Google Home Mini leads smart speaker market in Q2 2018

Google Home Mini has vaulted to the top spot in the global market for connected speakers, edging out a rival device from Amazon, a survey showed Wednesday.

The Strategy Analytics report for the second quarter of 2018 showed the smallest device from Google captured 20% of the market with sales of 2.3 million. That was slightly ahead of the Echo Dot, the similarly sized device from Amazon, with an 18% market share.

Amazon retained its overall lead with a combined market share of 30% for its Echo and Echo Dot, the research firm said, compared with 27% for Google's two speakers.

Alibaba's Tmall Genie sold in China was the fourth biggest seller in the survey with a seven percent market share, the report showed.

Apple's HomePod was not among the top sellers but because of its high price tag, captured 16% of the revenue in the market, according to Strategy Analytics.

The research firm said the market was rapidly evolving with more manufacturers entering.

"The number of smart speaker models available worldwide has grown significantly over the last twelve months as vendors look to capitalize on the explosive market growth," said David Mercer, vice president at Strategy Analytics.

"Heavyweight brands such as Samsung and Bose are in the process of launching their first models, adding further credibility to the segment and giving consumers more options at the premium-end of the market."

A total of 11.7 million of the devices were sold in the second quarter, with Google and Amazon making four of the top five devices and accounting for more than half of global sales.