Everything about today’s smart home is becoming more sophisticated, especially with the growing use of AI to better manage power systems, for example, or enhance various aspects of home life – we can see that with hands-free controls or the roll-out of more personalised experiences.
AI can be used to ‘learn’ about a user’s preferences and to anticipate their needs, while increased levels of IoT connectivity are enabling much greater levels of interoperability between smart home devices.
AI-driven interactions are becoming more natural and responsive. Personal assistants are now capable of being empathetic and by using natural language interaction users can simply speak to their devices which can now accurately interpret, understand and respond to those commands. Voice technology is capable of not only recognising simple commands but of understanding what was said, who said it and where they are, as well as what’s happening around them.
Spatial hearing, environmental modelling, and on-device processing, mean that devices can respond with greater precision, speed, and contextual awareness. Additionally, edge-based voice intelligence can isolate voices, adapt to acoustic environments, and enable more natural, immersive interactions without sending data for processing in the cloud.
Here in Europe the Smart Home market was valued at $22.1bn in 2024 and is projected to be worth almost $30bn by 2029. A key driver of this market is the integration of various smart devices to create a more cohesive ecosystem, rather than having to buy a host of individual products.
Many industry commentators believe that is essential for the future growth of the smart homes market as consumers want a convenient ecosystem of products that can be used to fit out an entire home. They want a more centralised smart home experience with various systems capable of working together without the need for multiple apps and platforms.
Products that are selling well in this market include AI-powered cameras, smart locks, and video doorbells to improve home security; while smart thermostats and energy management systems are being used to optimise energy consumption and reduce costs.
The smart home ecosystem
Smart home technology is also being integrated with other technologies, whether that’s smart grids, cloud platforms, or wearable devices, and as one person interviewed for this article said, the smart home is less a collection of disparate devices but more an extension of the user and their families.
“This form of ecosystem has been the ‘holy grail’ from a technology perspective, when it comes to the smart home,” according to Sameer Sharma AVP, IoT Business Unit, MediaTek.
“We’re seeing a consolidation in standards and new standards like Matter have been developed and are evolving to better enable how information gets exchanged. That’s where Matter is so important and why Wi-Fi has been such a success,” Sharma explained.
However, he continued, “There are plenty of competing standards and customers will still have their own set of decisions to make when deciding what technology to buy – each has their own unique cases to enable. So, there is still a lot of complexity in this space both in terms of what the provider has to offer and what the customer wants.”
In the consumer space differentiation still trumps standardisation, according to Sharma.
"Despite customers wanting differentiation, they also want to enjoy a seamless experience when developing their smart home ecosystem when adding new devices. I think Matter has been a big step in the right direction and will be seen as a ‘tipping point’ in terms of interoperability.
“Artificial Intelligence is having a massive impact on the smart home too and is helping to elevate connected homes into truly autonomous living spaces,” Sharma added. “The smart home will soon be able to recognise when you decide to go to bed and will be able to automatically adjust the lighting and even optimise the temperature throughout each room without needing a second thought from you.”
According to Sharma, MediaTek is focused on ensuring that all devices must always connect reliably and communicate seamlessly across platforms. “We want to ensure that smart living is made as simple as possible,” he explained.
When it comes to delivering a seamless experience Samsung has developed SmartThings, a connected living platform that allows users to control and manage various smart devices, appliances, and even some non-Samsung devices from a single app.
It is possible to add and manage a wide range of compatible smart devices, set up automated scenes and routines based on a user’s preferences, such as turning off lights when you leave or adjusting the temperature when you get home; it can also be integrated with popular voice assistants like Bixby, Google Assistant, and Alexa, while SmartThings devices with other smart home platforms can be connected through the SmartThings Hub.
One area of growth is in personalisation, which according to Sharma, will be at the heart of tomorrow’s smart homes.
“Imagine that your home learns from you - adjusting the lighting and music as you wind down for the evening, or planning your workouts based on what you did, or didn’t do. It’s a world where every piece of tech aligns with your unique lifestyle. At MediaTek we believe that the future of smart homes is one where technology moves quietly to the background, working smoothly and intuitively to elevate an individual’s daily life. “
While discussions around AI tend to focus on advanced technologies like robotics, many of the developments embracing AI in the smart home are simply and about improving safety and efficiency.
One area of interest is smart water sensors that can detect leaks or frozen pipes so preventing costly damage and repairs. In addition, a growing number of appliances are using AI and intelligent features to better manage energy consumption and cut bills.
Washing machines are being designed with intelligent sensors that can manage a wash more effectively – some models are able to detect types of fabric for example - while cutting energy costs. An LG washing machine uses 20,000 points of data to pick an optimal cycle and to manage water usage more effectively.
Diagnostic and preventive AI is expected to become the norm covering home heating, plumbing and electrical systems.
A growing number of brands are using AI to communicate important information about cookers and temperatures, or to increase the shelf life of food stored inside refrigerators. Samsung has developed an AI algorithm that can assesses conditions in a refrigerator and then actively cool the fridge further if it detects the possibility that food may be deteriorating.
Smart thermostats are now learning a user’s daily habits and adjust a home's temperature accordingly. The Google Nest Learning Thermostat can vary a home’s temperature based on a person’s activity patterns while at the same time more intelligent thermostats can also be connected to HVACs, smart fans, air purifiers and solar panels.
Securing devices
While the number of smart devices for the home has soared an estimated 80% of IoT devices are said to be vulnerable to a wide range of attacks.
Connecting ‘stand-alone’ smart devices such as lights and appliances can introduce a number of common cyber security threats and vulnerabilities into the smart home such as: Man-in-the-middle, where an attacker breaches, interrupts or spoofs communications between two systems; or data and identity theft where data generated by unprotected smart appliances can provide cyber attackers with an ample amount of targeted personal information that can potentially be exploited.
Device hijacking is where the attacker hijacks and effectively assumes control of a device and it only takes one device to potentially re-infect all smart devices in the home. For example, an attacker could compromise a thermostat and then gain access to an entire network.
Finally, there are Distributed and Permanent Denial of Service (DDoS and PDoS) attacks which look to render a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet. In some case the damage to the device can be so bad that it requires replacement or reinstallation of hardware.
In response to these forms of attack the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) became law in December 2024, extending the CE marking scheme, by mandating that, from 2027, all products with digital elements that can be connected to a device or network must adhere to a strict set of rules in their design, documentation and support before claiming conformance.
“The EU CRA exempts developers of Linux and other open-source software from compliance, instead exporting that responsibility to downstream OEM users and/or board vendors,” said David Pashley, Direct Insight co-founder & Managing Director. “In terms of CRA readiness, this will level the playing field for embedded systems developers, disrupting OS and hardware choices, as they must think about where and how the considerable cost of meeting and maintaining the requirement to be secure by design and ‘free from exploitable vulnerabilities’ will land, how OEMs can plan for cost-effective compliance, and whether this cost will sufficiently disrupt the NRE balance to shift the landscape of development.”
“Developers should view the CRA as an opportunity, not a threat,” explained Pashley. “Many discussions around the CRA and embedded cybersecurity revolve around whether this or that requirement can be rightfully avoided. In one sense this is understandable, given the time and effort required for implementation. However, we’re moving towards a world where customers actively prefer secure products. Remember that the risk assessment mandated by the CRA must be published in the product end-user documentation. Surely, we want to demonstrate that we are providing a secure product, not tying ourselves in knots – in public – just to avoid implementing the most basic forms of security?”
According to Pashley, compliant products will have a massive commercial advantage over legacy products so there is substantial benefit to be gained by having a conforming product.
“All products shipped in the EU must comply by December 2027, so it’s time to start planning,” Pashley added.
Future developments
We are certainly witnessing a revolution in smart home technology with, for example, the growing use of robotics, machine learning and generative intelligence.
While these technologies will have a massive impact on how we live and experience the home, many will do so quietly in the background and will help to smooth out user experiences.
But with so many new products coming to market and standards evolving to create a more flexible and unified ecosystem, cybersecurity risks will continue to be an issue especially in a market where time-to-market and the drive for differentiation are key.
Whatever the future holds for the smart homes market it’s a dynamic market witnessing much change - but the home of the future is with us already.
