September 5, 2026, 6:39 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Every device that aims to sell well today is labeled “smart” by the manufacturer. There’s now an entire smart home sector. These smart products can be controlled via an app from anywhere and can sometimes even communicate with each other. Brave new world. But even in the old world, there were already smart devices, they just weren’t called that. TECHBOOK takes a journey through tech history in this article.
The smart wave began with the spread of voice assistants in the mid-2010s. Suddenly, you could turn on the lights, adjust the heating temperature, or play your favorite song with a voice command. However, the idea behind it is much older.
Overview
Even in earlier times, engineers strived to develop devices that would automate and simplify people’s daily lives. Many smart functions existed and still exist in analog or electromechanical form. The only downside: The devices operated independently and couldn’t communicate with other devices.
First Home Automation: A Timer
As early as the 1920s and 1930s, there were the first timers. These mechanical timers allowed lamps, radiators, or radios to be automatically turned on or off at specific times for the first time.
Even today, there are outlets with integrated timers. They are often used to deter burglars by automatically turning on the lights to make it seem like someone is home. However, most people are now familiar with this trick.
Today, there are smart outlets that build on the principle of the first mechanical timers. The modern version can handle a few more functions. For example, different schedules can be set for turning lights on and off, making it at least a bit harder for burglars. The control works from anywhere via an app.
Adjustable Lighting
Even older than the timer are dimmers. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, there were the first devices for adjusting the brightness of electric lighting. However, it was necessary to move to do so–it didn’t work automatically. Later, light switches with integrated dimmers appeared. Depending on the mood or time of day, the light could be adjusted with a rotary control.
Today’s smart dimmers respond to different light influences via sensors. When the evening sun shines through the window, the light is turned off, and it slowly turns back on at dusk. Or a motion sensor detects when a person enters the room and automatically turns on the light. Some devices also respond to gestures to turn lamps on or off. All basic functions can be set and adjusted via an app. Again, it’s an old principle in a new guise.
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Wireless Sockets Automate Processes
In the 1980s and 1990s, wireless sockets gradually entered households, whether for operating individual lamps or turning the lights on and off on a colorfully decorated Christmas tree. A small remote control is included. This allows the lights to be conveniently controlled from the sofa. Wireless sockets are a small-scale smart home. The remote control, usually via infrared, allows a device to be operated at least a few meters away from its location.
This function is also found in the aforementioned smart outlets. They can be controlled via app, voice command, or automatically according to a schedule. Since the connection is possible over the Internet, smart outlets can be operated from anywhere.
Remote Control as an Analog Control Center
Speaking of remote controls: They’ve been available for TVs since the early 1950s. Over time, new devices like VCRs, DVD players, and receivers were added, each with its own remote control. This led the analog development toward a universal remote control, a control unit for as many functions as possible.
This very idea is picked up by platforms like Apple Home, Google Home, or similar formats: a single point from which everything can be controlled. While a remote control is still needed, the smartphone often takes over the job.
Answering Machine as an Analog Mailbox
In the analog era, an answering machine was a significant advancement. After all, early landline phones didn’t indicate if someone had called. Not only that, the transmission of phone numbers via landline only worked with the spread of ISDN. Thus, an answering machine was the only way to be informed about missed calls.
In today’s smartphone era, that sounds absurd. Even the first cell phones from the early days of mobile communication already had a mailbox. The basic technology is also found in today’s voice assistants or AI agents. The fundamental idea of informing someone about missed calls, however, comes from the analog era.
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Teletext Made TVs Interactive
In the early 1980s, ARD and ZDF launched their teletext service. This allowed news to be accessed and read outside the usual TV and radio formats for the first time. A boundary was broken. Until then, TVs could only receive content. Teletext made it possible to retrieve information.
The TV stations’ teletext news service still exists today, albeit with a limited offering. The Internet and AI systems have long served as the go-to source for information. TVs have also become smarter and are now permanently connected to the Internet. Integrated voice assistants replace the remote control or smartphone. Connected storage media allow shows to be recorded at the push of a button. This is much more convenient than using a VCR.
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Smart Home Based on Analog Ideas
Smart home, meaning voice assistants, apps, or artificial intelligence, is not entirely new. It’s just the latest stage of development. Today’s devices smartly use the possibilities of the digital world. However, the basic idea comes from the analog era.
The biggest difference from analog devices is therefore less in the functions and more in the networking of the devices with each other. Previously, each solution worked independently. Today, lamps, heaters, speakers, cameras, and household appliances can communicate with each other if they have a common interface. It’s likely that new intelligent solutions will emerge in the near future to further ease people’s daily lives.