How Amazon Dominated CES Without Even Showing Up

Every January the world focuses its attention on the exhibition halls of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The event traditionally forecasts what we can expect from the tech industry over the next 12 months. This year, Amazon’s Alexa-powered products dominated the show.

A Smart Home Mainstay

Amazon had no official presence at CES, yet a number of manufacturers promoted new and innovative products integrated to Amazon’s Echo and Alexa, above and beyond Apple’s Home Kit and both Google and Microsoft’s smart home technology, respectively.

In the past, Apple and Google experienced royal treatment at CES. The change this year marks a significant shift in the landscape. That is, the tech industry and—more importantly—the people creating the products of tomorrow, are turning to the Amazon platform for innovation and business.

Pretty soon Alexa will allow you to control an array of technologies, such as refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, and even vacuums. As more home appliances and items have chips embedded into them, the range of products under voice-control will increase exponentially.

For now, you can use voice-controlled technology to manage your home, check the news, play music, watch movies, keep track of purchases, and perform basic domestic tasks. These functions are simple, and commonplace. And yet, for many people, the artificiality of speaking with a machine is unsettling, and a deterrent.

After this year’s CES, it is clear that Alexa has done away with much of the skepticism surrounding smart home technology, to the benefit of all smart home providers. Despite this, some tech behemoths have been slow to catch up: Apple, for one. But perhaps Apple is rightly cautious.

Cybersecurity and Safety

For the last few years, and this year especially, we’ve been bombarded by news regarding cyber-intrusions, hacking, and security breaches at the highest levels of government and industry. Now Amazon and the like are inciting us to digitalize our most intimate space, making even more of our lives available to unwelcome visitors.

And there are more material concerns beyond data. For example, could someone hack a smart toaster and overload it to start a fire? Or equally, could a burglar monitor your home presence to plan the perfect moment to strike via cameras or mics?

Although these scenarios might appear dramatic, they aren’t impossible. To preclude such unfortunate events, we need adequate security. I don't see enough pundits having these conversations.

We can’t stop this technology. It’s here. All we can do is influence how it connects to our homes, how it exposes users, and the scope of its presence. To do this, we need talk about protection and safety in concrete terms.

In Sum

CNET tallied the products on display at this year’s CES, subsumed under different categories. In the smart home products category, the results overwhelmingly showed Amazon Alexa dominating, with 33 enabled products. Apple HomeKit/Siri trailed behind with 18 products. And Google Assistant/Home with five.

Early results suggest that Amazon is leading the charge on smart home technology. More broadly, the results show that voice-controlled, screenless tech is penetrating the market fast. Very fast. That’s why we should be vigilant about security as more devices connect us and our homes to the Internet.

Did you attend this year's CES? What was the takeaway in your opinion?

Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.