New global smartspeaker data shows Apple's HomePod remains a bit player

Apple and the HomePod remain a marginal factor in the global smartspeaker market, not even in the top five brands, according to new research estimates.

Roger Fingas 7 years ago 49

Google Home speaker users offered ad-supported access to YouTube Music

Google is giving owners of its Google Home smart speaker range free access to YouTube Music, with the ad-supported music streaming service arriving at the same time as Amazon's free variant launched for the Echo device range, in a bid to keep users from subscribing to Apple Music or Spotify.

Malcolm Owen 7 years ago 1

Apple Music option in Google Home app for iOS stirs rumors of coming support [u]

The latest Google Home for iOS update, released on Monday, includes a user interface change referencing support for Apple Music, leading some to suspect that official integration with Apple's service will soon debut for Google smart home hardware.

Mikey Campbell 7 years ago 7

HomePod holding at 6 percent of growing US smartspeaker market

The HomePod took 6 percent of the install base for U.S. smartspeakers in the December quarter, new research data claims, illustrating the uphill battle Apple faces versus Amazon and Google in an emergent marketplace flooded with cheaper alternatives.

Roger Fingas 7 years ago 45

Review: Polk Assist is an attractive and small speaker with Google Assistant support

With the popularity of the Amazon Alexa lineup and Apple's own HomePod, others have been rushing to market with their own speech recognition-capable speakers, baking in Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon Alexa, or as in the case of the Polk Assist — Google Assistant. AppleInsider takes a look to see what it offers the Apple user.

Andrew O'Hara 7 years ago 2

Google takes top spot in global smart speaker market, HomePod nowhere to be found

In a smart speaker marketshare leaderboard not yet cracked by Apple's HomePod, Google has overtaken Amazon according to new research data.

Stephen Silver 8 years ago 46

Apple sold about 600,000 HomePods in the first quarter

Apple may have shipped just 600,000 HomePods during the March quarter, according to an estimate published on Thursday, giving it 6 percent of the fledgling smart speaker market.

Roger Fingas 8 years ago 48

Smart speaker assistants compared: Siri vs. Alexa vs. Google Assistant

Apple's HomePod brings Siri into the home for the first time, but how does the virtual assistant stack up against established technologies like Amazon's Alexa and Google Home's Google Assistant? We put the latest versions of each smart speaker to the test in this video comparison.

AppleInsider Staff 8 years ago 32

Amazon to stop sales of all Nest products as battle with Google intensifies

Customers will soon be unable to find products made by Google-owned Nest on Amazon, a result of a decision the online retail giant made to not to carry the smart home device maker's latest gear, a report said on Friday.

Mikey Campbell 8 years ago 30

See Apple's HomePod take on the competition in our ultimate smart speaker sound comparison

AppleInsider puts HomePod's sound quality to the test against four smart speaker competitors, Sonos' One, Amazon's second-gen Echo, Google Home and Google's Home Max, in this comprehensive comparison. Find out which comes out on top.

AppleInsider Staff 8 years ago 48

Test finds HomePod's Siri 'at the bottom of the totem pole' in smartspeaker AI

While the Apple HomePod is the "best sounding" smartspeaker and has a "measurably better" user experience in many areas, its underlying AI assistant — Siri — failed dramatically in a query test versus Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana, according to Loup Ventures.

Roger Fingas 8 years ago 113

Stacking up Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo and Google Home

Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple all have voice assistants vying for attention, and all are moving the concept of computer-human voice interaction forward. AppleInsider offers an abbreviated history of how we got here and the capabilities of these assistants and their devices in anticipation of HomePod. What do these things do? What do people use them for? And what is Apple doing differently?

Victor Marks 8 years ago 37

As Apple's HomePod misses Christmas, Amazon Alexa tops App Store charts for first time

In a first for the app, Amazon Alexa has topped Apple's U.S. App Store charts, backing claims that the Echo Dot speaker was the top-selling item on Amazon.com during the holidays.

Roger Fingas 8 years ago 83

Why Apple's Siri needs to become an 'ambient' ecosystem to compete against Amazon & Google

The HomePod — now due in 2018 — will mark Apple's first real attempt at making Siri an "ambient" voice assistant. Arguably, though, the company needs to push a lot harder if it wants people to choose Siri over alternatives from Amazon and Google.

Roger Fingas 8 years ago 59

After Apple's HomePod delay, Google's $399 Home Max speaker goes on sale

While Apple's HomePod couldn't reach store shelves before the end of 2017, Google's competing Home Max speaker has arrived right on time, with orders now being accepted at Best Buy and shipping in time for Christmas.

Neil Hughes 8 years ago 28

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