Insteon shuts down servers, company
Home automation company Insteon quietly shut down last week without warning customers, leaving users with broken smart home set ups and lots of questions. Most of the company’s connected offerings (which include lighting and related accessories) were rendered inoperable via the Insteon app and essentially bricked. Reportedly, some of the company’s switches can work for simple on/off functionality, but the vast majority of Insteon devices have been rendered inoperable. Insteon executives seem to have gone dark as well with several scrubbing the company’s name from their LinkedIn profiles.
The NPD Take:
- Though Insteon was a smaller home automation company with approximately 1.3 million users, this is an example of the challenges users face in adopting smart home products. Consumers own the devices they bring into their homes, but the functionality and ability to operate is ultimately controlled by the technology provider. Without access to a provider’s servers (or reliable Internet access) these products lose their core functionality.
Wyze adds a smart lock
Home automation company Wyze recently announced the Wyze Lock Bolt - a smart lock for your front door that lacks an Internet connection in favor of Bluetooth 5.0. The device replaces the traditional deadbolt lock, adds a keypad, and can reportedly unlock a door in under a second using the included fingerprint reader (the Wyze mobile app can also open the door using the Bluetooth connection from up to 16 feet away). At just $69, the device is priced in line with the rest of Wyze’s low cost offerings. Wyze’s original smart lock (the Wyze Lock) uses Zigbee and Wi-Fi for connectivity; the Wyze Lock Bolt trades features for price, making it a viable option for cost conscious consumers.
The NPD Take:
- Wyze has been successful in challenging home automation market leaders by introducing lower cost products to the market. While this has led to increased market share in security cameras over the last year, Wyze has less brand recognition in smart locks and recent news around the company failing to disclose a known security vulnerability could hurt its position in the home security and monitoring market.
- Over the last 12 months, smart lock sales have grown 14% and Wyze has doubled sales in the category.