August debuts new smart locks and a new 'video doorbell'

dont purchase smart home devices

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Smart home device manufacturer August has introduced a pair of new smart lock products along with a video doorbell, reports Engadget.

These new devices offer iterative improvements on August’s existing product line, building on already-established features and adding some new capabilities as well in another indication of the general maturation of the smart home market.

August’s new locks are the higher-end Smart Lock Pro and the mid-level Smart Lock. Both allow a homeowner to use their existing keys in a connected lock that they can also unlock with their phone. The Pro model also offers a wide variety of connectivity options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Z-Wave, and can be controlled using a number of voice assistants — though they only allow locking, not unlocking, due to potential security risks. And both devices have a new sensor that allows the homeowner to remotely check whether their door closed behind them or not, displaying if the deadbolt did not engage.

These new devices build on August’s existing products and offer marginal improvements that are aimed more at winning new customers than prompting existing users to upgrade. Smart home devices offer a clear value to customers, who must weigh that potential utility against the higher cost of a smart device compared to a traditional version. Smart home devices will likely start winning converts in larger numbers when they can offer consumers more automation, which August’s Pro lock is starting to do (it unlocks automatically when the user gets home). But to get access to this, a consumer has to buy a $279 smart lock — and price is the most cited reason why consumers don’t buy smart home devices. Until these premium features are available on more affordable devices, adoption will remain limited.

The US smart home market has still yet to meet the expectations many observers had in the early part of this decade.

The same issues BI Intelligence first identified back in 2015 still plague the space — persistently high prices, technological fragmentation, and consumers' lack of a perceived benefit from the devices.

But the newfound popularity of smart home voice control has revolutionized smart home ecosystems across the country, and convinces more consumers to equip their homes with smart devices on a daily basis. The Amazon Echo, released in 2014, has become immensely popular and capable, awakening users to the utility of both voice control and smart home devices. This has prompted companies to rush to release competing devices and integrate voice control into their smart home ecosystems.

Nicholas Shields, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on the US smart home market that:

Analyzes current consumer demand for smart home devices based off results from BI Intelligence's proprietary survey.
Forecasts future growth in the number of smart home devices installed in American homes.
Analyzes the factors influencing the proliferation of voice control devices in the homes.
Identifies and analyzes the market strategies of various companies that have integrated voice control into their smart home ecosystems.

To get the full report, subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

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