Google found a second wind in the smart speaker race, with some impressive YoY growth, up 449%, according to TechCrunch.
The company doubled their number of devices shipped in the last year to 5.4m units, usurping Amazon’s measly 4.1m, to become the current heavyweight smart speaker champion of the world.
And it’s not just Google Amazon should be worried about…
Chinese companies have captured almost 30% of the global market in the last year, with companies like Alibaba and Xiaomi respectively shipping around 3m and 2m smart speakers.
The two are 3rd and 4th on the leaderboard (Apple didn’t even make the list) and currently account for more than 90% of market share in China.
Global is the new local…
With Europe and Asia accounting for 68% of Amazon’s growth and 58% of Google’s, companies are doubling down on the number of languages their devices can support.
Quartz notes this could be a sign of overcrowding in the US market, and a reason people have moved on from the Amazon product line (recent updates of Amazon’s speakers have reportedly offered few reasons to upgrade).
And, while Amazon still has a significant head start in the market, Google still has some tricks up their sleeve…
