Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple’s HomePod would ship anywhere between 2 million and 4 million units over the course of 2018, a somewhat disappointing number when the sales of rival offerings are taken into account. Ultimately, though, the numbers appear to be accurate and are now being backed up by the latest data from Canalys.
According to the research firm, the smart speaker market is continuing to experience strong growth in 2018, with global shipments expected to reach 100 million by the end of the year, an increase of 150% over 2017. Of this total, it’s understood that 50% of the market will be dominated by Amazon’s Echo line, while Google’s Home series and other Google Assistant speakers will follow in second place with 30%. Unfortunately for Apple, though, it will follow in a very distant third, with just 4% of the pie, equating to roughly 4 million sales for the whole of 2018. Now, it’s worth pointing out that Apple’s HomePod only went on sale back in February and is currently available in a limited number of markets, thus putting it at a disadvantage over the competition so far. However, if projections from Canalys are accurate, the HomePod may see only minimal growth over the coming years.
According to the data, total smart speaker sales are expected to reach around 310 million units by 2022. By this date, Apple's share of the pie looks set to sit a 10% overall which, although an improvement, still lags behind the competition. After all, although Amazon's Echo series will see a drop in share to 34%, it looks set to sit in joint 1st place with the Google Assistant platform.
Overall, Apple’s future in the smart speaker market does look solid, but it appears the brand’s late entry into the segment may affect its chances of dominating in the long run. Considering the expected higher profit margins, however, this isn’t expected to affect the company’s bottom line too much.
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