Smart Speakers Archives

Smart Speaker use increases in US during quarantine

03/05/2020

Smart Speaker use increases in US during quarantine with over a third of US adults listening to more news and information since the COVID-19 outbreak according to recent research by NPR and Edison Research. The Smart Audio Report Spring 2020 found that 77% of those in the US age 18+ are experiencing a change in their typical routine due to the outbreak of COVID-19 following the 1st April, and voice-assistant usage has expanded during these […]

87.7 million US adults have a Smart Speaker

29/04/2020

87.7 million US adults have a Smart Speaker, up 32% on the previous year which represents 34.4% of the population according to a new consumer survey by Voicebot. The Smart Speaker Consumer Adoption Report 2020 shows that the Smart Speaker user base growth rate slowed in 2019 despite adding more than 20 million users. The installed base of US smart speaker users is up 32% over January 2019 and is 85% higher than January 2018. […]

Sonos launches streaming radio service

22/04/2020

Sonos launches streaming radio service containing curated genre-based stations, and more than 60,000 local radio stations now available to Sonos users for free. Sonos Radio is a free, ad-supported streaming radio experience complementing the 100+ streaming options available on Sonos. Research from Sonos suggests that nearly half of all listening time on their smart speakers is on customers’ favourite stations and DJs. Sonos Radio integrates multiple internet radio services, including TuneIn and iHeartRadio, with more […]

Over one third of Americans listen to podcasts regularly

27/03/2020

Over one third of Americans listen to podcasts regularly with 37% of Americans age 12 and over (104 million) listening monthly, up from 32% in 2019 according to the Infinite Dial 2020. The Infinite Dial is produced by Edison Research and is America’s longest-running survey of digital media consumer behaviour in the US, published annually since 1998. It provides survey data on a number of important media channels, including streaming audio, podcasting, and social media […]

New OS from Sonos will enable HiRes Audio

18/03/2020

New OS from Sonos will enable HiRes Audio and will power the next generation of products and experiences according to a recent Twitter post by the company. Most Sonos products will be compatible with the new S2 Operating System however some of its oldest products (previously referred to as ‘legacy’ products) will not support the advances of S2 due to their memory and processing power. If you own any of these products, you can continue […]

Children’s use of smart speakers doubles in UK

04/02/2020

Children’s use of smart speakers doubles in UK amongst children aged 5-15 with smart speakers being more widely used than radio according to a recent report by Ofcom, UK’s communications regulator. Research by Ofcom and published in Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report 2019 provides evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 5-15, as well as data about the media access and use of young children aged […]

Sonos back peddles on ‘legacy’ product updates

27/01/2020

Sonos back peddles on ‘legacy’ product updates having received countless complaints from its customer base on plans to stop updating its older products from May this year. In a blog posting, the CEO of Sonos, Patrick Spence, apologised to customers and offered what amounts to a split upgrading process where legacy kit will continue to receive updates to allow them to coexist and function with other products but will not receive newer features. No details […]