• Video analytics has had a profound impact on consumer DIY security cameras. Moreover, video analytics comes with the security cameras, either as a free feature or add-on via a monthly subscription. With video analytics, users are notified less often of moving trees or plants and more about things that matter, such as package or people identification.
• Battery-operated cameras have also changed the smart home and consumer security camera market. With battery-operated cameras, users can install cameras far from mains power. In addition, brands have started introducing ultra-long battery life with these cameras, claiming 12 months of use between replacement.
• Radar-based security straddles the line between high benefit/small change (high impact) and big benefit/big change (slow burn). This is because radar-based systems can be easy to install and have many valuable uses, but consumers will need to understand the potential privacy concerns with a device that can create a 3D map of a home.
• DIY security, audio analytics, video doorbells, and smart door locks are all considered “slow burn” because each are valuable but require more effort and understanding. For example, DIY security has taken business from professional alarm companies but requires a lot more work by the consumer, from replacing batteries to troubleshooting. Nonetheless, the benefit here is a huge annual cost savings for consumers, hence a tradeoff. Audio analytics is a relatively new trend that has enormous promise. Alexa Guard started this off by offering smoke alarm and breaking glass detection, effectively ending the market for smart smoke detectors. Perhaps the change for consumers is trusting the technology. Both smart locks and video doorbells require more work to install and set up relative to other smart home devices, despite the efforts of August and battery-operated doorbells from the likes of Ring and Nest. Nonetheless, these devices listed under big change/big benefit transcend individual smart home silos. For example, smart door locks can allow in-home package delivery or alert users when a family member arrives home. Video doorbells provide video surveillance without the overbearing nature of indoor security cameras.
• Facial recognition is toward the center of the chart because it can provide a big benefit to consumers, but the accuracy and legal disputes vary greatly by country and even municipality.
• Connected garage door operators are mostly single-use devices but are valuable because in the US, the garage door is often the most widely used entry point into the home. Brands such as Chamberlain have even gone a step further and embedded cameras into the operator.
• 4K security cameras were once highly sought after but have fallen from brands’ strategies over the past 24 months. In-home delivery remains a niche offering; for some consumers, it can have big benefit, although the change is also big.
