Rebecca Day

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung envisions an “age of experience” where artificial intelligence works with advanced hardware to tailor technology experiences to consumers' lifestyle and needs, said Samsung Consumer Electronics division CEO H.S. Kim in a CES keynote Monday. A connected ecosystem will enable new experiences encompassing virtual and augmented reality, robotics, in-vehicle safety and entertainment, personalized health and wellness and smart cities, he said. More details here.

Higher international average revenue per user forecasts in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East led Pivotal Research Group to raise its year-end 2020 target price for Netflix to $425 from $400. For Q4, it’s forecasting 600,000-plus net new U.S. subscriber additions and more than 8 million internationally, ahead of guidance, wrote analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak in a Thursday investor note.

Z-Wave Alliance opened its specification as a multi-source wireless standard, hoping third-party chip makers and software stack suppliers will grow the ecosystem beyond 100 million devices to 200 million, Johan Pedersen, Silicon Labs smart home product marketing manager told us Thursday. Similar to Zigbee's Wednesday announcement (see 1912180060), Z-Wave said Thursday members will work together on connectivity to help solve interoperability challenges. Zigbee works in the 2.4-GHz range; Z-Wave operates in sub-GHz frequencies. "Our plan is to push out Z-Wave and enable many other companies to participate in it so it’s not a closed system,” he said. Silicon Labs, which bought the Z-Wave business from Sigma Designs for $240 million in April 2018, wants that standard to be the only sub-GHz standard for smart home, said Pedersen. Silicon Labs, which makes Zigbee chips, too, is also part of the Connected Home over IP initiative backed by Amazon, Apple, Google and the Zigbee Alliance, he noted.

TiVo and Xperi agreed to combine. The $3 billion stock deal is expected to close in Q2 and shares of TiVo rose while Xperi fell after Thursday's announcement. TiVo will suspend plans to separate its product and intellectual property licensing. “Potential” separation could occur later, they said. The product business expects to pursue "substantial cross-selling opportunities" in home and automotive. The combined company will be one of the largest licensing companies, spanning entertainment content, consumer electronics and semiconductors, management said. Patents and applications total more than 10,000, with “minimal licensee overlap,” they said. Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner noted the growing challenge of content discovery in home entertainment due to the proliferation of streaming offerings and providers: Their IP portfolio and personalization expertise will “address this challenge and participate over a much broader part of the entertainment value chain.” It’s no longer just live TV vs. Netflix, said TiVo CEO David Shull. He will be a strategic adviser during integration; for other executives, see the personals section of this publication's issue. “Virtually every traditional content provider has their own direct-to-to-consumer offering in the works,” Shull said, while streaming companies are developing content libraries. The combined firm's products will give MVPDs "a very differentiated offering,” Shull forecast. Xperi is launching a next-generation radio solution, Kirchner said, with a video offering next up. Content discovery and playback will be even more important in the age of semi- and autonomous vehicles, he said. Xperi Chief Financial Officer Robert Andersen noted its relationships with the top 10 TV brands that will offer licensing access for TiVo content discovery and personalization. He will continue as CFO. Xperi closed down 11 percent at $18.63. TiVo rose 6.2 percent to $8.38.

The Zigbee Alliance encouraged industrywide participation in a new smart home working group spearheaded by the alliance’s board, along with Amazon, Apple and Google. Absent in Wednesday's announcement was the Z-Wave platform, with 2,400 smart home products on 100 million devices. Project Connected Home over IP “welcomes device manufacturers, silicon providers, and other developers from across the smart home industry to participate in and contribute to the standard,” it said. The Z-Wave Alliance didn’t comment. The WG plans to develop and promote adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products. It highlighted participating Zigbee Alliance board member companies including Ikea, NXP Semiconductors, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) and Silicon Labs as joining the WG. Control4 that's based on the Zigbee protocol wasn’t highlighted. Charlie Kindel, chief product and technology officer of parent SnapAV, emailed us that Control4 remains committed to Zigbee and the alliance. “For the promise of the smart home to be realized, companies big and small will need to deliver a seamless, secure and ever-reliable experience,” said Kindel.

Premium pricing for top-line smartphones could be a barrier to the U.S. 5G upgrade, blogged NPD Monday. Just under 10 percent of consumers are spending over $1,000 on smartphones, and 5G phones are hitting the market at about $1,200. “Consumers are holding onto their smartphones for longer periods, which has presented a challenge for the smartphone market,” said analyst Brad Akyuz. “Manufacturers and carriers are expecting 5G to help reinvigorate the upgrade cycle, but pricing could present another hurdle.” Consumers in the top 10 U.S. markets account for 39 percent of $1,000-plus active smartphones, NPD said, with users in New York City and Los Angeles most likely to buy four-figure devices. Consumers in the top two markets are 29 percent of the U.S. population, over-indexing in $1,000-plus phones by 25 points. The two markets should be a primary target for carriers to advance 5G networks and for phone makers to educate consumers about the benefits of 5G, the research firm said. Awareness of 5G is high (see 1912040044) and purchase potential is strong, said NPD, with 73 percent of consumers aware of the technology at the end of first half 2019 vs. 44 percent a year earlier. In China, Xiaomi took an aggressive stance on 5G Tuesday. It unveiled a sub-2,000-yuan model under its Redmi brand (starting at $284). The 6.7-inch Redmi K30 5G, with four cameras, is based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765G gaming-centric 5G chipset.

Netflix placed first and Amazon Prime Video second in U.S. over-the-top viewership for 2019 through October, reported Parks Associates Thursday. MLB.TV dropped from sixth to eighth and Sling TV held on as the top U.S. vMVPD. Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus launched after the time period. Other top-10 streamers were subscription VOD service Hulu in third, followed by HBO Now, CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime and ESPN Plus. “Competition in live streaming services is intensifying as several big brand names are competing for a small but growing slice of the OTT subscription base,” said Brett Sappington. Services will continue to grow as long as consumers subscribe to multiple offerings, the analyst said. Seventy-one percent of U.S. broadband homes have at least one OTT entertainment product, the research firm found.

Consumers are increasing aware of 5G pros and cons. Deloitte reported that of 2,000 U.S. consumers canvassed online in September, most are familiar with 5G, including more than 70 percent among the youngest two generations. Twenty-eight percent of consumers and about 40 percent of Gen Z and millennials would “very likely” buy a 5G smartphone when service is available in their area. Thirty-eight percent of U.S. consumers plan to buy a smartphone within 12 months. As consumers bring more connected devices and online services into their residences, they're more aware of how their personal data is being collected and sold, the consultant said. Over 90 percent say they should be able to see and delete data that companies collect about them. Though consumers are satisfied with their mobile service, 43 percent have had issues watching videos on their smartphones, and 41 percent believe their mobile data speeds are too slow. Nearly 20 percent plan to switch carriers next year. Those sticking with theirs want stronger network performance. Gen Z and millennial respondents say once they have 5G, they plan to consume augmented and virtual reality content that requires high-speed, low-latency connections. Some 62 percent of consumers who have home internet say they will likely replace their service with 5G Wi-Fi service if it delivers speeds similar to fiber. Later Wednesday, the FCC revealed plans for subsidizing some 5G (see 191204003).

Despite “some waning in consumer confidence,” Best Buy sees strong consumer sentiment, so smartphones and some other technology sales are expected to grow “a little more” in Q4, said Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas on a Tuesday Q3 call. Domestic online revenue grew 15 percent year on year, primarily on higher order value, he said. Q4 revenue of $14.75 billion-$15.15 billion assumes announced Dec. 15 tariffs take hold. The retailer is bringing in products before tariff implementation; making strategic decisions on vendors and products; making sourcing and pricing changes; and developing strategies with vendors. The most relevant tariffed categories for Best Buy for coming tariff products include smartwatches, smartphones and videogame consoles, the CFO said. Fulfillment options available to consumers have “completely changed the competitive landscape” for how quickly shoppers can get their items, CEO Corie Barry. The stock closed up 9.8 percent at $81.53.

China's Hisense, taking advantage of its tariff-immune manufacturing in Mexico, will sled into the holiday season mid-December with a pair of advanced Roku TVs, it announced Monday. The products will sell online only at Amazon and Walmart. “December is not the time retailers want to do a reset on their floor,” Chris Porter, director-product management, told us in New York. Sets will move into stores in Q1. Other TV brands have been asking the company to manufacture their product, said Jim Ninesling, head-marketing. The TVs' Hi-View chipset controls hardware and software and adds artificial intelligence to the user experience.