Did Alexa win Christmas 2019? It sure looks like it

By Ruth Reader

The Amazon Echo must have been a popular gift this year, because downloads of the Alexa app are topping charts across iPhone and Android. The app is the number one downloaded app on iPhone and number two in Google Play.

Its popularity shows the Echo is staying ahead of smart speaker competitors like Google Home. On the list of top downloads, Google Home placed seventh on Google Play and ninth in the iPhone App Store. (Neither app made Apple’s top ten apps of 2019, released earlier this month.).The two devices are enmeshed in bitter competition. Last year, it looked like Google Home might prove a serious challenge to Amazon, but for now the device is lagging. In the U.S., Amazon Echo holds 70% of the smart speaker market, while Google Home has 25%, according to the Consumer Research Intelligence Partners. Globally, the Echo has 36.6% of the market in the third quarter, putting it significantly ahead of Google Home (12.3%) and a pack of competitors, according to analysis firm Canalys.

The Alexa app wasn’t the only winner Christmas Day. Unsurprisingly, both Disney+ and YouTube were high up on the list of downloads this holiday season, as many crowded in front of the television to watch movies and kids programming, while Netflix lingered around number 10. Tik Tok and Snapchat also beat out Instagram for downloads this Christmas, illustrating their rise as popular social apps among the youth (and maybe now their parents).

Finally, FitBit surged into the top 10, indicating that consumers are still buying each other this affordable fitness tracker in hopes of losing weight, being more active, or attaining some other metric of health in the 2020. Like many New Year’s resolutions, expect this one to lose steam over the next few weeks.

 
 

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