If You Think Josh Is All About Voice Control… Think Again!

Josh
5 min readJul 17, 2023

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Josh App Interactive Home Page

Welcome to the next generation of simple, private, and magical home control.

While Josh.ai launched in 2015 as an advanced AI for the custom home, it has since grown into a complete control solution. Through years of development refining robust integrations, innovative features, and purposeful design, the Josh.ai platform has uniquely laid the groundwork for smart homes going forward. This evolution has culminated in a new control solution for CI dealers, breaking all of the molds with Josh.ai’s home intelligence to usher in the next era of multi-faceted and intuitive user experiences.

As the industry’s mindset evolves, Paul McGuire from Konex AV (CA) speaks for many Josh.ai dealers when sharing his personal experience: “I was introduced to Josh back when it first started, but never got involved. I was then given a takeover job from another dealer that had installed Josh in a project, and I realized how easy it was — it auto senses everything. Josh was more than just voice — it’s touch, voice, and text — and it convinced me that Josh is superior. I think the Josh platform is the right approach moving forward, and I’m using Josh in all my jobs. I’m looking for ways to remove my other control systems. Josh changed my thinking as to how I program things.”

As a dealer only product, Josh.ai is extremely protective of its pricing information in order to preserve generous margin for its partners. When comparing the price points for various control offerings, Paul looked at the overall costs of selling Josh.ai, and has “…sold 8 systems so far. What I love is that Josh takes all the custom programming out of my hands. When I look at overall costs, it actually is cheaper for me to use Josh. Josh comes with a great app that is customized automatically, but doesn’t need me to program anything, saving me and the client money. Josh includes voice as well, so it’s a no brainer for me. If you present it to a client this way, instead of as hardware and software line items, Josh is an easy sell.”

For professional installers seeking a modern control experience to present their clients, the Josh App combined with any of Josh.ai’s compatible remotes offers a full suite of intuitive tactile interfaces. For clients looking for simple control without the need or desire to give voice commands, the Josh App’s settings menu provides the ability to disable microphone access. The Josh App equips users with remote accessibility when away from home and a beautiful interface when presented on a wall-mounted iPad.

Josh iPad App Interactive Homepage

A robust platform for personalization, the Josh App provides seamless control over everything an intelligent home has to offer. Clients enjoy an elegant layout that includes quick access to their system’s settings, custom dashboards, devices, areas, and scenes. In addition to configuring a scene with device-specific adjustments, Josh.ai’s Natural Language Scene Editor empowers users to simply type or voice dictate a scene’s activations and conditional automations.

Josh App Interactive Homepage (Left) and Josh App Control View (Right)

With Josh Core and Josh Micro, installers have a high-end and a more accommodating option for a control processor to fit any project. While Josh Core has been designed to beautifully fit in the rack with a co-developed Middle Atlantic shelving solution, Josh Micro can also run on POE and simply sit on a rack shelf. By deploying Josh Core and Josh Micro via POE, a direct connection to the local network ensures a reliable experience.

Josh Core Processor

Once installed on the local network, Josh.ai is among the most efficient control experiences to deploy. A differentiating feature with all of Josh.ai’s integrations include auto-discovery of partner products, enabling rapid configuration and seamless control. Once a Josh Micro or Josh Core is deployed in a new environment, it instantly connects to the local network and begins detecting compatible devices for a dramatically reduced setup time when compared to other control platforms. Within seconds, users can freely interact with their surroundings through the Josh App.

Josh Micro Processor

After deploying a Josh.ai system, installers can breathe easily thanks to remote support tools in the web-based Josh Portal (that’s right, no proprietary software to download). Josh.ai also diligently updates its integrations to ensure compatibility with new models and features to proactively support its connected device ecosystem. This dedication to continuous improvement is a cornerstone of successful software service and a significant value for every client. Josh.ai systems receive over-the-air software updates on a bi-weekly cadence, including new capabilities and integrations.

Josh Portal System Setup Tool

For dealers and clients interested in the future of control, Josh.ai’s differentiators and benefits include:

  • Rapid system deployments
  • Simple to configure and customize
  • Competitive pricing with generous margins
  • Evolving and improving software
  • Uncompromising stance on user privacy
  • Reliability and remote support
  • Ability to enable best-in-class AI and voice control when desired
  • Elegant app interface
  • Powerful universal remote control options
  • Unwavering commitment to dealer enablement

As dealers seek forward-thinking control alternatives due to recent changes in the industry, Josh.ai provides the freedom to integrate best-in-class third party environmental and AV brands without taxation. Whether a system’s design includes industry leading products like Lutron, Sonos, and Sonance or requires broader integration by leveraging Crestron or Control4 as control bridges, Josh.ai is a company that has always been committed to the channel and will continue to prioritize the business of its dealers. As the industry enters a new era of Home Intelligence, Josh.ai is proudly transforming the landscape of control with unparalleled efficiency, innovation, and sophistication.

About Josh.ai

Founded in 2015, Josh.ai is a Denver based company creating platforms and products that enable true natural interaction with technology in everyday life. With a focus on AI, machine learning, and intuitive design, the mission at Josh.ai is to transform how we live in our environments. To learn more about how Josh.ai powers simple, private, and magical smart home experiences, visit www.josh.ai or email hello@josh.ai.

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