Tech trends in Asia-Pacific: smart speakers, smartphones and AI

Smart speakers are all the rage in China and demand for smartphones shows no sign of slowing down in the region, according to GfK Asia. Latest sales figures released by the consumer market research firm show that 27 million smart speakers were shifted in November and 35 million in December in China last year. Powered by virtual assistants, voice-activated smart speakers in China include the Xiaomi Mi AI and Alibaba's Tmall Genie X1 (Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post). GfK reports that there are 34 products from 21 different brands in the country. Other global products include the Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Apple HomePod.