Last week, Reuters confirmed what I've long speculated: That Amazon is looking to get into the smart home in a big way.
Of course, while much of the speculation before and since has been about the how, what and when, I think what may be the most interesting to think about with any Amazon smart home push is the why.
The Smart Home 'Shopping Network'
As with everything Amazon does with hardware, the why usually starts with the company's core mission: to be the world's biggest commerce company.
If anyone has doubts about Amazon's intentions, read this key excerpt from the Reuters piece:
Amazon is testing a simple wi-fi device that could be placed in the kitchen or a closet, allowing customers to order products like detergent by pressing a button, one of the people said. Lab126 is also interested in wearable devices, the other person said. Both sources stressed that such devices may never come to market.
Buttons in closets. Sensors in refrigerators. Basically what Amazon is looking to do is place account-integrated "order now" sensors around the house.
In other words, they want to create a whole-home, smart home "shopping network".
This may sound a little far-fetched, but in some ways the company's already on their way. Consider the Amazon Dash, a food scanner which the company debuted earlier in the year. While the technology seems neat and is positioned as a shopping 'assistant', in reality it's a consumables-order engine that scans barcodes, adds to your shopping list and ties directly to your Amazon Fresh account.
Amazon's Dash technology could be put all over an Amazon-centric "smart home"
Imagine that type of technology around the house. Now it goes without saying, most consumers wouldn't pay for a house-wide "shopping scanner" system, meaning Amazon will need to innovate here to create real consumer demand for their hardware, which could prove problematic given their so-so record on the hardware front. Outside of the original Kindle e-readers, Amazon has hardly been seen as an innovator in hardware and any real market penetration can be attributed to a combination of blunt force promotion on their site and strong incentivization with ties to its Amazon Prime program.
But maybe their lackluster track record in hardware will change. After all, Reuters says the company is looking to boost hiring in its hardware division to nearly four thousand by 2019, a significant headcount increase in a market that has served as the epicenter of the connected consumer device revolution over the past decade in Northern California.
No matter what, any plans Amazon has here will need many years to play out. The smart home is only just reaching mainstream, as consumers are starting to notice products like smart locks, thermostats and connected cameras. Bigger, more complex visions are only just that, and complex commerce plays utilizing technology are based on business models that have yet to prove out.
But given this is the company talking about delivering packages with drones, I wouldn't put it past Bezos and company to try and figure it out.
Michael Wolf is a smart home analyst for NextMarket. Follow him @michaelwolf, read his smart home newsletter or listen to him on the Smart Home Show.
