Future smart homes will have roll-up TVs and a brain-wave bath
The future is coming, whether you like it or not
Don’t worry, technology may come and go, but some things never change. In the not-so-distant future, cars will drive themselves and men may become obsolete (sorry, guys), but home will always be home. It’ll just be a heck of a lot smarter.
Granted, some tech is better than other tech. No one needs a Wi-fi-connected juice press that doesn’t actually juice anything. Gadgets that offer real utility – like a smart oven or open source furniture – stand a better chance of becoming ubiquitous. If you’re sceptical, think of it this way: in-home refrigeration was the crazy, newfangled invention of 1913. Now, few among us can imagine living without it.
What will the home of the future look like? We took stock of the most exciting tech-forward home products on the market. It’s only a matter of time until at least some of these come standard in every American home.
Hi-tech living room
Thirty-nine million Americans now have a smart speaker in their homes – that is 1 in 6 people – and all signs indicate that this figure will rise with time. In the living room of the future, smart speakers will be a central feature, with newer models connected to every element in your home, from the light bulbs to the lock on your front door and the thermostat. They will become so essential you won’t think twice about plunking down US$400 for one.
Watching TV and films will be a wildly different experience. Why devote precious square footage in your living room to a giant screen when you could have one that effortlessly rolls up away and out of sight, like the one LG Display debuted at this year’s CES? Or you may choose not to have a TV at all and opt instead for a superhigh-resolution short-throw projector that turns any white wall into your own personal cinema. Sony’s new US$30,000 model would fit the bill, assuming the price tag comes down.
In the coming years, it’ll be much easier to design your living space. Apps and online platforms such as Modsy and Hutch will use virtual and augmented reality to help you visualise how a couch or chair will look in your home. You’ll have lots of options: modular, open source furniture will dominate interior design trends, taking the lead from Ikea’s Tom Dixon-designed Delaktig couch, which has more than 97 different configurations. Choose wisely, because you’ll be spending more time on the couch than ever: Facebook’s forthcoming living-room-geared video chat device will reportedly use smart camera technology to make people on both ends feel like they’re sitting in the same room.
