With Apple rescheduling the launch of its smart speaker HomePod from December to early 2018, Amazon's Echo series is expected to dominate the smart speaker market during the year-end holidays of 2017 and benefit the device manufacturers Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Compal Electronics, according to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report.
Compal has already delivered its orders for display-featured smart speakers, the Echo Spot and Echo Show to Amazon and is currently working with Amazon to develop new models for 2018, the paper noted.
The HomePod's rescheduled launch is expected to undermine Inventec's shipment performance in the fourth quarter. Foxconn reportedly will join HomePod's supply chain to provide assembly services.
Inventec also turned conservative about its 2018 smart device shipments, which it expects to grow by only a single-digit percentage on year from 2017's 70 million units, since the company is planning to stop accepting orders with low margins, the paper added.
