ANALYSIS: VOICE CONTROL Home Entertainment


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With stalling sales, it’s beginning to look like Alexa and Google Assistant have lost their magic. Steve May reports…


A Google Mini


sk Alexa how the voice control smart speaker market is doing and she’ll shrug her virtual shoulders and mutter: “Could be better…” After a boom that had everyone talking, it


seems things have quieted down quite a lot. Simon Forrest, Analyst at Futuresource Consulting, says the category is currently in “a bit of a lull”, noting: “With ownership levels close to saturation, product rollout and adoption in developing countries is less spectacular than we saw previously in countries like the UK and US.”


Futuresource estimates that there were around 104 million smart speakers and displays shipped globally in 2022, and the market is expected to decline slightly to 103 million in 2023. “The market appears to be at something of a


crossroads, with both Google and Amazon seemingly questioning the benefits of the current business model which sees them selling devices at or below cost. To really take off again and reach the next stage of growth a new approach may be needed...” According to reports circulating in the business press late 2022, the division which suffered the most


when Amazon announced the cutting of 10,000 jobs, was Alexa. Plans to monetise the platform are struggling; it seems that while users are happy for Alexa to play music and set egg timers, they’re less likely to order goods through it. Amazon’s Worldwide Digital group, home to Alexa, reportedly lost $3 billion during the first quarter of 2022. According to data tracked by Business Insider,


Alexa is currently the third most popular voice assistant in the US. Google Assistant has 81.5 million users, Apple’s Siri has 77.6 million, and Alexa trails at 71.6 million.


Amazon Echo Show 10. Left: Google Nest


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