Apple was kind of late to the smart speaker game when they launched the HomePod, allowing companies like Amazon and Google to pretty much snap up the majority of the market share. However, it did not help that the original HomePod was kind of a flop. With its expensive price tag, it made it a bit of a harder pill to swallow.
Apple eventually launched the HomePod mini, a much more affordable alternative to those who wanted a smart speaker in Apple’s ecosystem, and it seems that the company’s efforts have paid off. This is according to Strategy Analytics who based on their research, discovered that the HomePod mini actually allowed Apple to double its smart speaker market share.
The research firm estimates that Apple had shipped about 4 million smart speakers in the third quarter of 2021, which resulted in them nabbing 10.2% of the smart speaker market. This is almost double that of 2020 where Apple’s market share was sitting at around 5.9% prior to the HomePod mini launching, so it stands to reason that this new cheaper and smaller speaker could have contributed to the company’s growth.
That being sad, Apple is still quite behind other companies like Amazon and Google, both of whom have over 20% of the market. What’s interesting is that despite not being available in the US, companies like Baidu and Alibaba are placed third and fourth respectively, beating out Apple who sits at fifth position.
Filed in . Read more about Connected Objects, HomePod, IoT (Internet of Things), Siri and Speakers. Source: macrumors