Amazon’s Alexa App Tops U.S. App Store for First Time; Google Home Hits No. 4 in Canada

Yesterday Amazon announced its Alexa-powered Echo Dot was the most popular product sold during this holiday season, and now with the Alexa iOS app atop the U.S. App Store, it appears Amazon may have a huge lead when it comes to smart speakers in America (via TechCrunch).

Alexa for iOS hit the top spot in the App Store on Christmas Day in the U.S. and currently still reigns on top. Other markets where Echo products are available, saw the Alexa app hit the No. 2 spot in the UK and Germany, while reaching the fifth spot in Austria.

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In Canada, however, the Alexa app hasn’t cracked the top ten (yet), as it currently sits in the No. 21 spot, but current rival Google Home sits in the No. 4 spot.

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There are reasons to explain these disparities, as Alexa only launched in Canada in early December, while Google Home’s rise can be attributed to widespread Boxing Day sales (and Black Friday/Cyber Monday) on Google Home and Google Home Mini speakers, with the latter starting as low as $39.99 CAD.

Based on app popularity, Google Home at the fourth spot in the App Store suggests it has a huge lead over Alexa devices, which are still relatively new in Canada. Google Home speakers debuted this summer, so there is a six month lead over Amazon’s Echo products.

While Amazon and Google celebrate sales of their smart speakers, Apple is still on the outside looking in, as their HomePod speaker, originally set to debut in the U.S. this month (and the UK/Australia), has been delayed to “early 2018.”

There’s no word when the device will launch in Canada, but one thing certain is it’ll be expensive locally, as U.S. pricing retails for $349 USD ($441 CAD).

Did you get an Echo product or Google Home speaker for Christmas?

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