There will be 200 million smart speakers by the end of 2019, analysts say — including a 166% year-over-year growth in the market for smart speakers in mainland China alone. That’s kind of nuts, even in a booming global economy.
Worldwide, the smart speaker installed base will grow about 85% from 114 million units in 2018 to more than 207 million units in 2019, according to a report from analysts at Canalys this week.
The United States is expected to lead the way when it comes to smart speaker adoption. The U.S. accounts for more than 42% of the smart speaker market install base. The U.S. is running at about 46% growth in the smart speaker market, according to Canalys, moving those of us here in the United States from a shade over 60 million units to almost 90 million units in 2019.
The real kicker in the report is the outlook for China, one of the most lucrative markets on the entire globe for technology. Weirdly, global giants like Amazon and Google don’t pay that much attention to the Asian markets, which means brands that are unfamiliar to Western audiences like Alibaba’s Tmall Genie, Xiaomi’s Xiao Ai, and Baidu’s DuerOS, are going to overtake the big manufacturers. Canalys predicts that Tmall will hit nearly 40% of the 2019 smart speaker market in China, followed by a quarter of the market for Xiao Ai and DuerOS and about 12% for everybody else.
“Local vendors are bullish about China’s smart speaker market, and their aim for this year is to keep growing their respective installed bases in the country by shipping more devices into households,” Canalys senior analyst Jason Low said. “Hardware differentiation is becoming increasingly difficult, and consumers have higher expectations of smart speakers and smart assistants. Vendors will need to focus on marketing the next-generation ‘wow factor’ for their respective smart assistants and voice services to change consumers’ perception and drive greater adoption.”
China’s smart speaker installed base is expected to reach nearly 60 million units by the end of this year. That’s a crazy amount of growth, given that the country only had about 23 million units in 2018.
The real driver that smart speaker manufacturers may be concerned with next is just which digital assistant is driving their platform. Amazon’s Alexa has been in the lead for some time, while the worldwide market is expected to reach 8 billion by 2023 after reaching 2.5 billion in 2018, according to Juniper Research. But with Facebook jumping into the digital assistant market just this month and Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant hot on Alexa’s heels, it should be interesting to see which one of the smart speakers comes out on top.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.