kept up to date for the life of the product. Mitchell & Brown’s 2021 model range


Entertainment


Smart TVs offer a wealth of connected services covering apps, media streaming, web browsing and games. The advantage is the enjoyment of those services on the big screen, in high definition and even 4K, and sharing that entertainment with family and friends from the comfort of your sofa. Add in voice control, smart home


integration, music streaming, social media and web-based content, and the case for a smart TV is a compelling up-sell to customers. Unlike older terrestrial broadcast TVs, one of the great advantages of smart TV models


reflects the development and uptake in smart technology across the TV market. All of the company’s new models (over 43-inch) are fully smart and more than half of its 2021 small screen line-up offers Wi-Fi connectivity and the key smart service apps built-in. Comments Dan Brown, Director of


Operations at Mitchell & Brown: “Our hero TV series for the year ahead is the near borderless 4K UHD18114KBL, available in 43, 50 and 55-inch screen sizes, and featuring a raft of smart services like Amazon Prime and Netflix and catch-up TV services. “The move towards smart TV and data-


network supplied TV services shows no signs of slowing and improved network capacity, such as fibre broadband and 5G mobile services, will only accelerate that development.”


“Now Summer is here, we’re predictably


seeing interest in outdoor tech rising rapidly where customers are taking the indoors outdoors and expect their entertainment and devices to work seamlessly in the garden as well. This drives interest in outdoor mobile products like Sonos Move, which in turn drives products like TP-Link and Netgear’s outdoor Wi-Fi access points, and at the higher end Samsung’s Terrace TV for outdoor entertainment.”


Mr Brown continues: “In the last couple


of years, we have seen voice control and various smart home control platforms integrated into smart TVs, better social media apps and new network video services, and our user interfaces are constantly developing to reflect this ever growing portfolio of available content and services.” Indeed, as homes become more


connected, users can manage all their devices seamlessly within a smart home system. This pushes the boundaries of what these products are capable of – allowing for a TV to become a smart home control hub, or for a speaker to become a personal portable voice assistant.


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