Voice-activated home speakers, commonly called “smart speakers,” arguably represent the most important new audio distribution platform since the smartphone.
Customer consultancy Quadrangle released data around smart speaker adoption in the UK. According to its research, 22% of UK citizens have a smart speaker in their homes. That rate is up from 9% in 2017. Continue Reading
Amazon, Apple, and Google are collaborating with the Zigbee Alliance to create a new standard that will make it easier for smart tech products from the different brands to work together. The parties have launched a working group to create and promote new guidances to increase compatibility for smart home products. Continue Reading
Audio ad tech company Instreamatic announced that its latest partner is Indian music and content streaming service Gaana. Instreamatic will integrate its voice dialogue marketing platform with Gaana. Continue Reading
The Amazon Echo line of smart devices is getting new integrations aimed at improving the options for podcast fans. Both Spotify and Apple announced today that their podcast content can be played on the Amazon devices. We try it out. Mixed results. Continue Reading
Pandora is now testing tools to brings interactive voice advertisements to mobile. The audio company is trialing this technology with several major brands: Doritos, Ashley HomeStores, Unilever, Wendy’s, Turner Broadcasting, Comcast, and Nestle. Continue Reading
Google Assistant has been updated with several quality of life improvements. In addition to new voice commands for retrieving and sharing photos, and for updating notes and lists, the platform now offers topical search for podcasts. We tested it. Continue Reading
Amazon Alexa is hosting a new interactive media story experience, marking another step forward in how voice platforms and smart speakers can find a niche in entertainment. The project is a serialized young adult adventure titled Tala’s World. We test it, jump through hoops, and enjoy it. Continue Reading
Voice dialogue marketing company Instreamatic announced a partnership with Salem Media Group, a broadcaster with 115 radio stations. This deal will make Instreamatic’s technology available to advertisers on Salem’s audio ecosystem. Continue Reading
Amazon has developed several smart speaker iterations for its Echo line of devices. The latest is a battery-powered, portable option that is rolling out in India. The product is called the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition Continue Reading
Pew Research released new data about the growing field of smart speakers. The organization’s survey from June 2019 identified trends in ownership of the devices, as well as gathering opinions about privacy and personalization in this emerging product segment. Continue Reading
New research from Voicebot.ai, Voices.com, and Pulselabs explored consumer preferences in voice assistant technology. The survey found that users much prefer the AI to have a human voice rather than a synthetic one, with human voices scoring 71.6% higher. Continue Reading
Spotify has made its free tier available to listeners on several connected speaker brands. The company now has support for Amazon Alexa, and for speakers from Sonos and Bose. Continue Reading