LUSARAP

Although smartwatches and fitness trackers currently dominate the smart devices scene, a number of home automation and health monitors have recently made it to market causing manufacturers to predicting rapid growth for the sector.

“Each smartphone is being used more and more to control many things,”Archos CEO Loic Poirier said speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews. “In the market, very soon, your smartphone is going to control five to ten different smart accessories.”

Although devices such as the Nike FuelBand SE and Samsung Galaxy Gear currently account for most smartphone users’ connected accessories, it has been suggested that soon we will be using our handsets to manage all manner of products.

“Soon you’re going to buy an activity tracker and you’re going to buy something for monitoring sport such as tennis or golf,” the Archos CEO told us.

“You’re going to buy things for your health that will control your back. You’re going to buy things for your health such as blood pressure measurers. You’re going to buy things for your home, cameras, motion sensors, a weather station.”

Although it is not expected that consumers will rush out to buy handfuls of smart accessories overnight, discussing a timeframe Poirier stated: “Ten devices would mean around 10 billion smart accessories in the next two to three years.”

Looking at what he expects to be the biggest growth area for smart devices market, he added: “In those 10 billion, home is going to be where the dramatic change will be. For the past 20 years people have been dreaming about home automation.”

Despite the likes of Samsung and HTC being considerably larger providers of Android powered handsets, Motorola could be set to get preferential treatment, with the American manufacturer to rely on its new Google ownership to offer earlier Android OS updates than rivals.

“If you’re going to buy an Android phone you’ll get the fastest Android updates on Motorola,” the company’s CEO said speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews.

Woodside revealed that he hopes early access to the latest Android updates will encourage consumers to return to Motorola-branded handsets following a number of years out in the dark.

“What do we want people to say about Motorola in 2-3 years?” Woodside questioned. “That we are constantly proving that software is key.”

He added: “We want them to say Motorola stands for quality and value. That I can’t get a better smartphone at that price-point and then in the higher price products it’s that I have more choice.”

An early sign of things to come, while the flagship, market leading Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are still awaiting Android 4.4 KitKat updates, both the Motorola Moto G and Motorola Moto X have already been handed the latest Google OS.

Google confirmed the takeover of Motorola Mobility – the company’s mobile arm – back in 2011 for a fee of $12.5 billion.

Although the Motorola Moto X, the first post-takeover smartphone, launched in the US last August, the company is still struggling for serious market share.

Despite being set to prioritise Motorola handsets for early Android updates, Google has, as of yet, failed to hand the Nexus-branding to the company, with both the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 5 smartphones manufactured in partnership with LG.