Global spending on automated home devices is expected to reach US$75 billion by 2025, up from US$23 billion in 2018, with much of that growth driven by two types of devices - smart thermostats and smart speakers.

China dominated the global smart speaker market in the first quarter of 2019, with nearly 51% or 10.6 million units being shipped, following by the US which accounted for 24% of shipments of 5.0 million units, down from 44% in the final quarter of 2018, the analyst firm Canalys says.

Augmented reality and virtual reality will rely on 5G to change the customer experience inside and outside retail stores, according to one global analyst firm.