Low-key success

Back in 2014, Amazon launched Amazon Echo, a smart speaker product with a low profile, which is different from Amazon's flagship product Fire Phone at that time: Echo has no press conference, no CEO platform, and even no direct sales. It can be said that Echo was an unknown gadget at that time. However, with the failure of Fire Phone, the Echo team grew, and Echo and the built-in voice assistant Alexa flourished.

Echo did not plan to become a smart home center at the beginning, and its functions are similar to those of the smart speakers launched by Xiaomi today - mainly because of the addition of smart music services. With the feedback of users in the internal test, it has gradually evolved into what it is today: Alexa voice assistant+smart home accessories+third-party services. Echo has good conditions to become a smart home center. Alexa voice assistant is expected to become a new pillar industry of Amazon. Huawei has adapted Alexa services for its models in overseas markets instead of Google Assistant, the same father as Android. As for whether it is successful or not, we can see if Google Home, the hardware product attached to Google Assistant, is conceptually similar to Echo when it was released by Google next door at the end of last year?

The beginning of localization

In terms of hardware, C2C (Copy to China) is very easy to implement. However, for voice interaction products such as Echo, the technology of Chinese recognition cannot be done well by anyone. In this regard, iFLYTEK, which is leading in Chinese voice interaction, has launched iFLYTEK smart speakers in line with its own advantages. It can be said that at this time, the domestic smart speakers have taken a big step forward, and voice interaction is no longer a difficult point for smart speakers. Of course, as a pioneer product, iFLYTEK smart speakers have no great breakthrough in functions. Compared with ordinary speakers, iFLYTEK smart speakers have more networking functions and better voice control. However, the traditional keys still remain, instead of using only voice interaction as revolutionary as Echo. The iFLYTEK smart speakers did not achieve the same goal as Echo in one step, but if you take a closer look at the current functions of the iFLYTEK smart speakers, aren't they very similar to Echo's original expectations? It's just that all kinds of music services are localized.

IFLYTEK+JD

JD, which is also an e-commerce company with Amazon, seems to see the prospect of smart speakers, so JD Smart and iFLYTEK have jointly launched a number of smart speakers of different brands. In terms of voice interaction, iFLYTEK's technical strength is used to solve the problem, while in terms of device support in smart homes, JD can cooperate with suppliers, which seems to be an ideal win-win situation.

The famous audio manufacturer JBL took the lead in introducing Go Smart, which maintains JBL's consistent design features on the external box. Compared with the previous products, the new IoT technology comes from iFLYTEK and JD. Voice and AI technologies are the solutions of these two companies, and JBL integrates them into its own products. With the voice support of iFLYTEK and the app of JD Microlink, Go Smart is a JBL version of Echo.

At the same time, not only JBL has made such a product, but also Anqiao, a Japanese manufacturer familiar to audio enthusiasts, has launched C100. In appearance, it is the all black color matching used by Anqiao, but the price does not seem to match the consistent style of Anqiao. Similar intelligent solutions to JBL are still produced by iFLYTEK and JD, both of which are identical in function. Strangely, Anqiao C100 does not appear on its official website, but is only sold in Jingdong.

However, Dingdong is the most effective way to bring the cooperation plan between iFLYTEK and JD into full play. At present, JD has five models of A1/A1X/A3/Q1/Q3 products on sale, which are almost identical in function. The difference lies in the appearance and some built-in services. In particular, the difference between A1 and A1X is only in the color of the body and the content of New Oriental Bubble Kids English attached to A1X. Why can't we sell the content separately for A1 users to use after purchase and upgrade? Do you have to bundle sales?

chicken ribs?

As mentioned earlier, at present, the products similar to Echo in China that have development potential are temporarily led by iFLYTEK+JD, but this ecosystem is not as beautiful as imagined. First of all, the equipment supporting JD Microlink is not abundant. Compared with Alibaba Xiaozhi, it is weak in variety and quantity. Only some household appliances are slightly better, which greatly limits the choice of consumers. There is also a lack of high-end products to establish a brand, and the price is not cheap because it supports JD Microlink; Secondly, unlike overseas situations, devices that support Echo tend to support Google Home, and there is basically no need to worry about compatibility issues, while related devices of JD Microlink and Alibaba Xiaozhi can be said to have died of old age, and even products from the same manufacturer will not support both platforms at the same time; Then there is the problem of third-party services. JD's intelligent cloud voice service platform is open, and Youdao Cloud Notes are also in it. But there is no information about related or possible services in the future, and JD can't even draw a pie?

Another problem is that JD's appeal does not seem to be as strong as it imagined. Domestic home appliance manufacturers such as Haier and Midea have their own smart home plans. Midea has even cooperated with TCL in order to expand the market, For JD's ambition to occupy the hub of smart home, I dare not say that Haier's people will give their full support. In this view, if household appliance manufacturers have defected one after another, Jingdong's ecosystem will also appear to be a bit weak.

What's the future

We have to admit that it is a good decision for JD to find cooperation with iFLYTEK. As the current leader in Chinese speech recognition, iFLYTEK's dominant position is relatively stable for the time being. The same e-commerce nature of JD and Amazon can also enable it to obtain the best data in users' consumption habits and recommend more personalized products to users. However, according to the current situation, it is quite difficult to achieve the height of Echo. There are many domestic manufacturers doing Internet of Things related business. For example, Alibaba Xiaozhi may find cooperation with iFLYTEK, which may give birth to the next "Linglong Technology", which may be more competitive than the current JD+iFLYTEK. The domestic version of "Echo" will only be like a tiger without further cooperation and integration with terminal manufacturers. （3ed2f8b25c7e90474361e68f09cbf2c06b4928b3）

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