War of the Voice Assistants - News Analysis - Connected World

In 2019, smart speaker ownership in the U.S. surpassed 76 million, according to CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), up from 66 million at the end of 2018. As voice-assistant technologies continue to advance in smartphones, smart speakers, and in vehicles, more consumers and businesses are exploring the benefits of using this technology to make tasks simpler. Tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft are all chomping at the bit, hoping customers will turn to their voice assistants for increasingly complex tasks. CIRP's research suggests Amazon is the current leader in smart speakers, with about 70% of the installed base being Amazon Echo devices, 25% being made up of Google Home devices, and 5% being made up of Apple HomePods. This remains relatively unchanged from the firm's previous year's research, with the exception of slight percentage growth from both Google and Apple in 2019 compared to 2018.