Amazon with its Echo range of smart speakers leads this category with 59 per cent market share, closely followed by Google for the 2nd position
Backed by continuous evolution of technology and an ever-increasing demand of connected home devices, smart speakers in India have witnessed a sequential growth of 43 per cent in second quarter of 2018. A report published by the International Data Corporation (IDC) has also claimed that Amazon with its Echo range of smart speakers leads this category with 59 per cent market share, closely followed by Google for the 2nd position.
Navkendar Singh, associate research director, IDC India said, “Although, the initial usage of smart speakers is currently limited to few use cases, as the smart homes market is at a very nascent stage in India, we are seeing signs of it growing beyond entertainment. Vendors are making efforts for building an ecosystem around the smart speakers, so as to provide superior consumer and connected home experience. As this category continues to gain traction, users are getting acquainted with the voice assistants and opting for it as a single platform to control all their smart home devices needs.”
Google and Amazon boost
The report says that by providing special offers on online platforms and by spending substantially on marketing, Google and Amazon are giving a boost to their respective smart speaker range in India.
IDC has also mentioned that Google and Amazon are also adding new partners in order to make smart speakers one of the most sought-after and novel devices for the Indian households.
Amazon has indeed been providing its partners with Alexa Skills Kit and Alexa Voice Service. Some of the prominent partners listed on the Amazon website include Byju’s, Urbanclap, Syska, Ola and Goibibo.
Consumers in India can book services listed under these Amazon partners simply by giving voice commands, a feature that is growing at a very paced rate in the country.
Smart speakers available in India
The list of smart speakers available in India includes Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Echo Show, Google Home Max, JBL Link View, Sonos Beam, Sonos One, Lenovo Smart Display and Amazon Echo Plus.
While Amazon smart speakers come integrated with Amazon Alexa, Google smart speakers are powered by Google assistant. Sonos One and Sonos Beam, come integrated with Amazon Alexa. JBL, on the other hand, has integrated its smart speaker Link View with Google Assistant.
Smart speakers’ prices in India
The smart speaker products in the country are available from a starting price of Rs 3,499 (Amazon Echo Dot, 2nd gen) and go up to a price tag of Rs 99,999 (Sonos Beam Smart TV Soundbar with Amazon Alexa).
Google has priced ‘Home’ smart speaker at Rs 9,999 and Google Home Mini smart speaker at Rs 4,499.
