CES 2023 Puts Smart Home, Digital Health Tech in Spotlight

CES 2023 is spotlighting smart homes and digital health as concepts like the metaverse languish.

Officially kicking off Thursday, Jan. 5 at its accustomed set of Las Vegas venues, the annual Consumer Electronics Show owned by the Virginia-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is expecting 100,000 in-person attendees this year compared to last year’s hybrid event and the virtual events held during the depths of COVID lockdowns.

Of interest to followers of the connected economy and products that comprise it, smart home advances are central to the event’s program this year as the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) and its members press use cases for the Matter interoperability protocol designed to harmonize smart home products from different manufacturers into a seamless experience.

With smart home leaders including Amazon and Google exhibiting this week, Amazon is bringing its lineup of connected tech, from the Amazon Auto Pavilion and its focus on connected mobility to its family on Ring, Echo, iRobot, and other connected devices.

In a December blog post, Amazon pointed to the ambient smart home push meant to make this tech blend more invisibly into home settings, saying “we’re focused on making the ambient smart home a reality. It’s the smart home that just works, using devices and services from different brands that talk to each other, creating a more useful home for customers. From the beginning, it’s been our goal to make Alexa compatible with as many smart home devices as possible—regardless of the protocols on which they’re built.”

Samsung Electronics got ahead of the CES news rush on Tuesday (Jan. 3) by announcing new additions to its Bespoke Home lineup of connected devices.

Samsung is leading at CES 2023 with its new Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub+ with a 32-inch touchscreen monitor that can play movies, and display photos through its Google Photos integration, as well as the self-monitoring Bespoke AI Oven that sends alerts if food is overcooking.

In a press release, Junhwa Lee, EVP and head of the customer experience team of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “These latest features and products go beyond simply helping users in the kitchen and allow them to truly express themselves through the power of customization for more enjoyable experiences. Furthermore, with the latest kitchen innovations and customizable designs, these new appliances work seamlessly with SmartThings services to provide unmatched convenience and savings at home.”

The CSA released Matter 1.0 in Q3 2022, at which time CSA President and CEO Tobin Richardson called the interoperability system “a major inflection point for the IoT. As we become more connected and break down the walls between the digital and physical world, we need to work together to make those connections meaningful.”

The PYMNTS report 12 Months Of The ConnectedEconomy published in December noted that “By November 2022, 33% of all consumers were likely to be using smart home technologies, and half of all consumers were using at least one. This means that roughly 13 million more consumers nationwide were using such technologies in November 2022 than in November 2021.”

Our data found that 75 million consumers reported using voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Home to automate chores, create shopping lists or make online transactions. In total, we found that 86 million consumers, or roughly one-third of the adult U.S. population, are using different types of smart home technology.

Health Ring In the New Year

Digital health will also be a feature of CES 2023, with health device maker Movano Health preempting the show with its late December announcement of the Evie smart ring, designed specifically to monitor women’s health.

“As a medical device, Evie will go beyond the status quo of other wearables on the market, and we believe it has the power to transform women's lives and overall health,” said Dr. John Mastrototaro, CEO of Movano Health, in a press release. “We are bringing together medical-grade biometric data and insights in a comfortable and contemporary wearable that allows women to take ownership of their unique health journey.”

One keynoter will be Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, whose company is working with automakers including BMW and Dodge on new connected car initiatives, including autonomous control.

In a December pre-show press release, Stellantis noted announcements slated for CES 2023 to include its Peugeot Inception Concept connected cockpit to the Jeep_® Brand 4xe in an electrified variant.