Strategy Analytics is out with a new report today covering the smart speaker industry during 2019. According to the data, global smart speaker shipments hit a new record of 146.9 million units — and Amazon is still the far and away leader.

Amazon accounted for 26.2% of smart speaker shipments, which is actually down slightly compared to the 33.7% market share it commanded in 2018. Google held on to its second-place ranking, accounting for 20.3% of shipments in 2019 compared to 25.9% in 2018. Chinese vendors Baidu, Alibaba, and Xiaomi all increased their market share in 2019.

What about Apple? HomePod shipments actually increased year-over-year during Q4 2019, going from 1.6 million units to 2.6 million units, accounting for 4.7% market share.

For Apple, HomePod shipments likely increased year-over-year thanks to deep discounts offered by retailers such as Best Buy. Whereas Apple originally sold the HomePod for $349 and dropped the price to $299 last year, retailers regularly offered it for $199 throughout the holiday season.

Google and Amazon also both benefited from holiday promotions. Amazon offered nearly-free Echo Dots to Amazon Music users, while Google teamed up with Spotify:

“Consumer appetite for smart speakers remained undimmed during the all-important Q4 period as newly launched devices with improved feature sets and audio performance helped drive record quarterly shipments. Consumers across the world were once again enticed by scarcely believable deals from leading brands such as Google, Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba, while Google in particular stepped up its giveaway promotional activity in partnership with brands such as YouTube and Spotify.”

Apple doesn’t report unit sales for the HomePod, nor has it ever even hinted at the product’s performance. The data from Strategy Analytics is based on things like supply chain indications and market research. Did you become a HomePod owner during 2019? Let us know down in the comments!

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