What is the "Internet of Things" and how does it differ from the regular internet we all know and love? What does "IoT" mean? Is it just a buzzword, or is it the future arriving on your doorstep right now?

They're all good questions! We'll provide all the answers you seek and more.

What Is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of devices where those devices communicate with each other without any human interference. The devices themselves create, modify, delete, send, and receive data between each other on their own, and use that data to make decisions.

For a long time, the internet consisted solely of human-to-human actions:

  • When you visit Facebook, you're telling your browser to notify Facebook that you want to see your feed, and Facebook sends all that data back to your browser for you to see.
  • Upon logging into WhatsApp, you're telling your app to connect to WhatsApp and let everyone else on WhatsApp know you're online. When you send a message, it passes through WhatsApp, and WhatsApp relays it to the recipient.
  • When you play Fortnite, your key presses and mouse movements are sent to Fortnite, interpreted and applied to game objects, and broadcast to all other players in the game.

Every action on the internet was initiated by a human and ultimately passed on to another human. Our current internet is an "internet of people," with data created, modified, deleted, sent, and received by people.

The Internet of Things instead creates a network of physical objects, ranging from a smart light in your bedroom to advanced manufacturing equipment in a vast factory. And that's the key to IoT: the exchange of data between devices, enabling smart capabilities, greater autonomy, analytics, monitoring, and much more.

How Does the Internet of Things Work?

The Internet of Things requires three elements:

  1. A way for devices to connect to other devices
  2. A way for devices to gather data from other devices
  3. A method for devices to process that data and make decisions

Individual devices with integrated sensors can connect and deliver information about their status to one another, creating a network of integrated things. While these IoT devices usually take some human setting up, once they're up and running, the process of collecting and sending data is autonomous and has a vast range of uses.

IoT devices can piggyback on our existing internet connections using Wi-Fi (though there are plenty of wired IoT devices!), or they can use Bluetooth for closer-ranged direct connectivity without a middleman. Other options exist too, such as smart home protocols like ZigBee and Z-Wave.

But even after connecting, devices can only communicate with each other if they can "speak the same language" (i.e., they need to be able to decode the data sent to them). With so many potential "languages," it's impossible for one device to support them all.

That's why many IoT platforms rely on an "interpreter" device, typically known as a smart home hub (if you're using it at home, of course).

Google Nest Hub on white Table

For example, SmartThings products communicate with each other by passing data through a SmartThings Hub. This means each device only needs to know the Hub's language, while the Hub knows how to speak to each device. This relay allows the devices to indirectly communicate with ease. Now that the IoT and other smart devices are commonplace, more industry-wide IoT protocol standardization has taken place. As a result, you'll often find smart home hubs support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Matter, and ZigBee (or a combination of) out of the box, making sure you can connect all of your IoT and smart devices with ease.

What Is an IoT Platform?

An IoT platform is a set of tools that allows various devices to connect and communicate. We already talked about IoT and smart home hubs above, but they're only one part. An IoT platform is more like the overall building blocks of the process, and the hub is just one building block.

So, when someone talks about an IoT platform, they're typically talking about the hub (also called a gateway device), plus the communication protocol used by the platform (such as Wi-Fi, ZigBee, or Z-Wave), plus the underlying software that processes and transmits the network data. It also includes the user-facing applications that allow humans to interact with the devices on the platform.

But, although that sounds like a lot of different things you have to learn to begin using IoT devices, you won't always have to dig into every aspect of the IoT platform.

For example, SmartThings has its Hub as the gateway device. It also supports any device that can "speak" Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, or Matter. These devices communicate through the Hub (e.g., a motion sensor detects movement and notifies the Hub, which turns on connected lightbulbs). The end-user can also interact through the SmartThings app (e.g., turning off specific lights). This whole ecosystem is the SmartThings IoT platform. You can also download third-party SmartThings SmartApps for extra functionality.

How Many Devices Are Connected to the Internet of Things?

With such a vast array of IoT devices operating worldwide, with millions of devices hidden within private networks, there is no single figure to define how many devices comprise the IoT. However, there are a few different sources that deliver estimates.

For example, one Statista chart claims that there were approximately 23 billion connected IoT devices in 2018, whereas a different Statista chart estimates that there were 13.1 billion devices in 2022—some 10 billion fewer devices more than ten years on. Now, this is likely due to differences in reporting, data collection, definitions, and analytics, but it shows the disparity between figures.

statista number of connected iot devices 2019 2030 chart
Image Credit: Statista

3 Benefits of the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things can do a lot that humans can't. This leads to greater efficiency, convenience, and in some cases, even safety.

1. Devices Process Data Faster Than Humans

There's always a significant lag in human-to-human interactions. For example, when you send an email, who knows how long until the recipient reads it, processes it, and writes a reply? Machines can analyze, interpret, and reply to data much faster than we can.

2. Devices Are Better at Managing Data

Devices are designed to dedicate all of their resources to specific tasks, whereas humans are multitaskers. We forget easily, but devices don't.

3. We Can Automate Almost Anything

Imagine if your coffee maker started making coffee on its own as soon as your alarm clock rang. Or if your lawn sprinklers stayed off when a weather sensor detected rain. Or you received an automatic SMS alert when a family member had a medical issue.

Consider a future where all cars are self-driven and can communicate in real-time with nearby cars, leading to fewer accidents and traffic jams. Or where all electrical appliances have access to the city's electrical grid data and only run during low-demand times of day when electricity is cheapest.

The possibilities are endless.

3 Challenges of the Internet of Things

But the Internet of Things isn't without its downsides.

1. Data Security Is Extremely Important

Device-to-device communication is all good until a human decides to spoof a connection and remotely hijack a device for malicious purposes. This may not be a huge issue for, say, a device that regulates home temperature. But imagine if a hacker gained access to a network of medical devices. So while IoT security is a high concern, there are a few common IoT security issues you can handle yourself.

2. Device Malfunctions Are a Real Concern

Software and hardware can both be buggy, and sometimes bugs are major. With the Internet of Things, bugs in data collection or data processing can introduce massive problems into large systems that we grow to depend on, and network crashes could be devastating.

3. Data Privacy Is More Important Than Ever

Maybe the widespread collection and processing of data is something that we shouldn't pursue, even with the promise of a more efficient, more convenient tomorrow. If you're worried about data privacy, like most people, take a moment to secure your smart devices.

What Can You Do With the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things is already used in many ways, and you probably use it without realizing it.

Smart home automation is the main idea for consumers. As more devices in your home become connected to each other, the more you can automate and accomplish using sensors, timers, and triggers. Learn more in our smart home guide for newbies. So, if you have a smart home hub in your living room and you call out, "hub, dim the kitchen lights," you're using the IoT.

It's even better if you have DIY skills and a tinkering spirit. There all kinds of DIY IoT projects you can take on at home, and you can also make some interesting DIY IoT projects using a Raspberry Pi and Windows 10 IoT Core.

The Internet of Things is also revolutionizing healthcare and medical devices. We're seeing better patient care and tracking, smarter surgeries, earlier detection of ailments, and even robotic healthcare assistants, though it does make medical IoT devices a security threat. For example, Wi-Fi pacemakers with alerts have saved victims from impending heart attacks.

The IoT Is Everywhere, and You're Already Using It

A hyper-connected world where every device can communicate was once a futuristic vision. But the Internet of Things is already here, and you've probably used it. As smart home integration steps up and the IoT increases in efficiency, power, analytics, and processing, expect more amazing features and automation.