Canalys: Global smart speaker installed base to top 200 million by end of 2019

Canalys forecasts the worldwide smart speaker installed base will grow 82.4% from 114.0 million units in 2018 to 207.9 million in 2019. The US is expected to maintain its lead in terms of smart speaker adoption, accounting for 42.2% of the global smart speaker installed base by the end of the year. The East Asian markets stood out, particularly China, as these countries present larger growth opportunities due to the sheer number of middle-class households and a working population willing to embrace new technology. The Chinese market is one of the world’s most competitive, yet Google and Amazon have no presence there.

“The growing installed base of smart speakers is an opportunity to create new business models and to drive profit beyond music and audio content streaming services,” said Canalys Senior Analyst Jason Low. “Smart assistants are becoming a conduit to offer services, such as assisted living, healthcare and government services. Smart speakers and smart displays are relatively new device categories for service entities, and platform vendors have a responsibility to ensure that partners and developers know how to use them and their smart assistants to get the most value out of every interaction with end users.”

China’s smart speaker installed base is expected to reach 59.9 million units by the end of 2019. “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,” continued Low. “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.”

The extended ICT industry should now take note of the size and speed of smart speaker market growth, as well as the rising use of smart assistants. “Vendors want smart assistants to be the default option for channeling vital information and communication duties for the masses, allowing for new service integration, such as digital health and assisted living. Extended technology players in the fields of security, finance, health, data analytics and others should be on the lookout for new opportunities arising from this trend.”

Smart speaker quarterly estimate and forecast data is taken from Canalys’ Smart Speaker Analysis service.

For more information, please contact:

Canalys EMEA: +44 118 984 0520
Ben Stanton: ben_stanton@canalys.com +44 118 984 0525
Kelly Wheeler: kelly_wheeler@canalys.com +44 118 984 0529

Canalys APAC (Shanghai): +86 21 2225 2888
Nicole Peng: nicole_peng@canalys.com +86 21 2225 2815
Jason Low: jason_low@canalys.com +86 159 2128 2971

Canalys APAC (Singapore): +65 6671 9399
Rushabh Doshi: rushabh_doshi@canalys.com +65 6671 9387
Ishan Dutt: ishan_dutt@canalys.com +65 8399 0487

Canalys Americas: +1 650 681 4488
Vincent Thielke: vincent_thielke@canalys.com +1 650 656 9016
Marcy Ryan: marcy_ryan@canalys.com +1 650 681 4487

About Canalys

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

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