So according to the latest ICD Corporate report. On the state of smart home device shipments for Q1, 2020, 168.6 million units were shipped globally within the first three months of 2020. That’s an increase of about 37% compared to a similar period in 2019. The area that experienced remarkable growth was smart speakers with approximately 23.2 million units shipped.
Leading the pack of top shippers was Amazon as expected with 5.1 million units of the Echo series smart speakers. Google is next with the home series smart speakers with about 4.1 million units shipped. And what will raise eyebrows are companies in the third, fourth and fifth position respectively. They’re all Chinese brands namely Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi.
The ICD report estimates that Chinese manufacturers shipped about 11.2 million units of smart home equipment. This is about 787% increase compared to 2019. So far China has overtaken the United States in terms of smart home equipment sales. Its domestic market is currently number one. In their market forecasts, the ICD projects that the smart home equipment market will top 840 million units globally. That’s an increase of about 1.4 billion by 2023 with 14.9% CAGR.
Accessibility
This is primarily due to the growing popularity of home automation systems. Access to faster internet, and decreasing cost of smart speakers that can be easily integrated into a smart home set-up. Allowing for voice-activated command and control of other smart appliances and don’t people love convenience! Smart speakers and smart display make smart home more accessible now. Official estimates show that smart speaker shipments will reach 136 million units by Q3 2020.
However, there’s an emerging trend that’s likely to impact the sales and shipment of smart speakers. That’s the addition of intelligent voice activated function in new devices such as smart light systems and television. That’s because this will remove the need for smart speakers currently used with those equipment. ICD estimates that shipments are likely to reduce to about 206 millions units by 2023. This is about 11% compound growth annually.
Online streaming video equipment is projected to lead. It will account for about 28.5% of shipments in 2023. Advances in technology such as HDR, faster refresh rates, bigger screen sizes, and even 8K resolution. Will result in more consumers upgrading their televisions sets. Home security equipment mostly made up of smart door locks, smart cameras, and motion detection systems will see 24% growth in shipment in 2023. That’s likely to increase annually at about 21%.
Local Players
Smart devices in the domestic Chinese market are projected to grow by 11%. Despite the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted global supply chains and reduced demand by users. Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi are still expected to maintain their lead in domestic smart home shipments. Together they will account for more than 90% of the smart speaker market.
Terry Ts 
Rudhra Nandu