When Amazon launched theEchoback in tardy 2014 , it kick off one of the biggest trends in tech . Almost overnight , it seemed like every company wanted to get in on that sweet impertinent speaker action . However , largely because Amazon was first to marketplace , the Echo has consistently been the top - sell smart verbaliser for the last three and a half class .
That is , until Q1 2018 , when Google knocked Amazon out of the top spot for the first time by increase sale of Google Homes a astounding 483 percent twelvemonth - over - yr to 3.2 million social unit versus 2.5 million Echo equipment for Amazon , according to tech research firmCanalys .
This is an important import for the still - originate fresh loudspeaker system market . It suggests that Amazon ’s first - mover reward may be finally coming to oddment after in the first place holding a two - yr lead over Google , which launch the originalGoogle Homein late 2016 .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
At the same sentence , this could also be considered a huge triumph for Google . Its Google Assistant iswidelyregardedas the “ smartest ” disembodied AI , but for a long fourth dimension , it was stick seek to catch up to the Echo ’s more mature ecosystem and larger user base .
However , the smart speaker war is far from over . Amazon still holds a meaning leading in full equipment sell , with an overall market parcel of 69 percent versus just 25 percent for Google , as of January , according to Edison Research . As far as the rest of the Q1 2018 sales event go , Alibaba and Xiaomi finished in third and fourth , with smart speaker dispatch accounting for 11.8 percent and 7 per centum of total sale , respectively .
All told , those top four company accounted for nearly 83 pct of all sassy speaker sale , leave companies like Microsoft , which launched its ownCortana - powered speakerin partnership with Harman Kardon last yr , and Samsung , which rumour say will launch its own Bixby - powered loudspeaker system sometime this class , scrambling for the stay on 17.3 per centum of the market .
And then , of trend , there ’s Apple , whose Siri - poweredHomePodlaunched just three calendar month ago to a rather tepid response because , while it has been praise for accept big audio quality , its high price and limited digital assistant features have preclude Apple ’s normally ravenous fan fundament from getting into the smart utterer biz .
AmazonAmazon EchoConsumer Techdigital assistantsGoogleGoogle Home
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