Report: Centralised hubs in demand in smart homes
June 17, 2025
Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of consumers with smart homes agree that having smart devices has vastly improved their quality of life, according to the State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Subscriptions 2025 report from Horowitz. Another 60 per cent of smart device owners look forward to adding even more smart devices in the near future. In addition, having smart devices has allowed more than half (53 per cent) of smart homes to save money in the long run.
The report also reveals that Alexa is the top platform being used to control smart devices, particularly among older consumers (ages 50+), followed by Apple (Siri, Find My and HomePod), which is more appealing to younger consumers (ages 18-34). Google and Samsung are the more popular choices among 35-49 year-olds, compared to their counterparts.
However, the proliferation of smart home devices is creating pain points for consumers. Most notably, 70 per cent consumers with two or more smart home devices say they would much rather control all their devices from one centralised hub instead of having to use multiple platforms/apps. Smart home consumers also report privacy concerns (56 per cent) and feel overwhelmed by the choices of smart technology available nowadays (43 per cent).
“With so many brands entering the space, there is lack of consistency as far as the apps, platforms, and processes to connect and control smart home devices. How this is playing out in consumers’ homes is that the consumer has to install multiple apps to manage all their devices unless they channel it all through digital assistants like Alexa, Google Nest, or Samsung’s SmartThings,” commented Adriana Waterston, Executive Vice President and Insights & Strategy Lead for Horowitz Research, a division of M/A/R/C Research. “Further, as of yet, there is no one-step solution to install multiple smart devices or reset them all at once if they get disconnected. As this space evolves, we anticipate consumers will gravitate towards those smart device brands and platforms that help simplify, rather than complicate, smart home management.”
The survey was conducted in January-February 2025 among 2,200 consumers 18+ who are decision makers about subscription services in their home.
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