Smart Home Trends from the Consumer Electronics Show 2019

CES is the holy grail of gizmos, each year allowing us to peek just a little further into the future. So what does tomorrow hold for the everyday homeowner? The possibilities are endless as oodles of tools and gobs of gadgets are soon on their way to a home near you!

So, how cool is a touch-screen bathroom mirror that checks the weather and displays the local traffic report while you brush your teeth? Maybe not the worst thing ever but still disappointing… did your mirror uncover a new pimple first thing this morning? That same mirror can magically summon a YouTube video on the best home remedies for acne. Who doesn’t talk to their mirror! Now it will respond with its inbred Google Assistant. (yes, that is as creepy as it sounds)

Robot vacuums have been around for awhile now but the newest versions have ventured into the realm of artificial intelligence. A new AI enabled smart vac can identify small objects that it shouldn’t devour like socks and computer cables, making it possible that you don’t need to clean before you clean- a priceless advancement.

And speaking of priceless, the thing I’ll be keeping an eye out for is a nifty little window cleaning robot that can detect gaps and potential collisions, and determine the shape of the window for a sparkling finish.

The Ring company truly has something for everyone. Their wireless peephole camera can be installed in any home. Homeowners can pop it right into an existing peephole, and there’s no need to worry about messing with wiring if you live in a rental. In addition, it streams to your phone and allows you to converse with visitors.

All this gear and the devices below are nearly ready for prime-time and I for one, am already watching to discover what’s next.

CES 2019: Smart Home Trends to Look for This Year

By Jameson Doris

Smart home devices were king at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. From Google Assistant and smart kitchen displays to smart toilets and voice-lighted bathroom mirrors, there was plenty for the more than 180,000 CES attendees to ogle at.

Here are some of the top smart home products to look for in 2019:

Lenovo Smart Clock — $80
At less than $100, the main draw of this smart display is that it’s one of the least expensive on the market; however, like many of its larger and more expensive counterparts, the Lenova Smart Clock features Google Assistant integration. This clock allows users to set alarms, play music and control other smart home devices without ever having to leave bed.

KitchenAid Smart Display — $200-300 (projected)
There was no shortage of smart home kitchen products this year at CES, but one that really stuck out was KitchenAid’s Smart Display. The product features Google Assistant, as well as Yummly Pro, a new premium service from the Yummly app which offers users step-by-step cooking tutorials from well-known chefs. And the display is durable; it received an IPX-5 water resistance rating, which essentially means that you can safely clean it off under running water.

C by GE Lighting Products — Varies ($24.99 for a 2-pack of A19 bulbs)
It appears that Philips Hue finally has some competition. With an expansive product lineup—three smart bulbs, five smart light switches, a smart power outlet (for lamps) and a smart motion detector—C by GE Lighting offers competitive pricing on many equivalent products offered by Philips. Additionally, the GE kit is compatible with the three major smart home voice assistants, Alexa, Siri and—you guessed it—Google Assistant.

Google Assistant Interpreter Mode
If smart home products were king at CES this year, Google was king of smart home products. The company introduced another Google Assistant feature at this year’s event: Interpreter mode. Currently being tested in hotels around the world at concierge desks, the feature allows for any Google Smart Display to act as a translation tool, allowing two individuals who don’t speak the same language to have a conversation. Both showing the conversation on the screen and speaking it in real-time, Interpreter mode currently features 27 different languages.

Smart tech has made great strides in the past few years and, in 2018, smart speaker sales boomed. One thing’s for sure: 2019 will see many exciting smart products brought to the market.

This appeared first on RISMedia’s Housecall. Jameson Doris is RISMedia’s blog and social media editor. Email him your real estate blog ideas at jdoris@rismedia.com. Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2019. All rights reserved.