The latest report released by Strategy Analytics today shows that globally the winners of the smart speakers market are still Amazon and Google. China’s Baidu, Ali, and Xiaomi rely on price advantages to prevail in shipments. Apple’s HomePod is only sixth.
Amazon was the world’s largest smart speaker supplier in the fourth quarter of 2019, with shipments of 15.8 million, accounting for 28.3% of the market share. Google occupied 24.9% of the market with 13.9 million shipments, ranking second. Chinese brands Baidu, Alibaba, and Xiaomi are close behind.
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Apple’s HomePod smart speaker shipments in the fourth quarter of 2019 are 2.6 million. And its share in the smart speaker market is 4.7%, ranking sixth.
In fact, Apple’s HomePod shipments in the fourth quarter of 2019 have increased significantly by one million units compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, a 65% increase year-on-year. However, this has not helped much to increase its market share.
The overall market for smart speakers grew by 44.7%, with a total shipment of 55.7 million units, up from 38.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018. Strategy Analytics said that although the supply chain was temporarily suspended by the coronavirus, 2020 is expected to be a record year for smart speaker sales.
In this list, Amazon and Google’s leading factors have first-mover advantages. Also, they have price advantages. Their smart speakers have extended multiple categories to cover a large price range. The same is true of the three Chinese manufacturers on the list.
Consumers are attracted to low prices, and Apple HomePod is priced at $299 in the United States. Plus, it is not available in a number of countries.
Also Read: HomePod Will Support 3d Gestures And Face ID In The Future
There have been rumors that Apple is developing a lower-cost HomePod, which will be released sometime in 2020.
