ZTE unveils new consumer research offering insights into smart voice market in China

02 March 2015, Barcelona – ZTE, a leading global mobile device maker, was today joined by partners Nuance, Audience, NXP and Sensory at the first Smart Voice Alliance Seminar, an event held during the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona. The event saw ZTE and partners discuss the latest smart voice industry trends, as well as their visions for the future of voice control technology. Findings from a report with in-depth analysis about the smart voice market in China were also discussed at the event. The report is an industry first in terms of insights into the usage of voice-controlled devices among Chinese consumers and is set to be published during Mobile World Congress 2015.

80% of Chinese smartphone users want voice control

To find out more about Chinese consumer perceptions of voice control, ZTE teamed up with its Smart Voice Alliance partners and GfK China to conduct an in-depth survey among consumers of different age groups across different locations in mainland China.

According to the report, over 80% of the Chinese smartphone users surveyed expressed an interest in voice control, indicating that they are either currently using or would like to use a voice-controlled smartphone. Among this group of users, 41% were willing to purchase a voice-controlled smartphone and voice control was ranked after brand, price and quality as an important influencing factor for consumers when buying a new smartphone.

Among the few other smartphone brands with voice control capabilities, the ZTE Star 2 was rated more positively by respondents for its accuracy and system-wide voice capable functions.

2015 – a new phase for smart voice development

Recent data from Strategy Analytics shows that the vast majority of mid to high-range smartphones come with voice control functions, accounting for approximately 50% of the 570 million smartphones shipped in 2014. Voice control functions are also gradually making their way into low to mid-range smartphones.

“Voice-controlled smartphones will enter their next phase of development in 2015 and are becoming increasingly prevalent as we enter the Smart 2.0 mobile internet era,” said Adam Zeng, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices, when speaking at the Smart Voice Alliance Seminar. “With devices like the Star 2, ZTE is enabling more natural and intuitive ways of human interaction and is offering users a touch-free way of controlling technology that has become a natural extension of our human bodies.”

At the Smart Voice Seminar, Nuance, Audience, Sensory and NXP also shared industry insights and visions for the future of voice control technology. The Smart Voice Alliance members talked about how in 2015 smart voice will become more widely-used, smarter and intuitive, as well as reach an increasing amount of consumers by supporting more languages and dialects.