Voice-activated home speakers, commonly called “smart speakers,” arguably represent the most important new audio distribution platform since the smartphone.
Google Assistant can now use a Sonos speaker as its default hardware. Sonos hardware received updates this week that will allow those devices to be the primary player for requests of the voice assistant. Continue Reading
Strategy Analytics released its latest analysis on the global smart speaker market. Its Q4 results found that Amazon is still the top brand by market share, followed by Google, although both are being challenged by companies in China. Continue Reading
eMarketer’s latest report offers a snapshot of the U.S. smart speaker market, and the outlook is still rosy for Amazon. The company’s Echo line is projected to be used by 69.7% of U.S. smart speaker users in 2020 and by 68.2% in 2021. Continue Reading
eMarketer has been tracking the adoption of smart speakers, and while the device segment is growing in popularity, its use as tool for ecommerce has not risen as rapidly. The company’s latest projection is that by the end of 2020, 21.6 million people in the U.S. will have used a smart speaker to make a purchase. Continue Reading
The UK is taking steps toward increasing consumer privacy around the growing segment of connected hardware. New legislation will apply guidelines to all Internet of Things consumer smart devices sold in the region. Continue Reading
Canalys has released a new forecast for the smart tech sector in the coming years. The company projected that more than 3 billion smart devices would ship during 2023, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5% from 2019. Continue Reading
Sonos announced that it will be ending updates and support for some of its older products. The company said in a blog post that it will no longer create software updates for several models that it launched before 2010. Continue Reading
Spotify caught eyes and ears last spring with its plans for a piece of voice-activated hardware dubbed Car Thing. Now, it seems to have a new setting as its next goal, according to the latest update from a noted reverse-engineer. Continue Reading
Google has several options for audio playback on its Home collection of smart speakers, but one appears to have been axed. The absense is Guest Mode, which lets visitors use Chromecast to play their own content to smart devices without logging onto WiFi. Continue Reading
Samsung has been quiet about its smart speaker efforts for some time, but the company is now sharing a new planned release window for one of the long-awaited projects. The Galaxy Home Mini is now expected to be available for purchase in “early 2020.” Continue Reading
The winter 2019 edition of the Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research has been released on the CES stage, with the latest insights on how listeners are using voice tech and smart speakers. In the new report, 24% of U.S. adults own a smart speaker for an audience of about 60 million people. Continue Reading
Sonos has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the tech giant infringed on patents in developing its smart speakers. The suit claims that Google infringed on five patents and seeks both financial damages and a ban on the sale of Google’s speakers, smartphones, and laptops in the U.S. Continue Reading