2024 was an important year in the smart home industry with big news, acquisitions, mergers, new innovations and new trends that are sure to shape the industry. The year saw the resurgence of the home theater market, design-led solutions, AI-powered security, new home energy solutions, a renewed emphasis on voice control, a continued rise in lighting advancements and much more. So, with the new year around the corner, CE professional asked industry experts from across the market to look ahead and provide their predictions for the future of the bespoke smart home space in 2025.
In reviewing their responses, several key themes emerged, many of which reflect the continued momentum of emerging technologies and trends we have seen in 2024, including AI, the desire for design-led technology solutions, and the increasing appeal of lighting and shading solutions, among others .
Here's a selection of what industry professionals had to say about their predictions for the new year.
SPencer Heckman, Project Manager, Integral Home Technology
“From our perspective, we believe the custom installation market in 2025 will be dominated by lighting. We have seen a significant increase in customer interest in Lutron, more for the lighting than the blinds, and have installed many Lutron RA3 and HomeWorks panel lights.
“Lutron’s Lumaris tunable LED strip light is also growing in popularity and works seamlessly with HomeWorks and RA. We have installed Lumaris on stairwells, under cabinets, in baseboards, tub ceilings and alcoves to provide a soft and elegant glow.
“The market is flooded with new lighting options, but there are many not-so-good solutions – products that are not easy to use or are excluded from integration with other platforms (especially when it comes to color). With Lutron you have an app that allows you to control not only Lutron branded products but also third party devices to provide the customer with a very well designed experience.
“The quality of light is also critical as homeowners begin to truly understand the impact digitally addressable, controllable lighting and automation can have on their mood, health and lifestyle.
“Of course, in our market here in Tampa, disaster recovery and preparedness have always been important, and will continue to be, with an emphasis on repairing the damage from last year's storms as well as preparing homes with hurricane shields as a whole “Home surge protection, remote access to the home network, water sensors and making sure things like backup generators are properly sized to ensure critical equipment is online in the event the power goes out.”
Michelle Ferlauto, Chief Operating Officer, SoundVision
“AI applications will continue to expand their impact. Tools like Fireflies enable integrators to capture important details during high-level walkthroughs and customer consultations, as well as record voice memos of actual conversations.
“Cybersecurity from an integrator’s back office perspective will continue to be a concern and a major burden in our industry. How many integrators currently have cybersecurity insurance? Let's start there. Protecting customer data is not the priority it should be, and despite the modest 341% increase in phishing and cyberattacks this year, basic firewalls and data protection are still not a widely discussed topic in this industry.
“8K will continue to grow in importance and high-end content servers such as Kaleidescape will see greater demand for premium entertainment experiences as 8K grows and adapts to high-resolution video content.”
“Service membership subscription platforms will continue to grow. Like it or not, it is here to stay and there are many opportunities for integrators to get on the RMR train.”
Michael Don Ham, Co-Founder, President, RePure
“The wellness real estate market has experienced remarkable growth, growing from $225 billion in 2019 to $438 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed $913 billion by 2028 doubled.
“This increase underscores increasing consumer demand for healthier home environments and the critical role of the Custom Integration (CI) channel in meeting this demand. Integrators are uniquely positioned to implement advanced monitoring, control and automation systems that improve indoor air and water quality and provide measurable health benefits.
“Collaboration between architecture, design and integration experts is essential to educate homeowners about the profound impact of their built environment on long-term health. By working together, we can ensure wellness becomes a cornerstone of modern home design while meeting projected industry growth and consumer expectations.
“Integrating wellness solutions into your offering is not just an opportunity, it is becoming a necessity. As the wellness real estate market continues to grow rapidly, integrators that fail to embrace this trend risk falling behind competitors that have already prioritized wellness technologies. The demand for healthier living environments remains and the CI channel must adapt to remain relevant and meet changing consumer expectations.”
Tom Doherty, Director, New Technology Initiatives, HTSA.
“The significant growth in device sales by custom integrators is expected to continue as more companies adopt the category and realize its potential. However, many will quickly learn that success in this field comes with its own challenges.
“Unlike older AV systems, lighting controls or shading installations, selling lighting requires a deeper level of project management expertise. From specifying the correct fixtures and placement to coordinating with trades, resolving construction conflicts and managing lead times, the complexity of this category requires expertise and dedicated staff.
“It’s precisely for this reason that Lightapalooza has continued to emerge as the industry’s premier event, providing the education, training and best practices sharing that integrators need to succeed in this dynamic and challenging category.”
Constantinos Sandoukas, owner, frayed
“What we are seeing more and more are requests for less and less. What I mean by this is that the homeowners in our customer base are all looking for the same thing: simple. The fewer buttons something has and the less you have to think about it, the better. So from a technical point of view, let's structure it in a simplified way.
“What we still see front and center is the Samsung The Frame TV. More than any mirror TV option or anything else. No more local sources is the second aspect that we are seeing much more often than ever before. YouTube TV and Hulu Live are the two leading options we see. I have never seen customers be happier than when they return their cable boxes!
“In addition to eliminating cable, designers also seem to have finally embraced technology thanks to Samsung The Frame TV. They appear in drawings by designers and in prints by architects. So the two biggest and most consistent things we're seeing from 2022 to 2024 are requests for Samsung Frame TVs and not cable boxes. Add in a Sonos Arc, the back panel, and the subwoofer, and people love the lack of a receiver, programmable remote, sources, programming, etc. Simplicity is the focus.
“This is a bigger deal than it seems when you work with high net worth clients and big, big houses. It seems like it should be easier, but creating a reliable, simplified system can be more challenging than using a control platform overlay. There are many things to think about in order to make the system simpler and, so to speak, “dumber”. But customers are willing to take the time to design them so that they ultimately “don’t think” when they use them. Native apps are also a preferred control method for many customers.”
Doug Greenwald, Owner, Creative Sound and Integration & ProjX360
“My perspective is both that of a custom residential integration company and that of project management as the owner of the project management software ProjX360, built by integrators for integrators. The problem that both homeowners and integrators face is an oversupply of apps. Customers want true automation and integration rather than multiple apps that don't communicate with each other. They are more interested in solutions like Crestron Home, which allows them to control lighting, blinds, audio, video, security and HVAC – all from one app.
“Homeowners are becoming savvier and realizing that DIY products and their respective apps are not always the answer to ease of use, especially for larger homes. From a project management perspective, this is good news for the custom home integrator as it is easier to design projects this way. Philosophically, integrators face the same problem as homeowners. To run their businesses effectively, they don't want apps reluctantly holding hands but not actually communicating. They want one software workhouse – like ProjX360 – to replace them all.”
Casey Levy-Tulloch, Director of Business Development, Josh.ai
“AI will expand into every aspect of the smart home experience. From generating configuration recommendations to setting up control systems more efficiently, AI will streamline the commissioning process for professionals and do-it-yourselfers.
“AI will play an increasingly important role in the technical support process for professional installers, acting as a rapid response force for customers. Additionally, manufacturers can monitor systems, flag alerts and protect customer data.
“Once a system is in place, AI will completely transform the user experience with recommended actions and proactive automation. Users will never have to think about the perfect light brightness or color temperature or remember to close their garage door when they get home in the evening; AI ensures that everything is set up perfectly so that customers can live more comfortably.
“Customizing and personalizing programming becomes much easier with AI. A user-friendly feature of the Josh.ai platform is the ability for customers to create automations by simply dictating what they want to happen in natural language.
“While AI will make software interfaces more powerful, remote control will become easier. Remote controls with screens will gradually disappear as customer preferences shift to the AI-powered GUIs of their phones and tablets. The increasing prevalence of streaming will lead users to look for minimalist remote controls with buttons and universal functionality. Push-to-talk voice control, allowing you to navigate TV content and access more devices throughout the home, is becoming a standard feature on modern remote controls.”