The development of on-device AI chips for smart speaker applications is gaining momentum as brand vendors are incorporating those chips into their speaker products to improve related real-time voice services and sound quality and enhance the protection of user privacy by reducing the reliance on cloud applications, Digitimes Research has found.

Consumers worldwide are now more interested in buying smart speaker products thanks to the maturing voice assistance technology being applied to build those devices and the increasing adoption of on-device AI chips that helps improve the functionality.

Global smart speaker shipments experienced a 44% on-year increase in the first half of 2021, with a 60% hike in sales in the China market. The increase was partly due to a low base for a year earlier period thanks to the COVID-19-induced impacts.

The top six brands, including Amazon, Google and Apple, and other Chinese vendors, currently account for 90% of global smart speaker shipments. The top-2, Amazon and Google, account for a 50% share of the global smart speaker market.

Since the technology barriers are not high for the production of application processor (AP) products for smart speaker applications, more than a dozen IC-design houses have ventured into the production of smart speaker-use APs, says Digitimes Research.

However, the top-five players dominate the related AP market, accounting for 90% of the market. Among first-tier makers, MediaTek has established a solid foundation thanks to its cooperation with Amazon since the early stage of product development.

By DIGITIMES