The History of the Smart Home, Part 3: The Battle of the Brands

3D printing, multifunctional rockets, Bitcoin, mobile operating systems, and more. The 21st century is ripe for major discoveries across various fields. The smart home is no exception. As one of the most dynamic markets, major brands are competing for its imaginary throne. It’s safe to say we’re living in the golden age of the smart home—

from ultra-smart refrigerators to smart outlets. Nearly half of all millennials have smart devices in their homes. Today’s major players—such as Google, Amazon, LG, Microsoft, and others—are striving to create the widest possible range of individual devices. All with the goal of saving money and time and making life easier for the average consumer. 

 

Microsoft’s presentation of its smart home vision was just a prelude to what was to come. The new millennium hadn’t even really gotten underway yet, and already the first true smart devices were beginning to appear. In 2000, it was a premium refrigerator from LG. It was equipped with a display that showed the outside temperature, the freshness of individual foods, recipes, and much more. It could even play music and identify groceries you’d purchased. 

In 2010, NEST was founded by a group of former Apple engineers. They connected a thermostat to Wi-Fi, and a year later, a smoke detector with security cameras. In doing so, they laid the foundation for the first comprehensive systems designed to control smart homes. NEST was acquired by Google in 2014, giving rise to the now-well-known Google NEST brand. 

The development of smart voice assistants has brought the smart home even closer to the lives of everyday consumers. Apple’s Siri kicked off this revolution on April 14, 2011. It was the first truly modern version of a voice assistant. Things moved quickly from there. Google Now arrived in 2012, followed a year later by Microsoft’s Cortana, and the popular Alexa saw the light of day in 2014. 

From smart lights to security cameras. Major brands are competing to see who can create smarter devices that make our daily lives easier. Today, we can already set up a household using only these products. The problem arises when we choose devices from different manufacturers. How do we then get them to communicate with each other?

The answer, once again, lies in ZigBee technology. All the major players are using it today—and what’s more? They’re even contributing to its development. This year, Amazon, Apple, and Google have found common ground and are preparing to join the ZigBee Alliance, which has been connecting other manufacturers for many years. The goal is to support one another in developing smart home solutions.