[Report] Consumers more frustrated by smart home apps than devices

New report by Argus Insights suggests disappointing apps break user experience, may cause decline in consumer delight over time.

The Smart Home ecosystem comprises both hardware devices and software apps and together they are supposed to make an efficient system for consumers. A new report from Argus Insights shows that consumers are overall more frustrated with the applications that dictate, schedule and manage each device than with the actual devices themselves. Past Argus Insights reports looked at the hardware component and the challenges and irritations customers were experiencing with installation and connectivity, but this new analysis introduces a new data set to uncover the fact that consumers are experiencing even more issues with the apps that run these devices.

According to data compiled from nearly 50,000 Smart Home device and app reviews from August 2015 to the present, the incumbent home security companies like ADT, Comcast and AT&T are failing to delight consumers with their apps while the more innovative and newer Smart Home-focused companies like Vivint and Honeywell appear to be cultivating a more synchronized hardware and software ecosystem and are doing better among consumers.

Argus Insights Smart Home Ecosystem report is available here.