my guess is that companies are pushing this (rather than customer pull) because: 1) product differentiation, more vague tick boxes on the product comparison ch

my guess is that companies are pushing this (rather than customer pull) because: 1) product differentiation, more vague tick boxes on the product comparison chart that your competitors don't have. 2) vendor lockin/ecosystem lockin. If the devices are not going straight to a remote server you'll need a "hub". your brandA lightbulbs will only talk to a brandA house hub which is incompatible with brandB security locks. 3) product churn. (did you really really need to replace your ok tv with one that does 3d? lots of people did). 4) clip the ticket. build a platform that involves transactions and take a cut. 5) data. paraphrasing: if you aren't paying for it, you aren't the customer you're the product. none of these really sound like a utopia for the average person.