smart speakers just a fad? think again. the year ahead for alexa, google, siri - smart

Did you buy a smart speaker during the holidays?
If that's the case, you're definitely not alone.
Consumer surveys released in the last few months of 2018 show that small Internet
Table-connection
The top speakers have finally become mainstream.
Google Home and Amazon Echo are two of the most popular brands for small tablestop speakers.
Including voice assistants to make them smart
Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
You can ask questions or give orders.
Want to know how the weather is?
Listen to the news? Set a timer? Buy a book? Just ask.
Can you trust your smart speakers at home?
The hottest thing in technology is that your other voice companies, like esonosand JBL, make smart speakers and now at least one voice assistant has joined in.
Microsoft's own virtual assistant, cortana, also has some.
Apple has also produced a speaker, called Home Pod, which is mainly aimed at music lovers. it features siri.
Think about it if you think smart speakers are just another fashion.
In August, a survey by Adobe Analytics showed that the data in the United States was 32. S.
Adults have at least one speaker.
RBC Capital Markets estimate that the holdings of smart speakers have almost doubled over the past year.
In Canada, five are forecast.
In 2019, 8 million smart speakers were used.
There is no doubt that these numbers have been added during the holiday season.
Adobe's research shows that the proportion of smart speakers purchased in the fourth quarter of this year is 79, including Black Friday and Christmas holiday spending --
Maybe that's not surprising because Google and Amazon gave their devices a big discount at that time of year.
In fact, Amazon just told edge that more than 100 million Alexa-
So far, powerful devices have been sold.
How do people use speakers?
Last fall, Adobe Analytics surveyed more than 1,000 American citizens. S.
Consumers have a better understanding of how people use their smart speakers.
The company has found that the most common use so far is to play music (
The proportion of smart speaker users surveyed is 70)
And check the weather (64 per cent).
Less than half of respondents used speakers to set up alerts and alerts, view news and conduct online searches, while about a third person used speakers to control smart devices and order online.
In short, the way people use the assistant that comes with the speakers is still very basic.
More complex behaviors such as shopping and delivering meals, communicating with friends and family, and researchNew trends.
2019 What can we expect?
While smart speakers gain wisdom from their built-in
In a voice assistant, talking to a voice assistant doesn't necessarily require a smart speaker.
Recent smartphones, TVs, and even cars have voice AIDS.
This year, you can look forward to finding them in more corners of your home, a continuation of the trend that was really popular last year.
Amazon announced a series of Alexa-Amazon Echo sending home private conversations to another user in Amazon and Google world, and each speaker will have a smart assistant in the fall
Supported products
In addition, practical objects such as clocks and microwave ovens with microphone and voice assistant functions are included.
These products join a series of products from third parties.
Party manufacturer
The list continues, such as doorbell, security camera, washing machine, refrigerator, appliances, robot vacuum cleaner, mirror, shower head --
Alexa, Google Assistant and other niche voice assistants have filled the field in recent months.
It is expected that the spread of voice assistants in household products and appliances will accelerate this year, starting with the annual Consumer Goods Fair, which will be launched this week in Las Vegas.
What about privacy issues?
Privacy is a long-standing concern, and it certainly doesn't help when a technical glitch (though not common) allows completely unfamiliar people to access the recording of your voice assistant.
Any smart speaker or voice has a privacy trade-off --
Auxiliary equipment, ultimately it is up to you to decide whether it is worth the extra convenience of playing music or turning off the lights with your sound.
These devices are always listening according to design
However, action will only be taken for specific wake-up words such as "OK Google" or "Hey Siri.
"Until then, no recordings will be sent to Apple, Google or Amazon's servers, and the initial identification process will be done locally on the device.
But in some cases, voice assistants think they hear their wake-up words, leading to unexpected recordings, which are possible to consider if you put one at home.
Speakers and other devices using Amazon and Google voice assistant will record everything you say.
These companies say this is to help them improve their products and improve the accuracy of speech recognition. You can view (and delete)
This history you have on your account on their respected website.
We do not know how this information is actually used in practice or how it will be monetized in the future.
Apple has taken some different approaches.
Although Apple also stores user conversations with Siri, Apple says these conversations are anonymous and your record history has nothing to do with your account.