After the huge success in US markets, the e-commerce giant Amazon is planning to bring its Echo smart speaker to India later this year. Two unnamed sources confirmed to Economic times that Amazon would bring its Alexa Voice Service (AVS) and Echo smart speaker to India by the end of this year. Recent reports suggest that Amazon is already working on a multilingual interface at its Chennai facility.
It is also said that Alexa along with English language support, will also support regional Indian languages, like Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi. However, Google Home is already available via Amazon India for a price of Rs. 23,999 which might not be appeal mass audience at that price. However, Amazon Echo is available at $180 in the US or Rs. 12,500, which is a much cheaper option compared to Google Home.
Considering the price point, Amazon Echo is one of best smart speakers in the market currently. It has been applauded by many tech enthusiasts for its seamless integration of third-party smart home gadgets and Alexa voice assistant. Amazon’s Alexa can draft e-mails, order food, book cabs, help with studies, etc.
Amazon has a huge customer base in India; the company would probably launch Echo as soon as possible to gain the first mover advantage. Amazon with its smart speaker is quite successful in US market and has staggering 70.6% market share against the likes of Google Home and Apple HomePod. However, the Indian market is an entirely different game altogether; Amazon has to come up with an aggressive strategy and lucrative offers to deal with Indians customers. Let’s hope they do.
