China Smart Speaker Review for 1H 2020: Alibaba, Xiaomi and Baidu Take 95%

Technology Author: Beier Kan Editor: Luke Sheehan Jul 30, 2020 05:08 PM (GMT+8)

By the end of 2019, smart speakers powered by Chinese vendors Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi accounted for approximately 30% of the global market. What is the competitive landscape like in the Chinese market specifically?

A perfect assistant? Image credit: Unsplash

The following is a summary of the landscape of the Chinese smart speaker market. For further analysis articles on that topic, please follow EqualOcean updates. 


According to the Chinese data service provider All View Cloud (AVC), during the first half-year of 2020, the total smart speaker shipments in the Chinese market reached 19 million with a year-on-year growth rate at 22.70%.

The best seller is TmallGenie designed by Alibaba (BABA:NASDAQ, 09988:HKEX), taking 34.70% of the total shipments. Xiaomi (01810:HKEX) ranks second, followed by Baidu (BIDU:NASDAQ). The top three are running a close race in occupying market shares, as the range is less than 5%. Huawei lags behind in the smart speaker race as it only takes a single-digit percentage.

According to Strategy Analytics, Baidu was the best Chinese performer in terms of smart speaker shipments in 2019, taking 10.60% of the global market. The following were Alibaba with 9.80% and Xiaomi with 8.4%. Alibaba’s comprehensive service coverage of healthcare, entertainment, e-commerce and education contributes to TmallGenie’s ongoing sales boost.