AI is the name of the game at CEDIA Expo this year, and considering it has AI in the name, it should come as no surprise that Josh.ai has something big up its sleeve for the smart home. While at CEDIA Expo 2023, the company officially introduced Josh One, an AI powered smart home control platform meant to significantly drop the barrier for entry into more advanced smart home systems.

If this all sounds familiar, yes, it does sound a lot like what Josh.ai already offers across its product portfolio to an extent. However, where Josh One differs from other parts of the Josh.ai family is how it is meant to assist in the installation, configuration and automation of smart home systems.

According to Alex Capecelatro, CEO of Josh.ai, Josh One is meant to be a scalable smart home solution that, while still incorporating the voice control capabilities Josh.ai has become well known for in the industry, should be seen as an expansion of the company’s smart home offering.

This also means that the company is going to be leveraging its proprietary AI to directly assist integrators in the setup, configuration and automation of smart home systems connected to Josh One.

Contrasting to how traditional control solutions include steps like importing configuration files and loading software updates on site, Josh One is meant to auto-discover supported devices once it has been connected to the home network. From there, Josh states that the One unit is able to generate a floor plan where it can logically associate devices with specific areas in the Josh App.

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It also serves as a platform for customers that simply aren’t interested in voice control, notes Josh, which, despite Josh.ai making a name for itself as a voice control module, is probably a smart move given how much apprehension people still have for anything related to voice control in the home.

Pricing and Availability for Josh One Systems

With the new Josh One, Josh.ai has also stated its taking a new approach to pricing out said systems, citing that the value of each system should be based on the hardware involved. As a result, Josh.ai is introducing a subscription-based cost model for the Josh One system, currently divided into two tiers.

The entry-level tier starts at $10 per month MSRP and will come with Josh.ai’s recently announced JoshGPT feature free of additional charge. Homeowners that would like an introduction into a full-featured voice experience can then ‘upgrade’ to Josh Micro systems at $30 per month MSRP for far-field microphone access.

According to Josh.ai, this new pricing model is strictly based on the number of controllable devices expected to be on a project. As entry-level system processors, Josh One and Josh Micro can support up to one hundred devices with the ability to scale to two hundred devices. For premium projects, Josh Core starts at five hundred devices and can scale to over one thousand.

In addition to this new scalability structure, Josh.ai is also offering one-time purchase pricing for all of its solutions for the first time. For dealers looking to grow the value of their business with recurring revenue, Josh.ai is substantially lowering its barrier to entry for customers with the introduction of monthly software plans. Annual and lifetime software plans will continue to be available as well for all Josh.ai experiences.

Josh.ai has also stated that for installers who have already embraced recurring revenue to provide ongoing support contracts for customers and prefer to loop Josh.ai software into their offering, those installers will receive a preferred margin on Josh.ai software plans.

Dealers who would rather not manage software plans will still receive ongoing compensation for client projects that are billed by Josh.ai.

New Integrations Bring Schlage, Genie Garage Doors onto the Network

In addition to the Josh One announcement, Josh.ai also announced that it has a couple new integrations with Schlage Locks and Genie Garage Doors. This marks the first direct lock and garage door integrations for the company.

Through Schlage Encode integration, users will be able to leverage natural voice commands, automated scenes, and tactile control via the Josh App to secure their homes. Integration with Genie garage door openers provides customers with connected convenience when leaving or coming home.

Adding to its video content sources, Josh.ai is also launching its AppleTV support. Capable through IP control, the integration allows users to navigate their AppleTV interface from the Josh App and Josh Remote.

There’s also new AVPro and Samsung integrations, as well as support for the Somfy Tahoma Switch.

All of these integrations will be ready and accessible to Josh One users at launch.

Android users will also be receiving an update to the 5.0 version of the Josh.ai control app. This update will feature full device controllers for quick access to system settings, custom dashboards, devices, areas and scenes.

Also for those of you wondering about Josh.ai’s Control4 integrations in the wake of the Snap One lawsuit, both companies have released separate statements regarding that.

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