Market research firm Strategy Analytics has another snapshot of the smart speaker market. The results for Amazon look positively rosy, full of potential for Google, and not-too-bright for Apple.
The company released a ranking of the top smart speaker models in the United States from a poll of more than 1,000 people during July and August. The Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot topped the list with shares of 23% and 21%, respectively. Those products held a decisive lead over the nearest competitors, the Google Home with 8% and Google Home Mini at 7%. Four other products on the list were from the Echo line. The Apple HomePod reported just a 4% share.
The Apple HomePod had a rough road to launch before finally hitting the market in early February. A delay meant that Apple’s lone smart speaker product missed out on any potential boost from the holiday shopping season. It also created more of a gap between its arrival and the early start taken by Amazon.
Google’s trajectory still seems positive, even though this data set still gives Amazon a big lead in the U.S. market. Strategy Analytics reported that the Google Home Mini was the top-selling smart speaker globally during Q2 2018. Even though the lineups for the Amazon Echo and Google Home collections are similar, Google seems to have enough brand loyalty among shoppers to make it a long-term competitor for the top spot.
Although it seems like these reports are always dominated by the same few names, the smart speaker market does have other players besides those top three, especially when looking at a global scale. The following chart gives a sense of scope:
The numbers for Alexa (60 models!) and Google Assistant (39 models!) might include cosmetic variations like color. Interesting to note that Cortana (Microsoft) and Siri (APple) are represented by just one device model each.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a plurality of devices are priced in the $100 – $199 range:
Smart speakers are mostly non-display devices. But when Strategy Analytics updates this report next, we might expect the percentage to grow, as Facebook and Google have both recently released screen devices.
