Amazon, Apple and Google team up to speak with one voice

The group will work with Zigbee Alliance to release the first draft of industry standards by late 2020

As of 2017, Alexa accounted for 62 per cent of the intelligent digital assistant market worldwide. Bloomberg

Google, Amazon and Apple are joining forces to make smart home devices developed by different brands compatible with each other.

Under “Project Connected Home over IP”, the tech giants will team up with the Zigbee Alliance, an industry body established in 2002 to set standards for open networks connecting Internet of Things.

The alliance comprises executives from top companies including Ikea, Schneider Electric, Samsung and Signify.

The initiative wants to standardise manufacturing of devices so that all digital assistants – Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, or other brands – can all be interconnected.

Given the huge number of smart devices expected to roll out in the coming years, it is essential to have some kind of industry standard or protocol. The rare show of unity among the tech rivals is the first step in this direction.

The global market for smart home devices is expected to grow nearly 23.5 per cent year-on-year to almost 815 million devices by the end of this year, according to US research company International Data Corporation. The number is forecast to increase to 1.39 billion in the next four years, said IDC.

The initiative sets out to "simplify development for manufacturers" and increase "compatibility for consumers", the tech giants said in a statement on Wednesday. "The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable and seamless to use.

“By building upon internet protocol, the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps and cloud services… and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification,” the alliance said.

If the group is successful, consumers will be able to use a particular device from one brand while setting up controls on another preferred system.

Project Connected Home will start with market-tested technologies, and then add on modifications. The group aims to release a first draft on industry standards by late 2020.

The initiative has also invited smart device manufacturers, silicon providers and other developers from across industry to participate and contribute to the formulation of a universal framework.

As of 2017, Alexa accounted for 62 per cent of the digital assistant market worldwide, with Google Assistant made up for 25 per cent of it, according to the German research company Statista.

However, Google is forecast to be the dominant brand by 2020, increasing its market share to nearly 43 per cent. Alexa's market share is expected to come down to 34 per cent by next year, said Statista.