BOSTON, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Speculation that Apple will kick off a major smart home initiative this year came to an end with the announcement of HomeKit – Apple's attempt to unify disparate control protocols under its umbrella. 2014 has already seen a number of major brands including Google and Samsung enter the smart home market following an extremely active year in 2013 including the entry of AT&T, Amazon and Staples in the US, and Belgacom, Deutsche Telekom, Gigaset and Orange in Europe. The global smart home market will reach $100 billion in total revenues by 2018 according to Strategy Analytics' Smart Home Strategies (SHS) advisory service forecast "Smart Home Systems and Services Forecast: Global Total." The US will remain the largest regional market over the forecast period with Western Europe and China catching up quickly.
Click here for the report: http://bit.ly/1ue4QI7
"The entry of big brands over the past couple of years coupled with Apple's HomeKit initiative builds awareness for the capabilities smart home solutions offer consumers," commented Bill Ablondi, Director, Smart Home Strategies advisory service and developer of the forecast. "There are a lot of questions to be answered about HomeKit and its implications, but one thing is for sure Apple, and its partners which include Chamberlain, Honeywell, Philips and Schlage will help establish credibility of the overall market opportunity. This is no longer a market waiting to happen; it's happening now."
The forecast details the breakdown of the global smart home market opportunity by major application as well as by major device category and services. Detailed forecasts are available for China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and US.
