Have you ever received a smart home device as a gift? You’re in good company: over half of smart home consumers were gifted their first device and grew their collection from there.<br /><br />In a poll of 2,000 US adults with smart devices in their homes — devices that are connected to the internet and can be used to control other things throughout the home or be used as digital assistants — found 54% had their first smart devices gifted or bought for them.<br /><br />And for those that did buy their first devices, the average cost of entry was as little as $110. One in five (19%) said they were able to get their first device for under $75.<br /><br />The most popular “first” devices people flocked to were either cameras (18%) or streaming devices (16%). In fact, 45% of people with at least one smart home device said they own a smart camera. <br /><br />Other popular devices likely to make an appearance in the home are speakers (40%), streaming devices (40%), doorbells (27%) and lights (24%).<br /><br />Commissioned by Google Nest and conducted by OnePoll, the study also looked into the habits Americans have with their smart home devices. <br /><br />Half were found to interact with their devices at least once every day and 85% said they were experts with their devices within a week of getting them set up.<br /><br />The fastest adopters of smart home tech were found to be baby boomers — 66% said they started using their smart home devices daily “straight away.” The slowest adopters: Gen Z, where 46% surprisingly said it takes them at least four days to get acclimated to their devices.<br /><br />However, Gen Z was likely to have the least amount of opposition to owning smart home devices (63%), while millennials had the most amount of initial opposition (25%).<br /><br />Over a third (37%) claimed a sense of confidence in their smart home expertise and 41% agreed having a “smart” home can only be achieved by knowing how to use them to automate their home.<br /><br />Just over half (51%) of those surveyed said they’d tried their hand at setting up automations and routines throughout their homes, where their devices can handle basic tasks — like turning lights on or off or playing music — without needing human input. <br /><br />The most popular routines respondents were proud of were bedtime routines (22%), morning routines (17%) and security-related routines (15%).<br /><br />Yet there were still plenty who felt hesitant about using their devices. Over a third (34%) said they’d be more likely to automate more of their homes if they understood the benefits of home automation in the first place. <br /><br />Another 27% said they’d be more inclined to use their devices if they could learn more about how to best use them.
