The Internet of Things (IoT) has expanded to influence every aspect of the broadband household and connected consumer. Connected CE and smart devices can leverage the IoT to offer new and innovative functionality, including data analytics and personalization, and create new business opportunities in connected entertainment and smart home solutions.

Parks Associates analysts have identified several key disruptors that will influence multiple sectors of the connected home and IoT in 2016:

Disruptors in the smart home

• Application interoperability standards
• Voice control
• Video analytics
   

Disruptors in home energy management

• Residential rooftop solar
• Residential energy storage
• Smart product adoption
• Data analytics
   

Disruptors for digital health

• Accountable care organizations and risk-sharing contracts with provider groups and insurers
• Wearable sensors providing information to offer more customized experiences
• New support tools and the impact of big data analytics
• Smartphone as a sensor hub and the preferred consumer engagement platform for consumers and care providers
   

Disruptors for the mobility industry

• 5G standard formation and global 5G spectrum allocations
• Voice control in apps as new user interfaces
• Business models that redefine consumer experiences by leveraging the ubiquity and personal nature of the smartphone
• MEMS technologies to further augment smartphone’s “King of Convergence” status
   

Disruptors for the Connected Car

• Tech giants’ infiltration of the dashboard, with the potential to disrupt the auto industry as they have the mobile and music industries
• Changing attitudes towards vehicle ownership and the rise of car sharing
• Increasingly autonomous systems in cars, paving the way for acceptance of fully autonomous vehicles
• Solutions that make dumb cars smart, giving consumers more insight into and control over their vehicle ownership and driving experience
   

Disruptors for pay TV

• Aggregated, cross-service user interfaces for OTT video services
• Hybrid streaming media players with digital antennae
• Linear TV OTT video services from pay-TV providers
• Mobile-oriented online video services
• Increasing percentage of cord nevers 
   

For more information on technology trends, see Parks Associates' research.

Further Reading:

• Consumer Trends for Technology Adoption in the U.S.
• Top 10 Trends – The Outlook for the Connected Home 2016
• Industry leaders reveal trends, disruptors, and opportunities for the smart home and connected entertainment at CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES