The connected home is still growing, but the nature of that growth has changed. Parks Associates research shows that US internet households now average 17.8 connected devices, up only slightly from recent years. That is still a large installed base, but the pace of growth signals a market that has moved beyond broad first-time adoption.
For much of the past decade, growth came from consumers adding new categories to the home. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, streaming media players, smart speakers, earbuds, and smartwatches all moved into mainstream ownership. Today, many of those categories are mature. Consumers already own the core devices that connect them to content, communication, work, entertainment, and household services.
That does not mean demand is weak. It means demand is changing.
The market is increasingly driven by replacement cycles, upgrades, and selective add-ons. Smart TVs continue to grow as older sets are replaced, while smartphones remain elevated compared to the 2022-2024 purchase baseline. At the same time, purchase intentions are softening across several categories, suggesting consumers are becoming more selective about when and why they upgrade.
This matters for manufacturers, platforms, and service providers. The next wave of growth will not come from simply putting more connected products in the home. It will come from giving consumers a stronger reason to refresh. Better performance, stronger bundles, AI-enabled experiences, security, energy savings, and easier whole-home control will matter more than device specifications alone.
The most important takeaway is that the connected home is no longer just a hardware story. CE devices remain the backbone of the connected household, but future growth depends on how well those devices work together. Consumers will respond to products that reduce friction, simplify routines, and create visible everyday value.
The companies that succeed in this next phase will not be the ones that push the most devices. They will be the ones that make the connected home feel more useful, more coordinated, and easier to manage.
Data referenced from Parks Associates, Tech Ecosystem Dashboard, Q1 2026
The Tech Ecosystem Dashboard helps companies see which devices are becoming control points, which categories are slowing, where replacement cycles are creating opportunity, and which brands are building stronger ecosystem loyalty. For device makers, service providers, platforms, retailers, utilities, insurers, and home service companies, these insights help identify where to compete, where to partner, and where consumers need a better experience.
Consumer Insights Dashboards present survey-based consumer research that tracks movement of foundational market metrics, such as product or service adoption, household spending intentions, churn, and key tracking metrics on leading industry players.
Parks Associates surveys 8,000 U.S internet households every quarter, with additional surveys fielded throughout the year. The households surveyed represent the national demographics for US internet households, 91% of all US households.
