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When Controlling the Smart Home, Smartphones Top Speakers

Nearly 80 percent of US consumers prefer using smartphones to control smart home devices; 40 percent use smart speakers, according to GfK.

May 28, 2018
Devices Consumers See as Smart Home Controllers

Nearly 80 percent of US consumers prefer using smartphones to control smart home devices, followed by laptops at nearly 60 percent, and smart speakers at 40 percent, according to GfK.

The Why Axis Bug Since GfK last ran this survey in 2015, all devices have grown in terms of the percentage of consumers who see them as suitable smart home controllers, except smart speakers, which weren't around back then.

Smartphones grew 20 percentage points and laptops are up 15 points. Despite losing a lot of sales momentum in the past three years, tablets also grew by 10 percentage points, likely due to greater awareness of smart home potential paired with the familiarity of the tablet.

In contrast, smart TVs grew only a few percentage points and wearables barely budged.

It's little surprise that smart speakers now outrank TVs and wearables. While a product like the Amazon Echo ($99.99 at Amazon) or Google Home ($99.00 at Target) are always ready to listen to a voice command, there's a good chance your smart TV may not be turned on when it's time to control other parts of the home. In contrast, while wearables like the Apple Watch may be always at the ready, they are relatively scarce among consumers, and you can't use a device to control a home if you don't own it.

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