Despite Apple's ability to turn phones into gold, its foray into the smart speaker market dominated by Amazon is facing much more of an uphill climb. Apple's Siri-controlled HomePod, recently announced and expected to begin selling in December, isn't generating the excitement that often surrounds Apple product launches, according to a new study. Apple isn't alone launching new smart speaker products. Amazon recently added to its Echo family the Echo Look and the Echo Show, which has a screen, so consumers have more ways to interact with Alexa.

Retailers appear to be warming to artificial intelligence and virtual reality. There's a coming convergence of AI with traditional customer service, which is on track to completely change the shopping experience, based on a new study. Almost half (45%) of retailers plan to utilize artificial intelligence for customer service within three years, according to the BRP 2017 Customer Experience, Unified Commerce Benchmark survey of 500 executives at retailers in North America, with a focus on specialty retail.

More things are getting connected, which is driving more digital traffic. Mobile video traffic alone is expected to grow by 50% a year for the next five years, according to a new global study. By that time, mobile video traffic will account for most (75%) of all mobile data traffic, according to the annual Ericsson Mobility Report. Global mobile data traffic is projected to increase to eight times its current level by 2022. That will be the equivalent of a single subscriber streaming high definition video continuously for 4 million years, as one of the more interesting …

All projections for the growth of virtual reality are relatively high, but based on the current state of the market, that growth has a long way to go. Despite all the promotions and demonstrations at shows like CES and at various stores in malls, most people don't have a VR headset. Only 5% of Internet users in North America have a VR headset and even fewer in other markets, according to a new report from GlobalWebIndex (GWI).

The number of Internet connected devices that people have is going up, especially in North America. There will be four networked devices and connections per person globally by 2021, according to the latest annual visual networking index forecast by Cisco. However, in North America, there will be 13 networked devices and connections per person, up from eight last year.

The idea of autonomous or self-driving cars tends to cause some controversy, especially from those who want to keep their own hands on the wheel and want to remain in control of the driving experience. However, the connectedness in connected cars may, at least initially, be aimed at serving and entertaining passengers in those cars. MGM's Epix just announced that its streaming video app will be integrated into the back seats of Honda's 2018 minivan.

Among other things, the Internet of Things can aid the digital transformation of a business. While almost all companies say they are aligned on what digital transformation is, only a small number get what they expect from an investment standpoint, according to a new study. While most (91%) executives are aligned on what digital transformation means, only 4% realize half of their digital investment in under a year, with the majority saying it's taken their company two to three years to get at least half of their investment return.

The Internet of Things is about connections and connecting, and it looks like many consumers have a tough time actually disconnecting, even when on vacation. Despite the benefits of unplugging, most people want to stay connected, based on a study out today. While on vacation, the majority (52%) of U.S. consumers spend at least an hour a day using their connected devices to check email, text and post to social media.

The Internet of Things will make it easier for many people to participate in a connected life, but not everyone is interested in that route. While it's only human to connect and it even can be addictive, some people will opt out before it happens, according to a new study. The study comprised a survey of 1,200 technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers and other leaders conducted by Pew Research Center and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center.

Back in July 2015, I wrote about how the Internet of Things was about connections, in kicking off the first edition of the MediaPost IoT Daily. The journey continues today, with the official inclusion of additional relevant and future technologies, as the IoT Daily broadens to become the AI & IoT Daily. As might be expected, the market has evolved over the last two years, most notably with the level of sophistication of technologies used to connect consumers with brands in new and innovative ways.