According to new data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) more than 442 million connected consumer devices will be sold in the U.S. in 2020. These sales totals include connected entertainment, mobile, health, and smart home devices.

Personal assistant devices, which include speakers with voice control such as the Amazon Alexa and Google Home, are the fastest growing category with a compound annual growth rate of 78.3% in 2015-2020.

"Voice control is the top trend for 2017 in the IoT and smart home," said Elizabeth Parks, senior vice president, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates research shows U.S. consumers will buy more than 2.3 billion connected devices between 2015 and 2020, and they are showing strong preferences for voice as the interface for their devices. Companies in the smart home, entertainment, and connected car ecosystems are pursuing partnerships that can add voice control to a variety of solutions in the connected home.”

"We've only scratched the surface of what the connected home can do for consumers and companies," said William Greene, product manager, Energy Services, Nest Labs. "At Nest, we've learned that combining connected devices with simple - yet sophisticated - software can meet the connected consumer's expectations for reliability and convenience while opening new opportunities for engagement. In addition to creating happier and more loyal customers, this enhanced engagement can benefit companies and precipitate revolutionary changes in verticals like energy utilities. Every connected consumer represents an opportunity for huge advancements in engagement strategy, operational efficiency, and the realization of shared benefits across industries and regions."