Chinese developers pile in for the Next Big Thing in tech: voice-activated smart speakers

China’s tech companies are betting billions of research and development dollars that the next hit will be a successful version of the voice-activated home bot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), in the style of Apple’s HomePod, or Amazon’s Echo.

Reading Time:3 minutes

A group of Chinese young people play on their mobile phone as they rest on a bench at a park in Beijing on November 7, 2013. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:01pm, 28 Aug 2017Updated: 10:54am, 30 Aug 2017

What’s the Next Big Thing in technology, after the smartphone?

China’s technology companies are betting billions of research and development dollars that the next hit will be a successful version of the voice-activated home bot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), in the style of Apple’s HomePod, or Amazon’s Echo.

Even though these products aren’t yet available in the most populous nation on earth -- Apple’s HomePod is scheduled for worldwide release this autumn -- more than 100 Chinese companies are already jumping into the fray to launch their version of the home bot.

“When we announced in April our plan to unveil our first smart speaker in the third quarter, we thought we would be one of China’s first,” said Li Zhifei, founder and chief executive of Mobvoi, a five-year old Chinese startup backed by Volkswagen and Google. “ We didn’t expect to see more than 100 companies entering the market in the past four months. We’ve now become one of the late movers.”

Li Zhifei, co-founder and chief executive of Mobvoi. SCMP Pictures (Handout)

Mobvoi, last week unveiled its Tichome, a 999 yuan (US$150) smart speaker that plays music, helps users search for the nearest hotel, sets alarms, controls household electrical appliances, all through a voice-activated operating menu, in Putonghua.

China is already the largest market for smartphones on the planet, with 538.2 million handsets sold last year, valued at US$133.5 billion. Analysts say the Next Big Thing will be even bigger.

The smartphone is the prevailing interface “to access information and services in the digital age,” said Jin Di, IDC China’s research manager. “The smart speaker may be the next big thing when more devices are connected. It is a nascent but a potential market with no market leader. So everyone wants to jump in to grab a slice of the market share.”