January is always a busy time in tech, with a flurry of new product launches and futuristic reveals – and T3 certainly has its eye on 2024's bumper crop of TVs, electronics and smart home products. All of which are designed to improve on last year’s collection and make your life that bit better.
While it can be some time before these new models hit the shelves, their impact can be felt almost immediately, as brands prepare for the updates. So whether you’re planning to update your devices, or finally take the plunge and buy that piece of tech you’ve been lusting over, things are going to get even better in 2024.
To help you out, we’ve made the following predictions as to where the smart home will advance over the coming 12 months. It’s easy to underestimate how fast tech moves, so even though some of these might seem extreme, they could be completely normal by December.
1. Smarter fitness
Fitness has already got smart. From the live video classes streamed straight to our exercise bikes to VR workouts. There’s no sign of this slowing down in 2024. In fact, you will struggle to find any fitness device that doesn’t use tech in some way. It’s important that your internet speeds can keep up with the pace, and avoid suffering from lag. It will be as important to have that strong WiFi signal wherever has become your make-shift gym as it is your home office – perhaps a benefit if these are both the same room!
2. Smarter convenience
Technology is designed to make our lives easier, and while there are times when it doesn’t feel that way, I don’t think many would want to go back to the days before it joined our lives. Online shopping, ordering a takeaway, picking a film or finding directions can all be done at the touch of a button, or by hollering your voice assistant’s name. When was the last time you set a timer without that? In 2024 that technological convenience will only increase. Smarter assistants with AI built-in will not only be able to respond faster, with more precise information, but the conversation will feel more natural, like asking a friend. So when it comes to finding information or making a purchase, you only need to ask.
3. Smarter learning
To find out something new you once had to go to a library, then those libraries moved online and today it comes from our smart speakers, TVs and phones. Whether it’s learning a new language, fixing a sink or broadening your horizons, everything is there for the taking, and in just a few clicks. In 2024, the right information will be easier to access, as smarter browsers and assistants cut through the clutter and deliver only the salient information to your device or speaker.
4. Smarter in the kitchen
Kitchen goods might have taken a little longer to embrace technology, but there’s no shortage of solutions now available. Smart kettles and air fryers can be switched on automatically and send notifications when they’re done. Dishwashers and washing machines follow suit, adding smart features to detect the level of dirt inside and clean smarter too. Smart fridges are one of our favourite kitchen gadgets though. LED screens on the front not only allow you to see what’s inside, but they can help you create dishes from the ingredients you have, and help order more produce when you run out.
5. Smarter gaming
Gaming has long been at the cutting edge of technology, with gamers ever demanding better graphics, faster performance and more immersive play. In 2024 we will see VR and augmented reality gaming grow exponentially, as well as AAA console games move on to the cloud for portable and more casual situations. Many of these games require a lot of internet bandwidth, so it’s important that broadband and fibre connections can keep up. EE’s Smart Hub Plus features a dedicated Game mode that gives priority to your gaming connection, boosting speed and ensuring lag-free performance. A must for any gaming household.
6. Smarter working from home
While many of us have returned to the office, working from home still plays an important part of our work-life balance. A hybrid arrangement means that our home offices are still getting regular, if not daily, use. What was once a temporary set-up has become a more permanent feature, with dedicated desks and chairs purchased. In 2024 there are even more options for the home worker, from better webcams, external monitors and USB-C hubs to VR headsets that can deliver a virtual office desk with giant floating monitors and conference rooms wherever you’re sat. EE’s Smart Hub Plus also offers its Work Mode, which prioritises that important traffic at the press of a button.
7. Smarter security
Today, the smart home encompasses far more than just speakers and smart bulbs – though who doesn’t love a smart bulb? Door locks, doorbells, sensors and both indoor and outdoor cameras can be easily added to your existing network of devices. This creates an integrated network that not only provides convenient access but also home security while you’re away. Dedicated home security packages, like those provided by EE and Verisure, allow you to pick one to suit your needs and have it connect to your home network. Expect even more devices to join this security network in 2024, with better subject detection to identify not only when someone is in your home, but exactly who it is and what they are doing.
8. Smarter cars
The smart home doesn’t stop at your home these days. Or rather the inside of your car has now become an extension of your living space, with just as much technology on hand. The voice assistants and operating systems we use on our phones and in our homes are now readily available inside the car and there’s more room for those spaces to interact. Though our home speakers and devices can already tell us when our car is charging, or allow us to precondition the temperature before we head out, in 2024 this will become smarter. These systems will work as one, so you can step from your car to your home, keeping the same lighting, temperature and music.
9. Smarter communication
Communication has become much more fluid with the advances in smart technology. You can take a voice or video call on a wide range of devices, from your TV to your smartwatch. When you leave the home, it’s our smart devices that keep us connected to those home systems, to social networks and the wider internet. In 2024 we will see 5G become more universal for data networks, as well as being used for car communications. EE is helping keep you connected at all times by offering EE Broadband customers unlimited data SIMs for just £10 a month each.
10. Smarter entertainment
It’s hard to believe that we were once limited to just a handful of terrestrial TV channels. Today we can pick through hundreds of options over the air and online. Streaming TV expanded things further with all our movie and TV offerings coming through our internet connections. There’s almost too much choice to find what we’re looking for. In 2024 we hope to see more curation of content and ways to absorb it. The EE TV app is one of the smartest ways to combine all of your TV channels into one place and is available on a dedicated Apple TV device.
11. Smarter networking
Any good ecosystem needs a strong connection, and that’s why at the heart of any successful smart home set-up needs to be a foolproof Wi-Fi network. The latest hubs offer WiFi 6E connections, which add an extra bandwidth of 6GHz for compatible devices to connect faster. For larger homes and trickier signal black spots, a mesh network allows you to connect multiple routers to work together to broaden your coverage. In 2024 we will see more devices allowing for WiFi 6E compatibility and even the start of WiFi 7. EE’s Smart Hub is a Mesh unit that can be paired with additional nodes. EE Full Fibre broadband offers WiFi speeds of up to 1.6Gbps and can connect up to 190 devices. It also comes with a backup 4G connection to keep you running if the network goes down. It also allows you to pause the WiFi for certain devices and set those work and game modes when needed. Now that’s smart.
To help keep a healthy work-life balance, enjoy great EE offers on the Calm app – plus, save £20 a month on new, unlimited mobile plans, when you choose EE Broadband. For more on powering your home working, visit ee.co.uk/work
