Amazon is on its way to dominating the Internet of Things (IoT) space, as the Echo series continues to win over tech-savvy households and consumers who are diehard fans of the company’s services.
According to DigiTimes, shipments for Amazon Echo products could reach 10 million by the end of this year. Suppliers working closely with Amazon voiced out that the business has requested more than 10 million units in 2017 — a 300 percent increase compared to last year.
“Some Amazon’s upstream suppliers revealed that their production lines for the smart voice assistance device have been fully running to meet the shipment schedules since the fourth quarter of 2016,” said Cage Chao and Joseph Tsai from DigiTimes.
Many are attributing the surge in demand to the company’s competitive pricing practices. Amazon lowered the price of the Echo Dot, an Alexa-powered smart assistant that plugs directly into a speaker, from $99 to $49. The device reached $37.99 in May for a refurbished model, after a $7 discount.
Some speculate the price drop was related to lack of consumer interest in virtual assistant platforms. But based on figures provided by DigiTimes, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the move could be due to the release of a higher-end device, the Echo Show. Amazon unveiled the unit last month, which comes with touchscreen capabilities and a $229.99 price tag.
“The sources pointed out that the market’s feedbacks on Amazon’s voice assistance device are mostly positive and the new Echo Dot has already achieved the company’s annual shipment goal planned originally for 2017 in only a couple of months,” explained Chao and Tsai.
The establishment’s plan for the Echo series is for each household to own an Echo and an Amazon Tap, as well as an Echo Dot for every room. Previously, it was contented with each family owning just one Echo device for the entire household.
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