Smart Speakers Continue to Play a Leading Role in the Home Audio Market

The worldwide home audio hardware market grew 20% last year to reach 154 million units, with a further 19% growth projected in 2019, according to a new market report from Futuresource Consulting. The sector, which includes wireless speakers, soundbars, A/V receivers, Hi-Fi systems and dedicated speaker docks, also witnessed 5% revenue growth last year, with trade values reaching $14.5 billion.

Qualcomm made two important announcements for audio developers, both bound to significantly impact the fast-growing market of smart speakers and new generation whole-home audio systems. The San Diego company announced the new QCS400 family of audio SoCs and the Smart Audio Platform 400 development kit, bringing smart speakers high-performance processing, Qualcomm AI Engine, superior connectivity, and multiple advanced audio and visual display capabilities in a single, power-optimized chip architecture.

Following a showcase at CES 2019, NXP Semiconductors announced its Immersiv3D audio solution, combining NXP software on its i.MX 8M Mini applications processor with support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio technologies. The i.MX 8M Mini SoC also brings smart capabilities like voice control to a broader range of consumer devices including soundbars, smart speakers, and AV receivers with the option for adding additional speakers to distribute smart voice control and immersive audio throughout the home.