Smart speaker shipments have almost doubled year-on-year in the second quarter (+95.8%) to 30.3 million units globally, according to the latest study from Strategy Analytics. All regions saw growth, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, with Asia-Pacific remaining the largest region.
While retaining the lead, Amazon lost ground significantly compared with the year-earlier period, as its share of shipments fell to 21.9 percent, from 29.1 percent in Q2 2018. Google retained second place (18.5%), followed by Baidu (15.3%), Alibaba (14.1%) and Xiaomi (11.1%). Like Google, Apple saw its share drop marginally (4.7% from 5.1% in Q2 2018), despite an 81 percent rise in its shipment volumes.
Strategy Analytics has revised its forecast slightly and now expects 148.8 million shipments for the whole of 2019 (147.7 million previously), following ongoing strong demand from China. The global installed base of smart speakers should exceed 260 million units by the end of the year.
Looking ahead, Strategy Analytics said that the prospects for smart speakers remain positive, even in more mature markets like the US where the ownership rate among households has now reached 30 percent. Demand is expected to remain strong in the short and medium term, as the arrival of local language support is opening up untapped areas including Russia, Mexico and Brazil.
