HONOR Unveils Top Trends in Intelligent Living Ecosystem in Europe

Canalys whitepaper commissioned by HONOR shows that smart device shipment in Europe to surpass 500 million units in 2023; Smart speakers and smart personal audio devices are the fastest-growing categories

[Hong Kong, 21 February 2020] To support its goal to orchestrate a one-stop, all-scenario intelligent living ecosystem for young people around the world, global technology brand HONOR commissioned Canalys to conduct a study into the top intelligent living trends in Europe. The report titled, Intelligent Living In Europe, looks at the potential market for smart device ecosystems as well as market trends and the sentiment of locals in Europe. The findings are as follows:

Smart device shipment in Europe is expected to surpass 500 million in 2023, according to a recent Canalys report¹ commissioned by global smartphone brand HONOR. This represents a three-year CAGR of 3.5% from 465 million units in 2020. The report predicts that smart speakers and smart personal audio will be the fastest-growing categories. In 2023, a total of 212 million smartphones, 136 million smart personal audio devices, 87 million personal computers, 43 million wearable bands and 39 million smart speakers are expected to gain wallet share as Europeans increase their spending on these devices.

Device shipment in Western, Central and Eastern Europe

The colossal growth in demand for smart devices indicates a shift in consumer behavior towards a more digital lifestyle. The research shows that for every 100 smartphones shipping in 2023 in Western Europe, there will be 86 smart personal audio devices, 38 desktops or notebooks, 24 wearable bands, 28 smart speakers and 18 tablets. While in Central and Eastern Europe, for every 100 smartphones shipping in 2023, there will be 36 smart personal audio devices, 16 desktops or notebooks, 15 wearable bands, five smart speakers and six tablets.

Top Use Cases in Intelligent Living

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays an important role in today’s hyperconnected world where most devices and things sync wirelessly. The expanded AI capabilities in devices, combined with a digitally-savvy audience, has had a major impact on the demand for these smart devices which leads to the adoption of intelligent living. Findings from the research indicate that there are four main categories of intelligent living – Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Productivity and Connected Living, with each representing a significant impact on the daily lives of end-users.

• Entertainment
  • Audio and Video: Offering users high-quality audio and visual experiences while consuming content, be it on-the-go or in specific environments or user scenarios
  • Gaming: Elevating users’ game-play experience and performance so they can enjoy and gain a competitive edge
• Health & Fitness
  • General well-being: Helping users to improve the state of personal health by achieving better body weight, better sleep, better stress management, and more
  • Sports and fitness: Helping users to perform better in the sports they engage with, allowing them to challenge their personal best
• Productivity
  • Mobile Worker: Allowing workers to achieve peak productivity wherever they work. Devices aim to provide the performance or the flexibility to suit different tasks
  • Content Creator: Leveraging a number of devices to create a conducive environment to spur creativity
• Connected Living
  • Smart Home: Achieving key use cases, such as home automation, control and monitoring to aid users in convenience, safety and achieving energy efficiency
  • Mobile Lifestyle: Allowing users to attain key features and services, completing tasks while on the go

“At HONOR, we are continually innovating our products and services to deliver an enhanced consumer experience that will satisfy the needs of today’s digitally engaged consumer,” said George Zhao, President of HONOR. “Our “1+8+N” All-Scenario IoT strategy addresses this goal and as we increase the capabilities of our products and create new use cases that add convenience to the lives of consumers, we hope to expand the IoT ecosystem and shape the future of intelligent living.”

Consumer sentiments towards intelligent living

According to the report, 41% of surveyed respondents carry more than one smart device while at work or on-the-go, and this increases to 68% while they are at home. Devices that users use at home are expected to be those that offer rich user interactions, including TVs, PCs, and smart speakers.

Findings from the report also indicated that the top three reasons to buy smartwatch and fitness bands are to improve fitness and well-being (56%); to try new smart features (18%), and to receive notifications on my wrist (18%). Convenience is the top benefit for the purchase of smart personal audio devices (48%), followed by better sound quality (20%) and more features (15%).

The goal: an integrated, intuitive and intelligent ecosystem

In a bid to establish intelligent living as the new norm, the research pointed out four key factors that will help shape this intelligent ecosystem. Firstly, devices must be designed to exist within an ecosystem. This means that devices not only need to perform their core capabilities, they must also be able to connect with other devices to perform a myriad of tasks. Secondly, devices must possess high interoperability and compatibility to accommodate consumers’ preference for multi-brand devices. Thirdly, devices and features must be highly accessible to users to encourage greater adoption. Finally, device vendors should consider enhancing the AI capabilities in smart devices to improve user experience. When these factors are considered, the research assets the creation of an ecosystem where users can be assisted by technology intelligently.

To showcase its all-scenario IoT strategy, HONOR will be launching a comprehensive suite of products at a livestream press conference at 18:30 CET on 24^th February 2020. To view the livestream, please visit hihonor.com.

For more information about the Intelligent Living in Europe report: https://canalys.com/intelligentliving

¹Research was conducted by Canalys with 4,144 consumers aged 16 and above in 4 markets – United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia in February 2020.