voice control blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: voice control

Read our latest daily deep-dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the digital entertainment world. Check out your favourite analyst, or search by coverage – games, video, music, audio, media & marketing, or critical developments for all.

Universal Search – The Gaping Hole in Streaming Video

Blog post by Amanda Stears

5 Dec 2019

All 4

BBC iPlayer

cord shavers

The day is done and you are slouched on the sofa, ready for some binge watching. But how often have you found yourself aimlessly scrolling through Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV etc. not knowing exactly...

Free Streaming Goes to Voice: Should Radio Companies Be Worried?

Blog post by Zach Fuller

25 Apr 2019

amazon streaming strategy

google home

radio disruption

History doesn’t repeat itself. It does, however, rhyme. Amazon have followed up the announcement of its free music streaming service by elaborating on its integration into Alexa and its Echo device....

Voice Control: Smartphones, In-Home Speakers, and the Digital Attention Economy

Blog post by Hanna Kahlert

24 Apr 2019

Digital economy

in-home

Media

This article is derived from MIDiA’s Voice Market and Behaviour Trends Overview report. The use of voice command continues to be niche, with overall consumer penetration at a mere 9%. Predominantly that...

Thoughts on Spotify’s Acquisition of Gimlet Media and Anchor

Blog post by Zach Fuller

6 Feb 2019

Amazon Alexa

Anchor

apple homepod

Spotify is reported to have purchased the podcast companies Gimlet Media and Anchor. Having only just reported an operating profit for the first time, the deals demonstrate not only how Spotify is still...

Facebook Launches Its Smart Speaker: A Few Strategic Considerations For Portal

Blog post by Zach Fuller

9 Oct 2018

Amazon Echo

apple home pod

echo dot

Earlier this year, MIDiA predicted that Facebook would join the smart speaker market. A TV dongle or smart speaker: It makes strategic sense for Facebook to develop a TV dongle like Amazon’s Fire Stick...

Walled Gardens: How Does Amazon and Google’s Approach Compare to Apple’s?

Blog post by Zach Fuller

22 Jan 2018

Amazon

consumer electronics

echo

Having begun to embed itself within popular consciousness throughout 2017, voice control is poised to extend its influence and usher in the latest hardware paradigm shift in tech. What is important to...

Quick Take: Why Amazon and Microsoft Are Joining Forces on Voice

Blog post by Zach Fuller

1 Sep 2017

Amazon

Apple

Facebook

Amazon and Microsoft have announced they will be collaborating around the Echo by allowing Microsoft’s Cortana service to be accessed through the voice control device. Whilst the move is not a direct...

Thoughts On Second-Order Effects For Content Discovery in Voice

Blog post by Zach Fuller

30 Jun 2017

Alexa

Amazon

Amazon Echo

Second-order effects are rarely considered when new technologies come to the fore and reach critical mass. For example, the realisation of smartphones, the emergence of Apple's app store and the ubiquity...

Quick Take: Amazon’s Whole Foods Acquisition Is A Major Coup For Voice Control Commerce

Blog post by Zach Fuller

16 Jun 2017

acquisition

Alexa

Amazon

In the hours following the announcement of Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of American supermarket chain Whole Foods, much of the immediate attention is currently focused on how the e-commerce giant...

Why the Voice Control Landscape Will Be So Competitive

Blog post by Zach Fuller

26 May 2017

Alexa

Amazon

Withthe success of Prime and the Echo, Amazon at present is experiencing the same halo effect that graced Microsoft in the 90s and Apple in the 00s. Withtheir finger on the pulse of everything from entertainment...

Amazon Double Down on Voice Control by Announcing Echo Show

Blog post by Zach Fuller

9 May 2017

Alexa

Amazon

Amazon Echo

Amazon is doubling down on Echo’s success (60% growth rate since November 2016) by just announcing the Echo Show. A visual iteration on the Echo, the device is priced at $229.99 and will initially only...

Will Amazon’s Lex Platform Be the New App-Store?

Blog post by Zach Fuller

21 Apr 2017

Alexa

Amazon

Amazon Prime Video

Swiftly following the success of the Echo, Amazon have announced their Lex platform is now open to 3rd party developers, allowing them to create and monetise chat-bots, further embellishing the device....

Quick Take: Baidu Acquires xPerception as Competition in Sensory Computing Heats Up

Blog post by Zach Fuller

14 Apr 2017

Alibaba

Amazon Echo

Apple

Chinese tech giant Baidu announced today they will be acquiring xPerception, in what can be interpreted as a strategic play for the Augmented Reality market. At face value, xPerception covers much of 2017...