According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly a hundred companies in China that are currently producing smart speakers, and there are at least 500 hardware or technology solution providers actively operating in the forefront.
Rockchip – RK3229
RK3229 is based on the Cortex-A7 quad-core architecture and supports 4-8 microphones. In terms of voice algorithms, it supports sound source localization, sound source enhancement, echo cancellation, and noise suppression technologies. RK3229 is also the first chip solution to support direct connection of 8-channel digital I2S microphones, which not only greatly reduces costs but also is compatible with various microphone array algorithms and platforms.
Allwinner Technology – R16 Chip
The Allwinner R16 adopts a highly cost-effective quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 architecture processor, which has powerful computing performance and rich interfaces; it supports the Linux-based open-source system Tina (Tina is the system software brand developed by Allwinner Technology specifically for its smart hardware platform); supports various network application protocols such as AirPlay, DLNA, Qplay, Airkiss, Smart Link, etc.; provides unique algorithms and IP packages, allowing developers to focus on their own applications and product market operations, reducing product development costs and shortening development cycles.
R16 Chip Block Diagram
MediaTek – MT8516
MT8516 supports a quad-core 64-bit ARM® Cortex-A35™ with a clock speed of up to 1.3GHz. This chip also integrates WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, ensuring a smaller board area and helping terminal manufacturers simplify design, accelerate time to market, and provide more possibilities for developing creative products.
MT8516 supports up to 8-channel TDM microphone array interfaces and 2-channel PDM digital microphone interfaces, making it very suitable for far-field voice control and smart speaker devices. Additionally, this chip provides various storage specifications, including LPDDR2, LPDDR3, DDR3, DDR3L, and DDR4, to meet various platform requirements.
UNISOC – RDA5981
UNISOC is also moving quickly in the market, with smart speaker products using their chips already being shipped in large quantities, aggressively capturing the low-end smart speaker market priced below 300 yuan. In a media report, a spokesperson for UNISOC stated: “Currently, we have about dozens of speaker clients, mainly smart and Bluetooth speakers priced under 300 yuan, and the chip price is very competitive.”
The RDA 5981 from RDA adopts a 40-nanometer process and integrates an ARM Cortex-M4 processor, designed as a fully integrated low-power WiFi chip for smart home, smart family, and smart voice interaction IoT applications.
RDA5981 supports 802.11 b/g/n HT20/40 modes and integrates an ARM CortexM4, providing developers with high-capacity configurable chip memory (SRAM) while also supporting external PSRAM, as well as a set of expansion interfaces (I2S/UART/PWM/I2C/SDMMC/USB2.0/SDIO, etc.), which can be directly connected to sensors, external codecs, etc.
Additionally, it integrates an MPU/FPU, achieving hardware acceleration engines such as RSA/AES/TRNG, maximally meeting the design requirements for various advanced security features in IoT products. This chip fully supports the Ruilian “platform” architecture and can be programmed and developed in environments like Mbed and FreeRTOS, including a complete set of communication protocols and mainstream cloud protocols, thus greatly reducing the difficulty of chip application development.
Smart Speaker Manufacturers and Their Representative Products:
Representative Product: Echo
Supports Bluetooth and WiFi, smart switch, voice functions, search, news, shopping, etc.
Official Website: https://www.amazon.com/
Representative Product: Google Home
Far-field voice recognition technology, standby all day, voice-controlled smart speaker, flexible design; WiFi connectivity.
Official Website: http://www.google.com/
Representative Product: Tmall Genie X1
Equipped with MediaTek MTK MT8516 processor; built-in amplifier TI TAS5751M; supports smart home control, voice shopping, mobile recharge, food delivery, audio music playback, etc.; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity.
Official Website: http://www.alibaba.com/
Representative Product: Xiaomi AI Speaker
Built-in six circular microphones; voice control, artificial intelligence, 360-degree sound field, can use APP to play music; WiFi connectivity.
Official Website: https://www.mi.com/
Representative Product: Dingdong LLSS-A001 Speaker
7+1 microphone matrix; smart voice interaction, cinema-shocking sound effects, rich music library; connection method: 1.5m cable; supports DLNA connection, far-field recognition distance of 5 meters; Bluetooth.
Official Website: https://www.linglongtech.com/
Representative Product: Qin Jian M1 AI Video Speaker
Equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (APQ8039) processor; 10-inch full screen; a new family member, voice interactive dialogue is natural and smooth; with a single command, it can complete alarms, reminders, weather, calendar, encyclopedia, etc.; equipped with Tencent Cloud Xiaowei platform, safe and stable, more efficient.
Official Website: http://www.kinstalk.com/
Representative Product: Tencent Listening Speaker
6 microphones; automatic noise reduction; built-in battery; rich content resources, many manufacturers provide exclusively.
Official Website: https://www.tencent.com/
Representative Product: DOSS Smart Speaker
Six circular microphones; WIFI, Bluetooth 4.0+EDR, 10m reception distance; far-field voice, built-in DuerOS system.
Official Website: http://www.dossav.com/
Representative Product: Haimeidi Audio-Visual Robot Audio-Visual Version
Huawei Hisilicon 3798 high-end customized chip, ARM Mali-450 GPU; voice recognition control function, automatic motor 1080P HD camera, video calls; dual-band WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 + EDR, etc.
Official Website: http://www.himedia.cn/
Representative Product: HomePod
Built-in powerful A8 processor; Bluetooth functionality, cloud storage of 40 million songs, supports Siri voice control, controls indoor lighting effects and indoor temperature settings.
Official Website: https://www.apple.com/
Representative Product: Xiaodu at Home
6 microphone circular array, omnidirectional 360° sound pickup, easy conversation within 10 meters, automatic echo cancellation, intelligent noise reduction processing; 7-inch 1024*600 screen; smart video speaker, WiFi wireless Bluetooth speaker, AI artificial intelligence, voice assistant.
Official Website: https://zaijia.baidu.com/
Representative Product: Phicomm R1 Smart Speaker
Equipped with Rockchip RK3229 CPU; smart voice interaction, voice remote control of home, lunar calendar query, stock query, nearby services, children’s companionship, Tang poetry and Song lyrics, Chinese-English translation; WIFI + BT, etc.
Official Website: http://www.phicomm.com/
Representative Product: Lenovo Smart Speaker
Volume adjustment ring, 8 microphones, 5-meter remote voice recognition, 360° sound source positioning, millions of audio books, 1800 radio stations, etc.
Official Website: https://www.lenovo.com.cn/
Representative Product: ALLURE Speaker
Touch-free voice control, Tencent Cloud Xiaowei, smart voice assistant, QQ calls and QQ voice messages, massive QQ music library, home control; dual-band WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, etc.
Official Website: http://www.harmankardon.com/
Representative Product: Xiaoya AI Speaker
6+1 digital silicon microphone; Bluetooth, alarm clock, WiFi functions, voice interaction, intelligent on-demand, massive content, breakpoint continuation, smart recommendations, versatile corpus, life assistant, etc.
Official Website: http://www.ximalaya.com/
Representative Product: Rokid Pebble
Dual-channel; voice recognition control function; dual-band (2.4, 5GHz); 360° full-color LED halo, smart light sensing, etc.
Official Website: http://www.rokid.com/
Representative Product: JBL GO Smart
WIFI + Bluetooth, dual connection control via voice + APP, Bluetooth speaker upgrade.
Official Website: https://cn.jbl.com/
Representative Product: HiVi Phonism 1
Can play specified tracks / report weather / check stock market trends / news / obtain traffic conditions and many other functions.
Official Website: http://www.hivi.com/
Representative Product: Tichome
Stylish appearance, supports Hi-Fi sound quality, far-field voice interaction, voice assistant functionality.
Official Website: https://www.chumenwenwen.com/
Representative Product: Skyworth Xiaopai TV Smart Sound
Equipped with Amlogic A113X processor; equipped with DuerOS smart voice interaction system; voice operation, karaoke function, four sound effect modes, etc.
Official Website: http://www.skyworth.com/
The currently participating smart speaker manufacturers can generally be divided into the following categories:
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Internet giants: These companies often have a large business layout and aim to establish a smart ecosystem centered around voice as an entry point, seeking new entry points for existing content and services. Represented by BAT, JD.com, Xiaomi.
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Technology vendors: Companies with accumulated experience in voice technology, focusing on creating technical open platforms or providing voice technology solutions, such as iFlytek, Sibo, Chumenwenwen.
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Content vendors: Speakers are essentially carriers of content and services. Content manufacturers possess unique IP resources and begin to unite with various manufacturers for mutual benefit. Representative manufacturers include Himalaya, Kugou.
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Startups: Often having an internet gene, specialized in specific fields, and focusing more on the integration with specific application scenarios, such as Rokid, which focuses on smart home.
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Traditional speaker manufacturers: These companies have accumulated experience in traditional speaker hardware development and tend to cooperate with technology and content vendors, such as Doss.
Like all other trends, the rise of an industry always attracts a large number of followers: some hope to become industry leaders; others, while not aspiring to be the first, at least want to share in the pie or worry about falling behind and being eliminated; of course, there are also those who stand by and observe.
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