Technology

What’s the future for smart tech?

Smart technology is on the rise in homes all around the country, with more than two thirds of Brits thinking that smart technology has improved their standard of life, and 71% believing that all new homes will feature some form of smart technology by 2030.

The team behind Duette.co.uk conducted the research, with more than 2,400 adults taking part, all of whom either rent or own their own home.

Almost one in three households in the UK (31%) now has at least one piece of smart technology, with those aged 18 to 35 the most likely to have smart gadgets (68%), followed by those aged 36 to 45 years old (37%). Those aged 18 to 35 were found to have on average six pieces of smart technology in their home, whereas those aged 36 to 45 years old were found to have on average two pieces.

THE TOP 10

According to Mintel.com here are the top 10 technological innovations of the last decade:

1. 4G LTE connectivity, which brought high-speed data to more powerful smartphones on-the-go. 2. Voice assistants, with predictions being that they will become even more critical as more connected devices reach the market and consumers become more familiar and comfortable using them. 3. Tablet computers; the iPad has essentially redefined the tablet computer category, spawning new competitors from Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft, to name a few. 4. Smartwatches; with the introduction of the Apple Watch in April 2015, the smartwatch is another category that Apple has redefined. Research reveals that one in five of us now owns a smartwatch. 5. Cloud storage; cloud computing and storage has been around for decades, but has historically been used in business. Today, it’s highly accessible, with the options of storing photos, videos and other digital files with a variety of Cloud services such as Apple’s iCloud, Dropbox and Microsoft’s OneDrive. 6. Video streaming devices and smart TVs give us a direct link to a plethora of streaming services from the TV. Apple TV, Roku players, Amazon Fire Sticks and Google’s Chromecast are some of the primary

lifeinmagazines.co.uk When pressed on what smart technology they owned, the most common gadgets were found to be: A smart TV (44%), smart meter (37%), a home hub i.e. Amazon Echo or Google Home (35%), a smart doorbell (18%) and smart plugs (15%). Some 6% of those surveyed confessed that they can control aspects of their home from their smartphone, such as their heating, lighting and blinds.

SCREEN TIME A new study by Mecca has revealed that, on average, Brits only spend 2.4% of the year with family, compared to 10.3% on their phones (equivalent to 900 hours a year).

streaming device manufacturers in the market and have helped empower consumers by offering a more bespoke approach for their media entertainment. 7. Ride share devices; the emergence of ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft has changed how millions of us get around. 8. Wireless headphones – did you know that if Apple’s AirPods were a standalone company, it would still rank in Fortune magazine’s Fortune 500? That’s how successful they’ve been. 9. Smart home security systems; brands like Google Nest, Amazon Ring and SimpliSafe have connected security systems available for consumers to purchase and install. Mintel research shows that 11% of consumers now own a smart security system to monitor doorstep deliveries, check in on pets left at home or a child in a different room remotely via a smartphone. 10. Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS); automatic emergency braking, lane departure warnings and blind-spot detection are recent automotive innovations that utilize LIDAR (light detection and ranging) and radar technologies to help drivers avoid accidents. According to Mintel research on automotive innovations, more than half of car owners have some form of autonomous driver-assistance tech in their vehicles.

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