Smart homes set to become mainstream like smart TVs, but is adoption still limited to the premium class? Samsung leaders weigh in

What happens when a consumer discovers that they needn’t switch on the AC themselves, but the AI will sense their arrival and turn it on automatically—better still, cooling the home even before they enter? Such shifts alter habits, and habits, in turn, shape consumption patterns.

Today, India has a growing smart home market, expanding at around 7.8% CAGR, according to Statista. It is to feed this growing appetite that Samsung unveiled its AI Home on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Ridhi Chugh, general manager–consumer experience, SIEL, and Ghufran Alam, vice president–digital appliances business, SIEL, share their expectations for the country’s smart home market in the coming years.

For Chugh, the growing demand for smart home appliances resembles the shift to connected TVs seen over the last decade. Smart TV penetration in the Indian market has leapt in the past 10 years, with market penetration reaching as high as 80% this year.

“[AI Home] is going to be the same as what happened to the TV industry in 2010, where all non-smart TVs converted to smart TVs. Now it is the time for home appliances. And when they come together with this platform, with AI home, it can do wonders to give you an easy daily life. Currently, smart home appliances make up 75% of the lineup. Next year, it will be full,” says Chugh.

Alam shares that this is already evident with the fact that Samsung has over 25 million users for SmartThings as of September. This figure has risen twofold in just two years. The user base for this platform has grown by 30% year-on-year. 

“Active users are growing by 30%, which means those who have a device on the platform are growing 30% active. Active users mean those who are using the platform for at least 20 days in a month. This means they are finding real use cases, everyday use cases for which they are hooked to the platform. And in the next two years, because we have got the new line-up, which is now smart, which has Wi-Fi, and anything that has Wi-Fi can connect to this platform,” Chugh explains.

For now, the demand for such smart home appliances is coming from metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, with mostly young users between 20-30 years who are better versed in tech than other age groups. These smart home appliances are eventually set to become a part of the AI Home interface.

While Alam expects the demand to come from both Tier II and III cities, Samsung data says more promising results are from the metros for now.

“The aspiration in Indian consumers is irrespective of where they stay. Only thing is that their aspirations are met by the real products, innovation, and they see the real use cases in their life,” says Alam.

“But we understand everyone is buying our home appliances all around India. Because this AI home is for all. It is not only for premium homes. Because all our home appliances are going to be Wi-Fi-enabled. These appliances that start from as low as ₹12,000 fit everyone,” adds Chugh.