Samsung research shows Gen Millennials and Z (Gen MZ) Australians are turning to smart technology for comprehensive home care, with up to 80% using connected devices to look after everything from toddlers to house plants. This shift towards intelligent home management reveals how modern households are becoming increasingly dependent on integrated tech solutions.
The findings paint a picture of a generation that’s genuinely embracing smart living beyond just entertainment. Well, as a Gen X, I totally dig these and have been doing the same thing myself for the past years. But let’s just focus on the findings for the Gen MZ.
For Gen MZ parents, smart technology isn’t just convenient – it’s becoming necessary. The research shows 34% are using these devices to organise their daily routines, while more than half actively use TVs, phones, and tablets as educational tools for their children.
Australian parents have invested up to $2,000 on smart devices in the past year alone, with 78% planning further investments over the next five years. This isn’t impulse buying – it’s strategic household planning where technology serves as genuine support for busy family life.
Good robot vacuum cleaners can be costly. The Narwal Freo Z Ultra I reviewed, for example, retails for A$2,499 but it has helped us a lot in taking care of the house – especially in vacuuming my dog’s hair twice a day.
According to Samsung research, thirty percent of dog owners use smart TVs to entertain or calm their pets, with cartoons being the preferred genre (37%). Some pets have developed sophisticated viewing preferences, with 25% preferring full-length feature films.
Beyond entertainment, 26% use robot vacuums to manage pet hair, while 24% rely on smart cameras to check on their animals throughout the day. City-based pet owners are more likely to use smart technology (34%) compared to regional areas (20%).
The research reveals 38% of Gen MZ consider plants part of their family care responsibilities. Over a third use connected devices for automated watering (I’ve been doing this as well with the Elgato Eve Aqua), whilst 33% manage temperature and humidity through smart platforms. Fourteen percent even play music to their plants through smart speakers.
Samsung’s SmartThings platform coordinates various devices into cohesive routines. Users can create integrated schedules that simultaneously adjust home temperature, activate plant lighting, queue pet entertainment, and prepare educational content for children. This transforms smart technology from novelty into necessity.
Gen MZ collectively spent $9.2 billion on smart technology in the past year, with top care recipients being partners (58%), dogs (52%), children (46%), plants (38%), and cats (31%). This spending pattern suggests smart home technology has reached maturity where benefits clearly outweigh costs.
Samsung’s research reveals that smart technology adoption in Australian homes has moved well beyond entertainment into genuine household care support, with connected ecosystems enabling integrated home management that modern families increasingly consider essential. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com/au/
Not to mention the smart lights, smart doors, and more to come in one big ecosystem. Exciting times ahead!
