The 20th annual CONNECTIONS Summit at CES, hosted by Parks Associates, featured panel discussions that examined the most impactful dynamics shaping the connected home, including AI advancements, the shifting home security market, new approaches to home energy management, the expansion of the multifamily market, and more.

Key Highlights

• The 20th annual CONNECTIONS Summit at CES painted a clear picture of where the smart home is heading: agentic AI is moving from novelty to foundational infrastructure, with platforms competing on how effectively they reduce false alerts, explain system behavior, and automate daily routines — with premium AI features increasingly locked behind subscription tiers.
• Two converging trends are reshaping the security hardware landscape: sensor fusion is turning cameras into proactive "super sensors" that combine radar, environmental, and motion data for richer situational awareness, while Matter interoperability is eliminating the closed-ecosystem silos that have frustrated installers and consumers alike.
• The business model stakes are rising — subscription strategies are shifting toward tiered value clarity, and ultra-low-power edge-AI silicon is enabling always-on, privacy-preserving local processing that reduces cloud dependence, extends battery life, and sets a new baseline for what consumers expect from connected devices.

From the article, "The Smart Money: 5 CES Smart Home Takeaways" by Daniel Holcomb