Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) has released results from its research on smart speakers, including the Echo from Amazon, the Home from Google, and the HomePod/HomePod mini from Apple. Not surprisingly, Amazon still dominates the market.
The research group says that, since 2017, Amazon has maintained a dominant share of the installed base of devices, with over two-thirds of smart speakers in US homes. Google has about one-quarter, and Apple and Facebook have the remaining small share.
“The installed base of smart speakers grew considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding over 25 million units in the past year,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder. “Amazon created the marketplace when it released the first Echo almost seven years ago. Two years later Google took meaningful share, but quickly plateaued at around 40% of Amazon’s presence. A few months after Google, Apple introduced its version, and failed to make meaningful inroads, with a single premium- priced model competing against products that included low-priced entry-level devices.”
CIRP based its findings on its survey of 500 US owners of Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod, surveyed from July 1-8, 2021, who owned one of these devices as of June 30, 2021.
However, there’s good news for Apple. As AWT reported on July 29, the latest Smart Speakers Market Tracker report from Omdia says that Apple’s smart speakers have increased by triple digits each quarter in the U.S. Omedia says the second quarter of 2021 was no different.The research group estimates the HomePod and HomePod mini both outsold all other models of smart speakers in the U.S. during 2Q21. The Google Mini was ranked third overall, with about 777,000 shipments, followed by the Echo Dot 3rd Generation with 730,000 shipments in the U.S.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today