On September 25, Alibaba launched the Tmall Smart IN Sugar smart speaker at the Yunqi Conference. According to foreign media reports, Xiaomi is developing a smart watch that runs the Google Wear OS operating system. Not only in China, but also internationally, Facebook recently announced the launch of smart hardware TV boxes. Amazon said that it would launch 15 new products at the autumn conference. For a time, the smart hardware market was booming. With the development of technology, the era of the Internet of Things is coming. The giants have launched smart hardware products in succession, perhaps for future layout.
At the same time, we have noticed that with the entry of the major giants, the intelligent hardware industry has experienced fierce competition, and many small and micro enterprises have been forced to withdraw. Moreover, the privacy and security problems of smart hardware devices have not been completely solved, and there are still large risks. If the major giants cannot solve them in time, it may slow down the development of smart hardware.https://www.slw-ele.com/
However, despite many problems, the intelligent hardware industry is still developing rapidly. Among them, smart wearable devices and smart home have become the darling of the industry, and may become the largest consumer market in the smart hardware industry in the future. At the same time, the two are closely connected with the future Internet of Things, and may become the key projects of competition among Internet giants. In addition, the intelligent hardware industry is gradually integrating with other industries, and the future revenue imagination space will increase. The American Stock Research Society will continue to pay attention to the follow-up development of the event.
The smart hardware market has become a red sea, and who can fight the giants?
Major manufacturers have focused on the intelligent hardware market, and giants have laid out the Internet of Things era in advance
At present, the world’s famous Internet manufacturers have made efforts in the intelligent hardware industry. At present, the most popular product is the smart speaker, and almost all enterprises have set foot in it. In addition to speakers, smart glasses and other products are also becoming popular. In the face of this huge market, giants have stepped down one after another, but they may also be planning ahead for the arrival of the Internet of Things in the future. After all, the market is volatile, and it is easy to be eliminated by the market if they cannot grasp the market trend.
（1） Giants are investing in the intelligent hardware industry, and the variety of devices is gradually increasing
At present, the major giants are laying out the smart hardware market. Smart hardware refers to smart wearable devices, smart home, etc. Representatives include Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi in China. International Facebook, Google, Amazon. There are many kinds of smart hardware market. If we take smart audio as the representative, according to the 2019 Q2 smart speaker shipment report released by the American research company Strategy Analytics, in the domestic smart speaker market, the small volume of shipments is 4.7 million, which continues to be the first in the country and the third in the world. Alibaba’s shipments are 4.3 million and Xiaomi’s 3.4 million. Internationally, Amazon ranks first in the world. Google ranks second in the world.
In addition to smart audio, giants are also developing other smart hardware products. Amazon is likely to launch 15 new products this time, including wireless headphones and smart glasses, and its position in the smart hardware market will become more stable. Not long ago, there was news that Google might take over the smart wearable company fitbit, indicating that Google might once again make efforts in the smart hardware market. The relatively backward Facebook also confirmed that it was developing AR glasses. Apple’s smart watch and wireless headset are also strong. It can be seen that both domestic and foreign Internet giants are busy developing intelligent hardware products.
(2) The scale of the smart hardware market has been expanding, and the giants have arranged the Internet of Things in advance
There are two main reasons why giants aim at this market. On the one hand, the scale of the smart hardware market is huge. According to the data compiled by the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the scale of the global smart hardware market in 2018 will be $213.8 billion, and the scale will increase to $362.8 billion by 2023. On the other hand, we have noticed that Internet companies have great advantages in software, such as Amazon, Alibaba’s e-commerce, Baidu’s search, etc. If they can combine hardware equipment with their own business, they can not only consolidate their position, but also increase market share. For example, Baidu consolidated its position in the search industry by using speakers.
But the most important reason may be the layout of the Internet of Things. With the maturity of 5G technology, the era of the Internet of Things is approaching. If you cannot grasp the future development trend, your business may be affected. And IDC data shows that the global Internet of Things expenditure is expected to be 726 billion US dollars this year, and will exceed 1 trillion US dollars in 2020. Early layout may quickly occupy this market when the Internet of Things era comes.
The smart hardware market has become a red sea, and who can fight the giants?
Competition in the intelligent hardware industry is fierce, and privacy security issues need to be addressed
Although the entry of giants is beneficial to the development of this market, it also exacerbates the competitive situation. At present, this circuit has gathered too much capital, and in previous years it was even more popular. This has turned the industry into a red sea, and excessive competition is actually not conducive to the development of the industry. In addition, there are privacy and security issues in this industry. If privacy theft and security threats occur frequently, the intelligent hardware industry may be affected.
（1） The intelligent hardware industry has become a red sea, with three types of players gradually stratified
Currently, the intelligent hardware industry has become a red sea. In China, in addition to Alibaba, Baidu, and Xiaomi, other companies have also entered the intelligent hardware industry. For example, Sogou recently launched a recording pen, and Huawei has also used its advantages in 5G to explore the intelligent hardware market through routers. In foreign countries, competition is also fierce. Not long ago, it was rumored that Fitbit was about to be sold to Google. As one of the former wearable device giants, Fitbit eventually fell to the point of selling itself.
According to Yio. Com, players in the intelligent hardware industry can be divided into three categories. One is to provide ecological service platforms for the industry, represented by institutions such as Alibaba Intelligence, Baidu, and JD Intelligence, in combination with their own resource advantages. The other is an organization represented by Tencent Open Platform and Xiaomi Group, which provides users with one-stop services or partially packaged solution services based on their own supply chain background. Finally, there are other startups based on the founder’s background.
In terms of competitiveness, the first type of competition is more intense and more closely related to its own business, but faces its own industry limitations. The second category has strong competitiveness, especially Xiaomi, which has formed a complete ecological chain. The third category is the weakest. In terms of market performance, it is difficult to succeed under pressure from giants. The popular hardware players of the previous few years have gradually withdrawn. Currently, except for internet giants, other companies are difficult to succeed. After all, technical barriers are high and it is not easy to imitate.
（2） Privacy theft is difficult to solve, and security issues have attracted much attention
In addition to competition issues, privacy issues also deserve attention. Currently, the privacy issues of intelligent hardware mainly come from two aspects. One is the so-called hacker. Ed Li, executive editor of the technology website Recode, said in an interview with CNBC that online tools sound cool, but that also means they are another way for hackers to gain consumer privacy. On the one hand, it is the manufacturer. In recent years, Amazon’s smart speakers have been exposed to collecting user voice information, and the issue of Facebook privacy disclosure has not stopped. This shows that the current combination of Internet+intelligent hardware is not perfect for privacy management.
Security issues are also cause for concern. Tencent Security Cloud Ding Lab released the 2018 IoT Security Threat Analysis Report, which showed that routers were attacked most frequently, accounting for 45.47%. There are two main attacks against video cameras, one is weak password, and the other is vulnerability exploitation. Not long ago, the smart door lock of Xiaomi’s brand automatically opened at midnight. It can be seen that security is also a major problem.
The smart hardware market has become a red sea, and who can fight the giants?
Wearable and smart home have become the darling of the industry, and hardware devices are gradually integrated with other industries
Despite many problems, we can see from previous data that the intelligent hardware industry is still developing rapidly. Among them, wearable devices and smart homes have become the preferred research and development options for many manufacturers. After all, they are closer to people’s daily lives and have greater development potential in the future. Moreover, we have found that intelligent hardware is no longer a separate industry, but is integrated with other industries, which may bring greater development potential to it.
(1) Wearable devices may become the entrance to the Internet of Things era, and smart home will become the largest consumer market
At present, there are several major trends in intelligent hardware devices. One is that wearable devices and smart homes have become the darling of the hardware industry, and their development speed has surpassed other hardware facilities. At present, wearable devices are the largest smart devices except mobile phones. According to IDC statistics, the global shipment of wearable devices in 2018 increased by 27.5% year-on-year to 172.2 million units. Due to its portability and low cost, wearable devices are likely to become the entrance of the Internet of Things era, and have great potential in payment and health management.
And smart home is likely to become the largest consumer market. According to IDC data, the global smart home market has a shipment volume of 656 million units, which is expected to increase by 833 million units this year and 1.6 billion units by 2023. Among them, smart speakers were welcomed by both manufacturers and consumers. According to Strategy Analytics, the shipment volume in the first quarter of 2019 increased by 167.9% year-on-year to 25.9 million units. If wearable devices are the entrance of the Internet of Things, then smart speakers may become the entrance of the entire smart home. Through voice assistants and ecological platforms, they may become the “remote control” of the entire smart product.
(2) Intelligent hardware accelerates integration with other industries, and intelligent voice operating system develops rapidly
Another major development trend is that intelligent hardware is no longer a separate industry, but combined with other industries. Intelligent hardware has actively entered all walks of life, such as Youdao’s education industry. NetEase Youdao has now launched Youdao’s second generation of dictionaries and pens, combining intelligent hardware with the education industry. Baidu Speakers cooperates with Tencent Music to promote the combination of intelligent hardware and music market. The cooperation between intelligent hardware and other industries is deepening.
Finally, intelligent voice operating system is gradually popularized. With the arrival of the 5G era, the voice recognition system has also been gradually improved. At the recent Google Developer Conference, Google officially released the new Android Q operating system, which will support voice recognition technology. In the field of vehicular voice, the major giants have also made efforts. According to incomplete statistics, more than 90% of the new cars released during the Shanghai Auto Show this year are equipped with intelligent voice interaction systems. In addition, in addition to speakers, other products are also gradually equipped with voice operating systems, such as smart curtains. It can be seen that the future intelligent voice operating system will penetrate into all aspects of intelligent hardware products.
To sum up, the intelligent hardware market is expanding, and with the advent of the Internet of Things, the market potential is greater in the future. As a result, the major giants have made efforts in this industry and tried to occupy the market ahead of time, which led to excessive pressure on industry competition and forced many small and micro enterprises to exit. In addition, the privacy and security issues also need to be addressed, which have become one of the pain points of this industry. The American Stock Research Society will continue to pay attention to the follow-up development of the event.
