Zego has announced that it is teaming up with S2 Capital and Amazon to modernize about 30,000 apartments in Texas, that will now be smart apartments. Zego is going to be extending its smart apartment platform to over 30,000 apartment units owned by S2 Capital, over the next three years. It'll be using Zego's solution that integrates smart home devices into a single app, making it much easier to control your smart home without having to add more apps to your smartphone and using them to control everything. The app is also going to allow tenants to connect with property staff, and there is also a marketplace of products and local services included. Zego says that the timing of this collaboration is perfect timing, since there has been a pretty steep increase in adoption of smart devices. A recent report found that around one in three people owned between five and nine internet-connected devices. Of course, apartment communities have noticed this and are doing what they can to bring smart devices into units. S2 Capital's founder and CEO, Scott Everett stated that "we've always been committed to seeking out best-in-class technologies that help us continue to evolve the apartment living experience. Having worked with many providers in this space, Zego is a trailblazer in its ability to deliver on the promise of a holistic resident app experience, enabling us to provide residents what they want from their smart apartment, as well as what property managers need." This isn't the first deal that Zego has struck, it has already implemented its system in over 16,000 units across 80 multifamily communities nationwide, and now it is continuing to expand, with this new partnership with S2 Capital. Background: These smart apartment solutions are actually a bigger deal than they sound. This is because many apartment communities do not allow their renters to use smart home products. This is because they are unable to install things like smart thermostats, or smart garage door openers and such. This leaves them with virtually only one product that they can use, which are smart light bulbs. But having Zego come in and provide a number of smart home products in these apartments, is a big deal and makes it easier to have a smart apartment. Part of this is because these smart home products are going to save users a good amount of money, as you'd expect. Especially when it comes to something like a smart thermostat which is going to offer a way for renters to save money on heating and cooling costs. Not to mention using security cameras can also keep unwanted guests out, which gives the whole community a much more safer atmosphere, which is also a great thing. The solution that Zego has here is pretty impressive. Not only are they bringing a slew of smart home products to these apartments, but it is all controlled with a single app. On top of that, the app will allow renters to get in touch with property staff pretty quickly. So say you need to get in touch with the staff to file a maintenance request, you can now do that with the app on your smartphone. On top of that, you also have access to local services, which can also be pretty useful for many, especially if you are new to the area. Not only is Zego making these apartments smarter, but they are also making it much easier for renters to take care of their apartments, which is also pretty important here. As sometimes it can be a real nightmare trying to get in contact with maintenance to file a request to have work done. Impact: This system by Zego is powered by Amazon Alexa, which means that this partnership is really going to affect Amazon and bring in even more customers to use Alexa - and that is exactly what Amazon wants right now. A smart apartment will cost renters about $30 more per month, and considering you aren't paying for these devices, outside of that monthly fee, that's a pretty good price. All renters will be getting an Amazon Echo with the Zego skill pre-loaded. So not only can you control the smart apartment with your voice, but you can also ask Alexa a slew of other things, and even have her order pizza for you, which is pretty cool as well. The Amazon Echo is also great for playing music in your home, especially the newer generation which sports much improved audio, and can even be paired with the new Echo Sub for a really great music experience. In fact, Echo can provide a stereo system to your entire home, which is pretty impressive by itself. The Echo is a great smart speaker and one of the most popular smart speakers on the market right now. S2 Capital is a pretty big property management company in Texas. Mostly found in the Dallas and Houston areas of Texas. It has bought more than $2 billion worth of apartments, in a slew of different neighborhoods. Most of the apartments that they own are pretty modern with a number of them being newly built. This is going to allow Zego to easily bring in its smart apartment solution to its properties. Its prices are also pretty reasonable, so if you are in the Dallas or Houston area (or looking to move to either area) then you may want to check out S2 Capital's properties to see if they have something for you. Zego has not started outfitting their apartments with its new solution just yet, but that will be happening in due time. Zego did say that it would be about three years before it's fully completed, and that is likely because it does take some time to get these apartments outfitted, and get the app up and running for each community. Seeing as the app is going to be customized for each community, because it does get renters in contact with property staff. You can find out more from Zego's website.

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https://www.androidheadlines.com/2018/11/zego-amazon-echo-s2-capital-smart.html