Will Alexa or the Google Assistant Control Your Smart Home?

The big stories of CES 2022 were the sheer number of smart devices, besides as how Google's Banana and Amazon's Alexa are poised to get the interfaces that will command these devices in your home.

For just about any kind of consumer appliance or gadget—lights, locks, thermostats, air conditioners, blinds, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers—CES demonstrated that you tin discover a version that is connected to the internet. And if that'south not enough, most of these devices either take a voice assistant built in, or may be controlled by some kind of voice assistant.

Alexa logo

The move to connected or smart devices isn't a new trend—it'south been happening at CES for years, and I have long believed it will take longer to really happen than virtually people in the manufacture think. Just there was some real progress this year.

There were all sorts of connected products at the bear witness—smart speakers were everywhere, and at that place were enough of locks, lights, cameras, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and even faucets, toilets, and litter boxes.

Whirlpool connected washer dryer

A few years ago, smart devices, or the "Internet of Things," were mostly about startups. Then it was technology-centric companies such as Samsung and LG. Now, it seems similar every vendor of any household production has a "smart" strategy. Some of the major brands I saw at the bear witness flooring included Kenmore (washers and dryers), Whirlpool (home appliances), Schlage and Yale (locks), Carrier (ac), Comcast (camera and security organisation), and Philips (smart slumber and medical products).

Phillips Somneo

Smart sleep products were almost a category of their ain, with everything from pillows to lights to devices yous clothing on your head to keep you from snoring. Here's PCMag's favorite smart home products from the show:

Part of what made this yr so interesting were the different approaches the companies took to explain their strategies. For instance, LG spent its pre-prove printing conferences talking about AI and its ThinQ (pronounced "sparse-cue") "AI" platform, how this platform could control all of its devices, and how many of them were now additionally supporting Google Assistant as a voice interface. LG hardly used the phrases "Cyberspace of Things" or "smart home," and stressed AI instead.

Samsung Bixby

Samsung seems to have a very similar vision, just rather than emphasize AI, it emphasized the Net of Things, and in particular its SmartThings platform for connecting its devices together as part of its "multi-device feel strategy."

Samsung is unique in offering its own Bixby voice assistant as the vocalization UI for the bulk of its voice-enabled products, and it volition be interesting to come across if Bixby can brand it equally a long-term thespian in this marketplace.

Samsung also highlighted its back up of the Open Connectivity Foundation, and promised that by 2022, all of its devices volition exist intelligent and attainable through Open up Connectivity Foundation (OCF) protocols. (LG and many others support OCF, merely and then far we've mostly heard promises as opposed to implementations.) Of course, every vendor wants to say they accept an "open platform" for connecting devices, just the OCF does seem to be evolving every bit the actual standards group for connecting devices beyond platforms.

Notably missing in activity in the IoT world was Apple. A number of devices do support the visitor'due south HomeKit interface—controlled by Apple and its Siri assistant—merely y'all were hard pressed to find any such devices promoted on the show floor. (The company's HomePod smart speaker was absent, though it is now slated to ship in February).

HP Pavilion Wave with Alexa

Besides missing was whatsoever real attention to Microsoft's Cortana assistant, which is built into all Windows 10 PCs. Many of the vendors that are adding far-field microphones to their PCs were also adding Alexa, including Acer, Asus, and HP. HiSense made a large deal about how its new TVs will back up Alexa.

Little Fish VS1 Baidu Smart Speaker

Simply that's a Western-centric view. I was also interested to meet a number devices that back up DuerOS, Baidu's conversational assistant. Indeed, many of the devices that support Alexa in the United states support DuerOS in Cathay, and Lilliputian Fish demonstrated a Smart Speaker with a screen that ran DuerOS.

Baidu Smart Speaker

Baidu talked about DuerOS in phones, TVs, and a host of other devices, including a very colorful smart speaker of its own. Again, I noted that some companies seem to exist supporting unlike technologies in different markets.

Another Chinese company, iFlytek, was showing its own platform, which includes a smart speaker, and the company had some really impressive translation features.

I'1000 still not convinced I need a vocalization-enabled faucet or toilet, or that I really need all the devices in my home to be connected. And I know there are withal plenty of problems to exist resolved, from security to common platforms. But I do discover utility in a smart speaker, and information technology's piece of cake to believe that most high-end appliances will get "smart" over the years to come.