The neglected smart home is about to enter the "tipping point"

"Smart home" and hot! Many of the brands at CES in 2014 invariably chose the same focus: "Smart home". Samsung has unveiled smart home smart home Platform, LG Display Intelligent Household Management system HomeChat, Haier has also demonstrated sm@rt home intelligent family platform, Changhong's home smart Internet products have even won the CES "smart Home Appliances Application Innovation Award." Plus Google announced a hefty purchase of smart thermostat start-up company Nest. Time Smart Home The concept of the Internet of Things has been in vogue for a few years. If said before only the concept of hype, then the smart home will begin to really come near the public. With these years of sensors and other things networking parts, network applications, smartphone development, and the beginning of the operation of the 4G Network Foundation, smart home industry will usher in a "tipping point." Three polar forces competing for "smart home" in this time of the smart home boom emerged the power of three-pole competition: Traditional home appliances manufacturers, traditional internet companies, emerging internet hardware equipment innovation companies, they enter the field of intelligent home with their own entry point, in each other's development competition will detonate the advent of intelligent home era. Traditional home appliance Manufacturers: Subject to the growth of the traditional home appliances in the field of weakness, a large number of traditional home appliances manufacturers are seeking to break the traditional business. In the "Internet thinking" prevalent today, the traditional household appliances enterprises have a strong sense of crisis, have embraced the Internet initiative to change, hoping through the intelligent transformation of their products to promote strategic upgrading. However, it is undeniable that the traditional appliance enterprises are still stronger than the large-scale industrial production, and its understanding of the Internet and user-oriented understand still need to improve. From this CES, the traditional home appliances manufacturers to launch a smart home strategy can be seen: they have chosen to build a comprehensive solution to their own products, intends to integrate their products through the Internet all integrated into the system. The strategy of the high-level, highly-held, fully unified standard is itself the continuation of the traditional product-oriented thinking. They hope to build a unified set of standards, they can guide and meet consumer demand for smart home, and try to occupy the industry leader. However, smart home has a strong application of the scene, such as home appliances and people, and environmental interaction, in these scenes need in-depth understanding and accumulation, in order to create consumers really need smart home products. In the absence of consumer real needs of the scene to understand the basis of the urgent introduction of the integration program, will be difficult to hit the consumer real "pain point", so the creation of more intelligent products and functions, for consumers may only be chicken ribs. Traditional Internet companies: At present, internet companies in the field of smart home does not seem to have much real action. Only Google's takeover of Nest has allowed people to pry into the internet giant's ambitions in the smart home world. The legendary Apple ITV, Tencent micro-letter control smart home appliances and other sporadic involvement, many internet companies do not seem to be aware ofTo the advent of intelligent home age. It is based on the rapid development of Internet infrastructure, especially the development of mobile Internet, only to realize the possibility of intelligent home. In the Internet, the traditional Internet companies undoubtedly have a natural advantage. They are adept at continuously optimizing the service experience from the user experience, through the accumulation of large data and cloud computing. Therefore, the interactive experience of intelligent home has advantages. On the other hand, the traditional Internet companies lack of hardware product manufacturing experience, such as Aliyun mobile phones, Baidu hand ring, the grand Brocade book and other Internet enterprises to launch hardware products have failed. The popularization of intelligent home is inseparable from the production of a large number of intelligent equipment, which will be the traditional Internet enterprises facing the short board. Smart home is "soft and hard" both industry, traditional home appliances manufacturers stronger than "hard" and neglect "soft", on the contrary, traditional internet companies stronger than "soft" and neglect "hard". It is in the smart home this mutual lack of market gap, a large number of innovative companies to see the opportunity, both at home and abroad have been born a lot of commitment to "soft and hard combination" of the Internet hardware Innovation company. Nest is one of the famous representatives. Emerging Internet hardware Innovation companies: Thanks to the development of the Internet and smartphones, as well as the cost reduction of various sensors, the cost and threshold of startups in the smart home sector has been greatly reduced. A large number of emerging Internet hardware innovation companies have emerged in recent years. For example: Nest intelligent Thermostat, Boardlink intelligent sockets and remote control, Ikair Intelligent Environment Monitor. Millet has also launched intelligent WiFi, the next step is also intended to dabble in the smart home field. These companies have a more grounded strategy. They from the real life of small and medium-sized single demand, design a simple but good enough for a single product smart home products to fully meet this small demand. These innovative companies have opted to move from a single smart product to a breakthrough, and then gradually expand to other products based on reality. Strategic more flexible and feasible, step-by-step launch of the product line will also win the trust of consumers. And they have more "internet thinking", cooked in the fan marketing, often in the product is not listed on the very high attention, accumulated a large number of fans. However, because it is a new innovative company, its size and financial strength can not be compared with the former two major traditional enterprises. It is difficult for a single company to grow and develop. Perhaps such as Nest by the Google takeover case is this kind of innovation enterprise better destination. Intelligent home "critical point" comes to the smart home again hot, let people see its popularity prospects. In the author's opinion, the smart home will be in the following two processes of the development of the popular "tipping point": Smart Home 1.0 Stage: The current household appliances to connect to the Internet at present, a large number of traditional household appliances inventory determines the smart home is difficult to quickly popularize. The replacement of products is a gradual process. The consumer's home is not likely to quickly appear to replace the smart home trend. This also determines the current stage of the traditional home appliance enterprises proposed by the integration of the solution lacks the power of market popularization. Therefore, the author is not optimistic about the current traditional appliance enterprisesThis smart home is hot. Correspondingly, the new innovation Company's single product strategy is more realistic, consumers are also more likely to lower costs to the existing common electrical appliances Network intelligent control, and experience a number of practical single product intelligent products. As a result, emerging innovation companies will be smart Home 1.0 phase of the protagonist, they will play the role of intelligent home preachers, people will bring people intelligent home era. This stage will be a period of blooming and intense competition. All kinds of products and standards are expanding their popularity through competition. Of course, in the 1.0 era of competition, the three Poles have the possibility of winning, emerging innovative companies to quickly launch and expand their smart products, internet companies to use their large data and cloud computing advantages, relying on existing mobile platforms, such as micro-letter, to the industry standards; The traditional household appliance enterprise is not like now throws out the big concept of the intelligent home, but the transformation own single product, lets it be more intelligent and so on. Finally, some companies that win through market competition will form the de facto standard of the industry. When the smart home industry tends to standardize the standardization of the industry is the large-scale popularization of the "critical point" when it comes. Smart Home 2.0 Stage: The real intelligent human-computer interaction in the competition "critical point" approaching, but also smart home into the 2.0 era of the beginning, because the market has formed a more uniform industry standards, all kinds of enterprises will be the focus of competition to smart home products more "intelligent" attention. In fact, Nest already has the initial intelligent "learning" ability. In the 2.0 era, smart home will truly become "intelligent", they can actively sense the family environment, active learning master habits, and make the most appropriate home environment control, they will become home of the "brain." The interaction between people and home will become more intelligent and easy, and the current remote control may be replaced by more direct interaction, such as voice and gesture control. This stage more understand consumer home demand, more understanding of home situation environment enterprises, more than "soft and hard" both enterprises will become winners. Consumers will also be truly aware of the smart home to the daily life of profound changes, home life will become a real smart home beautiful!