German technology company Bosch is making the smart home more user-friendly with its Home Connect Plus app that connects appliances from 35 brands and manufacturers.

More people are opting for connected appliances that interact intelligently. A study by Statista predicts that by 2025, nearly half of all households in Germany will be smart homes. Sales of smart-home appliances are also rising steadily in Germany, growing more than 30 per cent last year. By 2025, sales are expected to be worth nearly €10bn.

Bosch is now expanding and adding to its existing activities in the smart-home market. The Home Connect Plus app provided by Bosch subsidiary Residential IoT Services should make it easier to control all the appliances in a smart home. One app can control the connected devices of 35 manufacturers. In this way, Bosch says it is clearing away the obstacles to the acceptance of smart-home appliances.

According to a McKinsey study, two-thirds of smart-home users want to control all their connected products without any hassle, and regardless of brand, using just one app.

“With our Home Connect Plus smartphone app, we are setting new standards when it comes to smart homes’ user-friendliness and interoperability,” said Michael Bolle, chief digital officer at Bosch. “Adding the new app to our portfolio makes sense, and puts us in pole position when it comes to connected appliances.”

Since mid-May 2021, the app has been be available free of charge in all the usual app stores in Germany and Austria.

The app follows a platform-agnostic approach. This allows the home appliances and entire systems offered by 35 brands – including Bosch, Philips Hue, Sonos, Tado, Bose, Busch-Jaeger and Homematic IP – to be connected with each other and adapted flexibly to individual requirements.

“Thanks to our strong partner network, our vision of simple, manufacturer-agnostic usability of smart-home appliances is becoming reality,” said Lauri Pesonen, CEO of Residential IoT Services. “In the shape of Home Connect Plus, we are giving smart-home users an app that lets the connection and use of smart appliances and systems become part of their everyday lives.”

The Bosch subsidiary plans to expand its partner network and enhance it with further services and features. Instead of having to switch between different proprietary apps, users will be able to control their smart home from just one. In addition, it will make it easier to set up personal smart-home automation scenarios, such as when leaving home and day and night settings.

When developing the app, attention was paid to making it intuitive to use and easy to personalise. The idea was that all target groups – whether smart home beginners or technology freaks – should easily find their way around. For users needing to do a more complicated setup, there is a direct link to the respective product app. In this way, users have a permanent overview of all their settings and remain in complete control of their smart home.

In 2020, ten million products – power tools, home appliances and heating systems – were already connected. By the end of 2021, that number could be almost twice as high.