Global sales of smart speakers continued to soar in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019, reaching 30.3 million units, nearly double the same period in 2018, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics.
With a 21.9% share Amazon remained the leading brand, although its share has fallen from 29.1% in Q2 2018. Google retained second place, followed by Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi. Apple’s HomePod sales increased 81% compared to a year earlier, but its share fell slightly and it remained in sixth place.
“Q2 sales increased in all regions, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, and Asia-Pacific remained the largest region,” says David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics. “The continued surge in demand for smart speakers in China has led us to marginally increase our full year 2019 global forecast to 148.8 million units and we now expect the global installed base of smart speakers to exceed 260 million units by the end of the year.”
