Oliver Haslam·

Apple Doubles Its Smart Speaker Market Share Thanks To HomePod mini

Apple’s smart speaker market share has increased significantly thanks to the arrival of the $99 HomePod mini. That’s according to new research data by firm Strategy Analytics.

While it’s fair to say that Amazon’s Echo Dot and the rest of the Echo lineup continues to allow Amazon to dominate the market, Apple’s move into the lower-cost offerings with the HomePod mini has helped it double its market share.

The same report notes that Apple shipped around four million smart speakers in the third quarter of 2021, giving it a share of around 10.2%. That’s a massive increase on the 5.9% share of the previous year.

In the overall smart speaker and smart display market in Q2 2021, the leaderboard remained unchanged, with Amazon at No. 1 followed by Google, Baidu, Alibaba, and Apple, respectively. The gap between the top five and the rest of the market continued to expand as these companies dominate entry-level ($50 to $99) and ultra-low ($49 and less) price bands, with Apple’s surge powered by its HomePod Mini.

Apple’s entry into the smart speaker market was compromised by the HomePod’s $349 asking price, but the move to the $99 HomePod mini has clearly given customers the chance to add Siri to their homes and listen to services like Apple Music more easily. Apple also recently released a cheaper Apple Music tier designed especially for use via Siri alone, aimed squarely at HomePod owners.

Apple recently refreshed the HomePod mini lineup by adding new colors, although the speaker itself and its functionality remained the same.

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