![Santa’s Wish List for Smart Assistants in 2021 [1Home]](/blog/content/images/2020/12/Santaswishlistoverlay.png)
We have been closely monitoring and working with smart assistants as well as integrating them into KNX and Loxone smart homes since the beginning of 1Home (then Voxior). This was back in the year 2016 and a lot has happened in the smart assistant ecosystem since then.
History of smart assistants: Siri, Alexa & Google
Back then the smart assistants as we know today were still in their early, primitive stage, enabling users to leverage voice recognition and AI in a practical way for making phone calls, checking the weather or setting up the alarm. This has set the stage for a wide array of smart home products that you can now control with your voice.
The three biggest smart assistants: Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are still leading the way today and becoming a fundamental part of every smart home. Their story began on October 4th when Apple Siri was introduced as a feature of the iPhone 4S. Then in November 2014 Amazon announced Amazon Alexa assistant together with their Echo smart speaker and Google followed in May 2016 with their Google Assistant and Google Home speaker.
1Home
Our work includes integrating bus-based smart homes with up to 200 smart devices and adding smart assistants into the equation. All the devices meaning all lights, blinds, heating, cooling, air conditioning, wall switches and smart assistant are bound into a centralised system. Due to its centralisation the user can enjoy an automated smart home that makes their life easier and more enjoyable. Minor daily tasks can easily be automated so your home can do them for you, such turning the light on when you arrive and off when you leave.
Our main task was to simplify the process up to a point where every user can install it themselves and connect a smart assistant, no installer’s help or technical knowledge needed. Simplicity is just one of our selling points, see others and how we compare with our competitors in the field HERE.
This means that any Loxone, KNX or Gira smart home owner can integrate Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa or Google Home smart platforms into their home.
This integration brings you:
🗣 Voice control
💡 Integration of wireless systems (IKEA Trådfri, Philips Hue, Sonos, …)
📍 Geofencing
⚙️ Custom automations
📲 Visualisation
We have noticed that each assistant works quite differently and brings several benefits to the table. We have written more about it HERE. We are tech innovators ourselves who follow smart home development and trends and innovate constantly ourselves.
Now it’s the time to explain the features we miss and would love to have in 2021 for each smart assistant platform. There are a couple of missing features or strange product updates that have been bugging us for years, so we have decided to write them down in the form of a Santa’s wish list.