Amongst a slew of compelling INTX show announcements, Comcast’s further foray into home automation is particularly notable. Whereas Comcast Home started as the typical white-labeled home automation and security solution, featuring a variety of mostly generic components, Xfinity Home will shortly expand to incorporate higher profile retail accessories. For example, my beloved Kevo smartlock and Netgear Arlo cameras will be accessible from both the X1 DVR and Xfinity app this summer, with other leaders this space like Lutron, August, and Nest also onboard. And more can be expected as Comcast introduces an Xfinity Home SDK and partner program.
I imagine many would appreciate another unified interface to their home automation and security gadgetry. I know I would (especially in regards to Arlo, which is currently silo-ed). Not to mention there’s a huge segment of the population who knows nothing of this, yet could benefit from it. But the question remains: Will folks have interest and confidence in their cable provider, specifically Comcast, as a partner for this sort of service? And what would they be willing to pay?
For reference, beyond the requisite X1 cable subscription, here are the Xfinity Home tiers of service — all of which include a Hub and some sensors to get started, along with the X1 and retail device integration described above: