Internet of Things (IoT)
Progress in IoT is increasingly about making connected devices work together reliably. Matter 1.6 adds commissioning over near-field communication (NFC), shared network administration and preference-aware thermostat suggestions. The specification is available, but manufacturers and platforms set their own implementation dates, so installed devices will follow later.
Research snapshot · updated Nov 12, 2026
Core thesis
IoT is infrastructure, not a frontier: IoT Analytics counts roughly 21 billion connected devices at end-2025, growing about 14% a year. Value has shifted to industrial IoT and AIoT, where edge inference turns sensor streams into predictive maintenance, digital twins and connected operations. Security remains the structural weakness – billions of long-lived devices with known vulnerabilities and no workforce to patch them – and the EU Cyber Resilience Act is now forcing security-by-design into device economics.
State of the art (2026)
IoT in 2026 is mature infrastructure, not a frontier. IoT Analytics counts roughly 21 billion connected devices at end-2025, growing about 14% a year against softer Chinese demand and capex deferrals. The action has moved to two fronts. On the consumer side, the Connectivity Standards Alliance shipped Matter 1.6 in June 2026, adding NFC commissioning and Joint Fabric multi-ecosystem sharing after Matter 1.5 (November 2025) standardised cameras and doorbells – interoperability is finally arriving, slowly. On the enterprise side, value concentrates in industrial IoT and AIoT, where edge inference on NVIDIA Jetson and Qualcomm silicon turns sensor streams into action. The EU Cyber Resilience Act – reporting from September 2026, full compliance December 2027 – is reshaping device economics. Samsara, now near 1.9 billion dollars ARR, shows the connected-operations playbook works at scale.
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Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
8 signals
Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
4 tracked
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
216 players · 6 layers
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
5 ahead
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
8 milestones
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
20 · 2
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Locked
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
7 updates
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
Change our mind
3 disconfirming conditions
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The full signal stack, technology-native KPIs tracked over time, the landscape of who depends on whom, the dated catalyst calendar, decision frameworks for every desk, live watchlists and a record of every time our view on Internet of Things (IoT) has changed. All of it is in CanaryIQ.