Smart Speaker Unit Shipments Expected to Grow 28% in 2020, says Semico Research

Our interaction with electronic devices has changed much over the decades. We have gone from command-line to graphical user interfaces to touchscreens. We have now arrived at a new user interface: voice interaction with assistants such as Amazon's Alexa. Smart speakers installed with a voice assistant are the new way to easily play music or get information. Speakers have transitioned to interactive, connected devices that can operate in concert with other smart devices in the home. In 2020, with COVID-19 and the rise of working from home, demand for the next generation of smart speakers-smart displays-is strong. In fact, manufacturers are developing smart speakers with much larger displays to accommodate remote work. A new report from Semico Research, Smart Speakers: A Booming Market (MP-106-20) forecasts that unit shipments for all smart speakers are expected to grow 28% in 2020.
 
"Over the forecast period, smart displays will make up an increasing portion of the total market, with just over half the total by 2024," according to Adrienne Downey, Director of Technology Research, Manufacturing for Semico. "Low-end speakers will continue to be a substantial portion of the market, as they make a good 'starter' speaker for new households, but they are also inexpensive enough to be placed in every room of the home. High-end smart speakers will remain a niche portion of the market as features and functionality will trickle down to the low end, but high-end speakers will still be popular with audiophiles."
 
Smart Speaker Unit Shipments by Segment
 

Source: Semico Research Corp.
 
Key findings in the report include:

• North America has the largest market share at 41.3%
• China had 480.2 million households in 2019
• The BOM for the low-end speaker is $23.75
• Wafer demand for the semiconductors is expected to have a 25.7% CAGR over the forecast period

Semico's new report, Smart Speakers: A Booming Market (MP-106-20), examines the technology including wafer demand by technology node, design starts by ASIC type , current market data, its forecasted growth (5-year), and a review of those companies producing smart speaker products as well as those companies supplying their semiconductor content, including: AISpeech, Allwinner Technology, Amlogic, Aspinity, Infineon, Mediatek, NXP, Qualcomm, Rockchip, Synaptics, Syntiant and Vesper Technologies.