Jordan O'BrienGartner predicts that the Internet of Things will explode to include over 26 billion devices by 2020, but according to one researcher – a company not known for any smart home technology is leading the brand awareness campaign.
Smart home products from typical installation companies did not even get a mention – with leading consumer brands instead being given all the glory.
Despite not having shipped a single IoT product, other than the a platform dubbed HomeKit, Apple is supposedly the leading IoT brand, according to the research done by IoT and Machine to Machine solutions provider, Throughtek.
Of the 1,157 consumers surveyed, Apple topped the charts by 48% – beating out Google, Amazon and Samsung.
Earlier research by Throughtek suggested that a third of consumers believed a connected home will become common place within the next year, while 60% agreed that it will be within the next five years.
The problem many consumers have with the IoT is down to both costs and security, with 88% of those surveyed unwilling to pay more than £160 for a connected device.
Saving money was one thing that could tempt consumers into buying connected devices however – with 32% of 18-34 year olds interested in products like Nest.
What’s even more bizarre about this research is the fact that Google did not eclipse Apple’s brand recognition – after all it spent £2 billion on acquiring Nest Labs.
So why did consumers choose Apple? Well, it may be down to a lack of understanding about the industry – many cited the Apple Watch as an IoT device, rather than a device for interfacing with IoT devices.
Users did recognise other IoT devices, however, with some namedropping Amazon’s Echo and the Nest Learning Thermostat.