Tech Update| More Than 39 Million People Using Smart Speakers

vnyrox (9)in #technology • 6 years ago

One in six Americans now own a smart speaker, according to new research out this week from NPR and Edison Research a figure that’s up 128 percent from January, 2017.

They are already present in millions of American homes
The adoption speed of the speakers exceeds that of telephones

We have experienced three great great revolutions in the way we communicate and use our devices. The first was the arrival of the command line, complex but undoubtedly more versatile than introducing instructions on a machine based on punched cards. Then came the graphical interface, possible thanks to the mouse and the pointer. Today we live immersed in the third revolution, that of the touch screens. And the fourth? What will be next? We already have an answer, and it is the voice. The speed at which smart loudspeakers are entering American homes surpasses that at that time had other technologies, such as mobile phones or tablets.

According to a study by the consulting firm Edison Research for American public radio NPR, 39 million of people in the country already has an Echo device from Amazon or Google Home. These speakers give presence in the home to the virtual assistants of these companies (Alexa and Assistant, respectively) in a more accessible way for the whole family. Although it is possible to access Google Assitant, for example, from the mobile phone, a speaker allows you to speak with him in natural language from any point of the room where it is installed.

The uses of this type of devices vary according to the home and type of users, but in most homes it is used to find information about restaurants and other businesses, set alarms and timers to cook, control the domotic devices, play, send messages, order food at home and of course to listen to music.

They are loudspeakers, in the end and in the end. More than half of the American users - the only market that has developed enough - install these devices in the living room or living room. Another 21% in the kitchen and 19% in the bedroom. In most cases, the use of these devices steals time to the traditional radio or smartphone. More than a third of users recognize that they now consume music or podcasts on these types of devices.

Almost the same amount also confesses that since he has the device he sees less television. Making the purchase does not seem to be the effect of the initial enthusiasm. In almost two-thirds of households, these devices are used more than they were used at the beginning, and even for tasks that many consultants considered would be difficult to implement, such as purchasing. At least 22% of the 2,000 surveyed by Edison Research acknowledge having used these speakers to buy through the network, above all, products for the home.

The enthusiasm and speed of adoption have surprised the market, which expected some resistance to these devices because of the implications for privacy. They are a microphone always listening inside the house (although they do not send information to the server to be interpreted if they do not listen before the activation word, which is usually the name of the virtual assistant).

Apple, which in some way gave the starting signal for the career of virtual assistants with the introduction of Siri in 2011, has also set eyes on the sector. Last June, it announced its first smart speaker, HomePod, and had planned to put it on the market by the end of 2017. Finally, the company has delayed the departure to the first half of 2018, although for the moment without a specific date.