CEDIA Expo 2026, the smart home industry’s biggest trade show for professional installers, drew hundreds of exhibitors to Denver from September 1-4, and three announcements from Control4, Sonos and Somfy point to what’s about to trickle down into ordinary living rooms this fall. Between a redesigned whole-home control interface, an overhauled audio operating system with AI voice options, and motorized shades that finally talk directly to a home automation hub, the show made clear that “smart home” is quietly getting less clunky.
ADI, the distributor behind Control4, rolled out its Control4 X4 interface and Control4 Connect service globally starting July 8, 2026, ahead of showcasing both at the Denver expo, according to the company’s own announcement. X4 replaces the platform’s older interface with a cleaner home screen and adds Routines and Widgets that let homeowners tweak everyday settings themselves instead of calling an installer for minor changes. Eric Fritz, ADI’s senior director of product management, said in the announcement that “X4 modernizes the user interface in a way customers immediately appreciate, while Connect ensures every system stays secure, current and ready for what comes next.” Connect Service itself is optional and layers in remote access, system health monitoring, and voice control through Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, with a premium tier adding Apple Music, AirPlay 2 and HomeKit integration.
Sonos leans into AI, new hardware
Sonos used the show window to introduce Sonos 27, the next version of its audio operating system, alongside two new products: the Beam Ultra soundbar with 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos support, and Ace Ultra headphones that link directly into a home’s Sonos system, according to the company’s own newsroom announcement. The update introduces Sonos 27voice, an in-house assistant tuned for music and mood, plus a connector called Sonos 27mcp that lets the system plug into outside AI tools including OpenAI’s ChatGPT. CEO Tom Conrad said in the release that “a home deserves an audio operating system made just for it,” while Chief Innovation Officer Nick Millington framed the AI push around choice, saying “the smartest home isn’t run by one do-everything assistant, it’s run by people having the ability to pick – or create – the right agent.” The new app navigation and early AI access began rolling out September 8, with Beam Ultra and Ace Ultra reaching general availability September 29.
Somfy’s shades finally skip the extra hub
Somfy demonstrated a native Control4 integration for its Zigbee 3.0 motorized shade motors at its CEDIA booth, according to Residential Systems. Compatible shades can now be discovered directly inside Control4’s Composer software without a separate bridge or hub, and the system offers two-way feedback so a homeowner’s app actually reflects whether a shade is open, closed, or somewhere in between. That integration is expected to reach installers around the first quarter of 2027.
None of these are do-it-yourself gadgets pulled off a shelf. All three are built for the professional integrator channel that installs whole-house systems, which means most homeowners will encounter them only once a local installer adds them to a quote. But the direction is consistent across all three companies: fewer separate apps, fewer extra boxes wired into a closet, and interfaces built for a homeowner to adjust without picking up the phone.
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