Parks Associates Releases Whitepaper Analyzing Key Trends in Smart Home, Security, Connected Health, Consumer Electronics, and OTT

A new whitepaper from Parks Associates reports 40% of US broadband households have trialed at least one OTT video service during the COVID-19 crisis, while one-third of smart home device owners have increased usage of these products. The whitepaper “2021 Consumer Tech Trends to Watch” highlights some of the biggest announcements from CES® 2021 and the technology trends Parks Associates analysts believe will shape 2021.

“CES 2021 saw the traditional TV market leaders like LG, Sony, and Samsung redoubling their efforts to differentiate their sets in the face of extremely aggressive competition,” said Paul Erickson, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “This new competitive environment has forced all CE market leaders to innovate in new ways, with new visual designs and AI features.”

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Major TV manufacturers are looking beyond upgrades in display technology and performance to differentiate from competitors and add value to the experience through services such as cross-platform gaming, exclusive streaming content, and even in-home fitness training. Many product lines are looking to leverage the dramatic spike in OTT usage — subscriptions and viewing hours have increased and subscription rates for OTT services have risen from 71% of all US broadband households to 78% in Q3 2020.

“As audiences remain in lockdown and COVID-19 continues to impact original content production schedules, library content continues to dominate in the streaming wars,” said Steve Nason, Research Director, Parks Associates. “Entertainment companies are looking for strategies to retain these new subscribers and emulate the live entertainment experience at home.”

Parks Associates’ research finds one-third of smart device owners in US broadband households have increased usage of their devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, including 46% of smart door lock owners. With consumers spending more time at home, they are finding more value in smart home and security use cases, driving new product announcements in these categories.

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“Arlo and Alarm.com launched new touchless video doorbells,” said Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Several companies have announced connected air quality measuring and purifying devices that may help reduce transmission of COVID-19. Lockly and BenjiLock also announced new biometric smart locks, continuing the trend from 2020.”

In the connected health space, demand for virtual care solutions, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring has boomed in the wake of COVID-19.

“Seeing the success of TytoCare, companies have moved to launch new all-in-one remote patient monitoring devices into the market,” said Kristen Hanich, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Technology-based patient monitoring overall has been well positioned, with leaders in this space offering new features and capabilities. While RPM has been the main focus, in-patient monitoring promises to amp up ICU capabilities.”

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