Current Situation and Development Trend of China Intelligent Speaker Industry in 2018

Intelligent speaker is an additional intelligent function based on the traditional speaker, which is mainly embodied in two aspects: first, it has WiFi connection function in technology and can interact with voice; second, it can provide music, audio books and other content services, information query, takeaway and other Internet services, as well as scene intelligent home control capabilities.

I. Market Status of Intelligent Speakers
1. Foundation for the Development of Intelligent Speakers
With the promotion of policy and capital, as well as the development of technology, in 2017, AI entered the application stage, and gradually moved from concept to product. Intelligent speaker is one of the hottest topics in the field of AI. Intelligent speakers are used to depict various beautiful and intelligent life scenes. The outbreak of smart speakers is a collision between people's growing demand for a better family life and technological progress in the context of consumer upgrading. The music, interaction and home attributes of smart speakers make them the entry point.

(1) Modern human beings spend a lot of time on the average day staring at screen products such as mobile phones, computers and televisions, which lasts for more than 7 hours and has reached saturation.

(2) Voice interaction is the most natural and direct way of human communication. With the development of interactive technology, voice can be used to solve problems quickly when people are at a distance from equipment or inconvenient with their hands. It can not only release their hands but also their eyes.

(3) The speaker market should have erupted once in the 1980s and 1990s, but it did not appear. At present, there is still a lot of market space. Soundbox military natural voice attributes, relative to mobile phones, television, flat-panel lighting products. Implementation of voice wake-up, low cost, small size, easy to move, low power. It is easier to become the export of smart home.


2. Market Scale of Smart Home in China
With the development of AI and Internet of Things technology, smart home is flourishing. Internet giants and emerging start-ups lay out their smart home systems from different perspectives such as hardware, technology and system solutions. With the continuous improvement of artificial intelligence technology and the increasing variety of smart home products, it is expected that the smart home market in China will exceed 140 billion yuan in 2017, reaching 142.8 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 25.3%. Although the growth or slowdown is expected, the market will maintain a steady growth, and the market will exceed 200 billion yuan in 2020.

The Scale and Growth Trend of Smart Home Market in China from 2014 to 2018

Relevant Report: China Intelligent Speaker Market Research and Investment Strategic Analysis Report 2018-2024 published by Intelligent Research Consulting Network

3. Sales of Intelligent Speakers
With the background of consumption upgrading, people's growing demand for a better family life and a collision of scientific and technological progress. The music, interaction and home attributes of smart speakers make them the entry point.

In 2017, China's smart speakers market will reach 200 million yuan, with a growth rate of 46.8%. It is estimated that by 2020, the sales of smart speakers will exceed 1 billion yuan. With the further optimization and upgrading of products and the promotion of smart home, China's smart speaker consumer market potential will be released, and the industry is expected to usher in explosive growth.
Market Scale and Growth Trend of Intelligent Speakers in China from 2016 to 2020

2. Analysis of Intelligent Speaker Output
In the first quarter of 2018, global shipments of smart speakers are estimated to reach 9.2 million units. Among them, Amazon ranked first, with an estimated 4 million units shipped, with a market share of 43.6%. Google followed suit with an estimated 2.4 million units shipped, with a market share of 26.5%. Compared with 300,000 units in the same period last year, it increased by 709%, but compared with Amazon, the gap is still large.

Alibaba, a Chinese manufacturer, has performed well, with 7.6% market share and 700,000 Tianmao Elves expected to ship in the first quarter.

Global Intelligent Speakers Delivery in the First Quarter of 2018

Global market share of smart speakers shipped by brands in the first quarter of 2018

3. Development Trend of Intelligent Speaker Industry
1. Combination of sound quality and quality content
Through the current mainstream demands of smart speaker users, the market education should be strengthened to promote public consumption by opinion leaders.

2. Expanding the Industrial Chain
With the development of intelligent speakers, market practitioners need to integrate resources of hardware + technology + content + service by expanding the industrial chain or cooperating to form an ecological closed loop.

3. Improving Platform Layout
With the growth of intelligent speaker products, the interconnection between products has become a follow-up development trend, and the platform accessing multi-product occupies a dominant position.

4. Intelligent and voice interaction technology will become the core competitive technology in the industry.
The essence of intelligent speakers is voice interactive products. Voice interaction technology directly affects user experience. Intelligent and voice interaction technology may become the core competitive technology in the industry of intelligent speakers.