All items tagged with smart speakers (254)
Strategy Analytics: Global Smart Speaker Sales Soared 96% To 30.3 Million In Q2 2019
August 19, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Strategy Analytics: Global Smart Speaker Sales Soared 96% To 30.3 Million In Q2 2019

Global sales of smart speakers continued to soar in the second quarter of 2019, reaching 30.3 million units, nearly double the same period in 2018, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. With a 21.9% share, Amazon remained the leading brand. Google retained second place, followed by Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi. Apple’s smart speaker sales increased 81% compared to a year earlier, but its share fell slightly and it remained in sixth place.
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Smart Speakers Continue to Play a Leading Role in the Home Audio Market
August 14, 2019 by Futuresource Consulting

Smart Speakers Continue to Play a Leading Role in the Home Audio Market

The worldwide home audio hardware market grew 20% last year to reach 154 million units, with a further 19% growth projected in 2019, according to a new market report from Futuresource Consulting. The sector, which includes wireless speakers, soundbars, A/V receivers, Hi-Fi systems and dedicated speaker docks, also witnessed 5% revenue growth last year, with trade values reaching $14.5 billion.
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Altice USA Introduces Amplify Smart Speaker Developed with Devialet
August 9, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Altice USA Introduces Amplify Smart Speaker Developed with Devialet

Altice USA, the American arm of the French telecommunications conglomerate, unveiled Altice Amplify, an Alexa-powered smart speaker developed in collaboration with French connected-speaker pioneers Devialet. Directly targeted at the booming North-America smart speaker market, the Altice Amplify introduces "an intelligent, high-fidelity home speaker that powers the connected home." Of course, Altice didn't discard the audio quality argument and worked with Devialet to design a true high-fidelity system.
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Vesper Announces New VM3000 Digital Piezoelectric MEMS Microphone Optimized for Smart Speakers
July 26, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Vesper Announces New VM3000 Digital Piezoelectric MEMS Microphone Optimized for Smart Speakers

Vesper launched its newest, high performance, low power digital piezoelectric MEMS microphone for smart speakers: the VM3000. According to the Boston-based company, this new MEMS microphone is also the most robust and reliable for consumer products. Enabling widespread use of piezo microphones in applications such as smart speakers, headsets, hearables, TV remote controls, smart home appliances and smartphones (just to name a few), the VM3000 extends Vesper’s portfolio in consumer electronics.
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Como Audio Announces New SpeakEasy Real Smart Speaker with Two Channel Stereo System and Bluetooth Turntable
July 25, 2019 by Joao Martins

Como Audio Announces New SpeakEasy Real Smart Speaker with Two Channel Stereo System and Bluetooth Turntable

There’s a new generation of users who want to combine a great music experience with the convenience of the latest streaming and voice-controlled technology. For those users, Como Audio introduced the new SpeakEasy Stereo System, which provides an authentic stereo listening experience, and can be connected with its new Streaming Turntable, for those who want to play records wirelessly all over the house!
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Current Smart Speaker Consumers Value Sound Quality
July 22, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Current Smart Speaker Consumers Value Sound Quality

Apparently Apple got it right. Once again. As smart speaker adoption continues to climb, more than half of existing owners would like to have a smart speaker with better sound quality than their current device, while a similar number would pay more for it. That’s one of the findings from the new “Audio Tech Lifestyles” consumer survey from Futuresource Consulting, conducted in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan and China.
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NPR And Edison Research Release The Smart Audio Report Spring 2019
June 27, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

NPR And Edison Research Release The Smart Audio Report Spring 2019

The Smart Audio Report Spring 2019 is part of the industry's longest-running public research series about smart speaker consumer behavior in the U.S.. The updated research reveals how smart speaker user behavior and perceptions are evolving as owners 'settle in' with their devices and the market matures out of its introductory phase. According to the survey promoted by NPR And Edison Research, seven-in-ten smart speaker owners use their device daily despite common concerns around security and privacy, while those same factors are leading reasons non-owners have not acquired a device.
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Futuresource Looks at Consumers Engagement with Audio Hardware & Content
June 25, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Futuresource Looks at Consumers Engagement with Audio Hardware & Content

Futuresource Consulting announced a brand new consumer market research program – Living with Audio: Consumer Engagement with Audio Hardware and Content. This new service from the market research firm provides an in-depth look at how consumers are engaging with home devices, headphones, smart speakers and audio content. The research answers questions around how many and what devices consumers own in their household, how they are currently using the devices and how often.
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Harman Partners with SoundHound to Introduce Voice-Enabled Solutions for the Hospitality Industry
June 18, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Harman Partners with SoundHound to Introduce Voice-Enabled Solutions for the Hospitality Industry

Harman Professional Solutions and SoundHound, the voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technologies company, announced a partnership to power the voice interface for future JBL Professional-branded solutions for hospitality environments. SoundHound will supply its Houndify voice AI platform to be implemented in Harman's Hospitality Cloud AI, JBL Professional smart speakers and AMX control systems to deliver what Harman is calling Smart Hotel Room Experiences.
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Practical Test & Measurement: The Smart Way of Testing Smart Home Devices
June 12, 2019 by Hans W. Gierlich

Practical Test & Measurement: The Smart Way of Testing Smart Home Devices

In this article for audioXpress, Hans W. Gierlich, managing director of HEAD acoustics, explains how to test the different performance parameters of smart speakers and smart home devices under real-life conditions, how to deal with the challenges of optimizing systems for voice and audio quality, how to simulate environmental conditions, user behavior, and test the performance of the various functionalities. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2019.
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