A new report from Strategy Analytics says that smart speaker sales hit a new record in the holiday quarter of 2018, with 86.2 million units sold, a gain of 98 percent over the 38.5 million units sold in the year-ago quarter. That quarterly figure is also higher than the total number of smart speakers sold in all of 2017.
“Smart speakers were the hottest consumer electronics product in 2018,” the firm claims. “Amazon and Google enjoyed a particularly strong quarter thanks to the popularity of their low-cost Echo Dot and Home Mini speakers and both companies recorded quarter-on-quarter increases in market share. [But] Apple’s HomePod … market share fell.”
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
According to Strategy Analytics, Amazon and Google together combined for over 65 percent of all smart speakers sold in the quarter, and Google again gained a lot of ground on Amazon. The online retailer narrowly edged out Google with 13.7 million units sold, good for 35.5 percent market share and 91 YOY growth. But Google grew by 123 percent and sold 11.5 million units, arriving at 30 percent market share. Google’s results are all the more impressive when you consider that it lacks the built-in retail sales engine that Amazon enjoys with its online store.
Three Asia-based firms—Alibaba, Baidu, and Xiaomi—landed in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively, each with low single-digit market share. Apple fell to 6th place, with its vaunted HomePod selling just 1.6 million units and garnering 4.1 percent market share. A year ago, when HomePod first launched, it controlled 4.9 percent of the market.
Strategy Analytics’ numbers include smart display sales, and the firm specifically called out this new class of device a few times in its report.
“Smart speakers and smart displays were once again the most sought-after tech products this past holiday season and we estimate that more than 60 million households worldwide now own at least one device,” Strategy Analytics director David Watkins said. “Smart displays such as Google’s Home Hub, Amazon’s Echo Show and Baidu’s Xiaodu Zaijia are proving popular with consumers who are attracted by the combination of audio and visual stimulus and the wider range of use cases compared to speaker only devices. Smart displays made up more than 10 percent of total shipment demand in Q4 2018 and they are expected to be a significant driver of growth in the market through 2019.”
skane2600
<p>In 1975, about 1.5 million Pet Rocks were sold in 6 months, just to put things in perspective. :)</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#406458">In reply to Michael_Babiuk:</a></em></blockquote><p>Our family is all iPhone. We have the Apple Music family plan. We have a Home Pod in our finished basement near the bar/pool table area. Everyone that hears it is amazed by it.</p><p><br></p><p>For things we ask it to do (play music) it is batting 1000. It also the only speaker that could match and exceed the old Bose Sound Link II BT that it replaced in terms of sound quality.</p><p><br></p><p>When it comes to privacy concerns, I have NONE with the Home Pod. I would never put a Amazon or Google IOT/Smart device in my house.</p>