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This Is Why China Hasn't Jumped on the Smart Speaker Bandwagon

  • Two million units seen shipping versus 35 million in U.S.
  • Mobile devices seen as key way to deliver AI-based services
Bloomberg business news

Amazon's Echo Speaker a Best Seller on Prime Day

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Bloomberg News

When it comes to web businesses, China has created its own versions of a search engine (Baidu), e-commerce platform (Alibaba) and video-streaming service (iQiyi) with resounding success. Yet there’s a conspicuous absence of smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home.

The market for devices using audio to deliver artificial-intelligence services is so nascent in China that few researchers track sales. Counterpoint Research estimates that 2 million smart-speaker units will be shipped in China this year, compared with 14 million in the U.S.