Earlier this Wednesday morning, Geoff Quattromani, who lives in Sydney, Australia but is of Maltese ancestry, was a guest on TVAM, to discuss technology. With a particular focus on home tech, there were some pretty interesting insights to take from it all, and here they are!
Smart homes lead the way
The best place to start is of course smart homes, which will be leading the industry in the near future. Being able to control your home’s appliances through voice command will take some getting used to, sure, but there’s more to smart homes than that.
Fridges will be able to scan and detect what’s inside, and suggest recipes. Depending on your choice, you can then command the oven to start heating up just before you get home. Many will ask “Is this actually necessary?” But, as Geoff said, “It was the same thing when the first kitchen microwave appeared”. First, it’ll be those who like a fancy gadget, but once it becomes convenient, it’ll be accepted as the norm.
Where to start
“Start small,” he says, “by buying a Google or other smart speaker. Then it grows from there, with smart lighting, and once you get used to it, you start to upgrade.” There’s no need to learn coding, or any other specific languages for that matter. You barely need to use your smartphone either, just enunciate clearly, and the smart objects will obey.
When asked about how consumers decide which gadgets to buy, his answer in hindsight is obvious. “Whatever you’re spending your time on or with, that’s where you’re likely to spend your money”. Since we experienced the outside world so much (pre-COVID), we spent money on clothes, travelling, concerts and the like. Now that we’re spending almost all our time indoors, we’re spending more on “bigger TVs, and fridges, because many are stockpiling!”
“The tech industry deserves credit for responding immediately to the new market demands by improving the appliances we have at home.”
His thoughts
Speaking with him after his TV appearance, we wanted to know which tech got him excited from CES 2021, and what new tech he’d love to see. Again, pretty interesting responses, particularly for the second question.
Ok Malta, turn you televisions on and tune into @TelevisionMalta as we discuss the future of the home and the news from @CES. Glad to be back! pic.twitter.com/tIoxI2VB1c
— Geoff Quattromani (@GQuattromani) January 13, 2021
“I know most of your team already mentioned the ColdSnap so I will say the LG Oven. Pre-heating and setting timers by voice is excellent, Scan to Cook would be a huge time saver.” Basically, you scan an item with your phone, say, a frozen pizza, and your oven sets the correct temperature before you arrive home.
The next answer was that despite the advances in wearable and fitness tech, they still focus on GPS and heart rate. That’s great for running and cycling, but circuit training and weight lifting are also hugely popular. “Accurate tracking of how many burpees I did, pushups, sit-ups, arm curls etc is still not available.” That’s the next step, and we must say…we’re 100% in agreement.
What do you think of smart homes? Are they worth the investment, or are we fixing something that’s not broken? Let us know in the comments!
