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IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

February 01, 2024

home automation

The Boston Globe

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

Report: Connected Home Consumers Want Data Security Support

Several recent studies have shown that security and privacy are top of mind for consumers considering Internet of Things devices for their homes. Parks Associates back in October noted around 40 pe...

SmartThings Bundling Hubs In Effort To Play Up Smart Home Use Cases, Not Products

The independent home automation hub is fading as a means to a do-it-yourself smart home purchase, Robert Parker, SmartThings senior vice president-engineering, told us after his keynote at the Parks’...

On-Demand Tech Support Companies HelloTech, Geekatoo Announce Merger

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Where’s the antenna support on streaming-TV boxes?

Antenna use is on the rise. According to Parks Associates, 15 percent of U.S. homes with broadband service used an antenna instead of traditional pay TV service in Q3 2016, up from around 10 percent a...

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