A drop in the price of the HomePod hasn’t helped Apple grow its share of the smart speaker market. It still has just a tiny percentage of all the units in use in the US, according to new figures from a market-research firm.
There were 76 million smart speakers in American homes and offices during the second quarter of this year, reports Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
That’s 6 million more than were in use in the first three months of 2019, and 26 million more than the same period of 2018. “The market grew by 9% in the second quarter, and more than 50% year over year,” said Josh Lowitz, an analyst with CIRP.
Unfortunately for Apple, it’s seeing just a small percentage of that growth. Amazon Echo has 70% of the installed base, Google Home has 25% and HomePod is at just 5%.
But Apple’s smart speaker isn’t losing ground. “Including Apple HomePod, all three major producers have maintained steady shares of the market in the past year,” noted Lowitz.
Chart: CIRP
Most smart speakers are cheap. Homepod is not.
The difference between HomePod and its rivals is price. Apple dropped the cost of its offering by $50 this spring, down to $299. But it’s competing against the Amazon Echo Dot, which goes for $49.99 when it’s not on sale for less. The Google Home Mini is $49.
“The two leading producers have continued to introduce higher-end models with screens and upgraded sound,” said Mike Levin, a CIRP analyst. “Despite that, the market is dominated by the lowest priced models.”
The Echo Dot and Home Mini were each more than 50% of Amazon and Google’s respective installed bases during the April-to-June quarter.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
