Smart speaker for a last-minute gift?

Thinking of a last-minute gift for someone? Ideally something they likely don’t already have?

A smart speaker is a good bet, especially the Apple HomePod. Surprisingly few people - even Apple people - own one.

We’ve long tracked the smart speaker marketplace with our dedicated smart speaker survey. Here, we look at data from our quarterly survey of new Apple device buyers, assessing smart speaker ownership among Apple customers that purchased an Apple product (iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch) in the quarter preceding the survey.

For all US consumers, not just Apple customers, Amazon Echo dominates the smart speaker market. Google made an effort to gain share with its Nest smart speakers and is solidly in second place. Apple’s HomePod, was third to market and has failed to gain meaningful traction, even among Apple customers.

For the most recent twelve-month period, CIRP data shows 12% of recent or current Apple customers own an Apple HomePod (Chart 1). Similar to the overall marketplace, Amazon Echo dominates, with over one-third of Apple customers owning one.