Amazon is beating Google in the Smart Speaker race

2017 was a great year for Tech Gadgets with some awesome products released this year. However, it was also the setting of a great race is going on between companies as they launched similar products and asked the market to decide. One example is Google and Amazon battling it out with their smart speakers, and so far, consumers are the main winners.

A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners says that it is surprising to find that the total number of smart speakers sold by Amazon is way more than Google have sold. As of September 2017, Google has shipped 7 million Google Home products whereas Amazon has shipped almost 20 million Echo devices. That is three times more than Google. One thing to noted is these numbers are just through September and don’t include the holiday shopping season.

One of the biggest reason for Amazon’s lead in Smart Speakers race is its market appearance. What we are trying to say is Amazon Echo was first to the market and has had time to gain the faith of buyers and users, and has also had greater exposure. Echo generation 1 was launched in June 2015 and Google launched Home in November 2016 which gave Amazon Echo almost a year and a half head start.

Amazon Echo Dot came to market in March 2016 which was again earlier than Google Home Mini. It gave customers a much cheaper way to get a smart home speaker. The results speak for themselves: the Echo Dot has been Amazon’s biggest seller.

Amazon is getting better and better at reaching consumers, with the second-generation Echo cheaper than ever. The price of Echo is $79 and was $180 when it was launched. Temporary price reductions are also getting more extreme, like the Echo Show which you can get for $80 off its normal asking price.

Google is also fighting hard to keep up. Google dropped the price of the Google Home Mini, which competes with the Dot, to $29 for the holiday season. Also, the price of original Google Home was reduced to $79. Another in the lineup was Google Home Max that it announced earlier this year priced at $399.

Another reason for Amazon being ahead of Google is its pricing strategy. You might be shocked to know that the Amazon doesn’t make much off the products it sells. It currently sits at a 3% operating margin, whereas Google is at 26% and Apple 27% this fiscal year.

You will also see Apple’s HomePod this coming next year. It was announced earlier this year and will start shipping early in 2018. The price of the HomePod will be $350, which will be competing to Home Max. We will have to see how it does and if it has the capacity to unseat the Amazon Echo.

Which of the Smart Home devices are you picking this holiday? Let us know in the comments section below.

Via: GizCentral