As the custom integration channel heads to Denver for CEDIA Expo 2026, the pre-show news cycle is pointing to an industry that is widening its field of play. The connected home is no longer just about better control, cleaner racks, or bigger screens, although all three are still very much in the mix. This year, the strongest signals are coming from categories that touch business operations, wellness, outdoor living, AI, design collaboration, and whole-property infrastructure.
CEDIA Expo 2026 is looking less like a collection of isolated product launches and more like a convergence point for AI, lighting, outdoor living, infrastructure, power, and service. Based on thorough review of recent exhibitor announcements, company previews, official show posts, and Connected Design’s own pre-show reporting, here are six trends likely to shape the conversations that happen in Denver this week.
1. AI Moves From Buzzword to Workflow
AI will be hard to avoid at CEDIA Expo, but the more interesting story is where it is showing up. The headline is not simply smarter voice control. It is AI entering the day-to-day work of designing, programming, quoting, and managing connected-home systems.
Josh.ai is coming to the show with AI X OS, Josh Edge, and ProStudio, a dealer-facing software suite the company says is designed to reduce programming time and help integrators manage systems more efficiently, according to its pre-show preview. D-Tools is taking a similar operational angle, with Quote Assist, Ask D-Tools, AI proposal templates, and a read-only MCP server that connects D-Tools Cloud data to ChatGPT and Claude, the company said in its CEDIA Expo announcement.
Connected Design has been tracking that same shift for months. In its AI workflow survey content, we noted that 79 percent of respondents said they were either actively using AI or experimenting with it, with early value showing up in proposals, client communications, research, documentation, and service workflows. That context makes the CEDIA news feel less speculative and supports a common thread: AI is being positioned less as a novelty and more as a margin tool. If it can shorten configuration, surface business data, draft scopes, or make home control more contextual, it has the potential to become part of the integrator’s operating system.
2. The Network Becomes the Backbone of Everything
The modern smart home is now so dependent on the network that “networking” feels too small a word for the category. AV distribution, control, shading, security, remote management, power, and even lighting increasingly rely on IP-based infrastructure.
Blustream is leaning directly into that shift. The company will debut 14 new and updated products, including its IP300 AV-over-IP platform, ACM1000 Advanced Control Module, a preview of PROSync 4K/120 AV-over-IP, and the launch of BLUNet, according to its pre-show release. On the show’s new product list, ADI is highlighting the Araknis 830 Wi-Fi 7 Access Point, while Dendo Systems and BTX are both bringing PoE motorization platforms that treat shading as a network-native category, according to the CEDIA Expo new products page.
That aligns with Connected Design’s recent coverage of infrastructure as a front-of-house story rather than a back-room detail. We’ve seen networking, rack planning, remote visibility, and PoE-enabled categories as design enablers because they determine whether a luxury smart home feels seamless after the installation team leaves. It all shows that the integrator’s value proposition is shifting from “install the devices” to “own the infrastructure.”
The winners will be the companies that make systems easier to deploy, monitor, and support after the client has moved in.
3. Big Video Gets Bigger, Brighter, and More Flexible
Premium video is having a very visible moment heading into the show. MicroLED, 8K processing, LED walls, outdoor-rated displays, and high-performance projection are all part of the pre-show conversation.
Quantum Media Systems is coming to Denver with its XDR5-8K video wall system, which it describes as a luxury residential platform built around true 8K performance, 0.9mm pixel pitch, and turnkey integration, according to its CEDIA Expo release. AWALL, DreamWall, Just Video Walls, and BZBGEAR are also listed with new large-format and AV-over-IP video solutions, including foldable MicroLED, outdoor COB MicroLED, and 8K-capable distribution platforms, according to the show’s product listings.
The premium-video story also extends beyond the pure video-wall category. Skyworth’s current lineup for the show includes Canvas Elite Art TV and Clarus Outdoor TV models built around matte-screen, high-brightness, and weather-rated display applications, according to Skyworth’s own product comparison page. Loewe and Cabasse will share an experience room, where Loewe says it will show its German-crafted Stellar OLED TVs alongside Cabasse high-end audio and Salamander Designs furniture, according to a company pre-show post. C-SEED, meanwhile, is using the show to spotlight the C-SEED BUGATTI N1, a 4K MicroLED display with HDR10+, Adaptive Gap Calibration, MiP technology, and an integrated Wisdom Audio sound system, according to C-SEED’s CEDIA Expo post. Not to mention, the thing is a showstopper with how it unfolds.
Beyond all that, Connected Design has already seen that same premium-video story play out in its project and product coverage, where the strongest home theater and media-room angles are rarely about specs alone. The design question is whether high-performance video can fit the room, preserve the architecture, and make the experience feel intentional. This is not just a home theater trend. Large-format video is moving into media rooms, multipurpose luxury spaces, hospitality environments, and outdoor entertainment areas. Integrators will need to understand not only image quality, but also serviceability, viewing distance, brightness, heat, infrastructure, and design impact.
4. Outdoor Living Becomes Whole-Property Integration
Outdoor technology has graduated from “nice patio upgrade” to a serious connected-home category. This year’s Destination Outdoors activation powered by Coastal Source and Lutron makes that point plainly. The feature will span 22,000 square feet outside the Colorado Convention Center and showcase lighting, audio, power, and control across connected indoor and outdoor spaces, according to CEDIA Expo’s preview.
FX Luminaire is also framing outdoor lighting as a standard smart-home component rather than an add-on, with Luxor integration for platforms including Control4, according to the CEDIA Expo press release listings. ADI’s Triad Stratus Series and Coastal Source’s new architectural surface lights add to the same story, as shown in the new product directory.
That tracks with Connected Design’s own coverage of Unique Lighting Systems’ CEDIA channel partner program, which framed outdoor lighting as a practical opportunity built around design services, training, field support, financing, and premium products. The outdoor opportunity is not only about product expansion. It is about design continuity. Luxury clients increasingly expect the driveway, landscape, terrace, pool, kitchen, and entertainment zones to behave like part of the same home.
5. Wellness and Human-Centered Design Become Real Categories
Wellness has been hovering around the edges of the smart-home conversation for years. Heading into CEDIA Expo, it looks more concrete.
Calm Tech Institute is launching a Certified Partner Program for integrators at the show, using a framework that addresses lighting, sound, attention, materials, and sensory experience, according to its announcement. Oval Home is introducing connected bedroom recovery through the Adapt System, with native Crestron and Control4 integration and a channel strategy built around dealers, according to its exhibitor release.
Leon Speakers is approaching wellness and design from another angle, with a refreshed Material Library built around textures, finishes, FSC-certified materials, and design-forward AV integration, the company said in its pre-show release.
Connected Design’s recent Savant coverage points in the same direction. After visiting Savant’s SoHo Experience Center, the brand described a setting where power, lighting, shading, control, automation, and AI worked together to change the character of a room, with scenes shaped around how the space should feel rather than which devices needed to turn on. Together, these announcements suggest a maturing category: technology that supports how a space feels, not just what it does.
6. Integrators Look for Recurring Revenue and Better Business Systems
The final trend may be the most important for the health of the channel. Many of the strongest pre-show announcements are about improving the integrator’s business model.
SpecOp Secure is putting recurring monthly revenue at the center of its CEDIA Expo message, with managed networking, cybersecurity, and cellular amplification programs designed to move integrators beyond one-time project revenue, according to the CEDIA Expo press release directory. Blackwire Designs is emphasizing dealer-first distribution, dynamic D-Tools Cloud integration, preconfiguration, and post-installation troubleshooting support, according to the same press release listings. D-Tools, meanwhile, is expanding Cloud capabilities across quoting, inventory, accounting sync, reporting, and collaboration, according to its announcement.
Connected Design’s August coverage of Savant’s CEDIA plans adds another layer to that business story. SavantOS 12, Savant Essentials, Savant AI, GE Proseo lighting and shades, and Savant Power were presented as a more accessible, scalable path for dealers to enter, expand, and support connected-home projects. The message is hard to miss: integrators are looking for ways to protect labor, improve cash flow, sell service, and reduce operational drag. Products still matter, but the systems that help dealers run more profitable companies may be some of the most consequential launches at the show.
The Bigger Picture
Heading into CEDIA Expo 2026, the connected-home industry appears to be moving in two directions at once. On one side, the experience is getting more expansive: bigger video, richer outdoor environments, more intelligent control, and more human-centered design. On the other, the business underneath those experiences is becoming more disciplined, with more attention on infrastructure, service, software, and recurring revenue.
That combination may define the show. CEDIA Expo has always been a place to see what is new. This year, it may also be a place to see what the custom integration business is becoming.
