Smart speakers have had a meteoric rise — but their momentum could still be checked

This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence IoT Briefing subscribers. To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here. Leading tech players like Google, Amazon, and Apple are trying to get smart speakers and other voice assistant-powered devices into consumers' homes to expand their reach and entrench themselves more deeply into everyday life. This class of device seems to be on an inexorable march toward increased adoption: In the first few years of their availability, smart speakers have attained an estimated 21% household penetration and 120 million total devices in the US as of the start of 2019. But some recent developments in the space could indicate roadblocks in the continued growth of the smart speaker market.Here's what's happening:A new study in the UK found that women are more likely than men to experience smart speakers failing to understand them. The survey of British smart speaker owners found that 67% of women said that smart speakers don't understand their commands “sometimes” or more often, compared with 54% of men. If this disparity in how consumers can interact with voice assistants persists, it could lead to lower utilization by women and limit the smart speaker to a smaller, primarily male audience of tech-savvy early adopters. And even if devices ultimately end up in most homes, there could be a problematic disparity in actual users.Samsung, meanwhile, still hasn't shipped its Galaxy Home Bixby-powered smart speaker, missing an April ship date target. The device was first announced in August 2018, but many details — including the device's price — remain unknown nearly a year later. The company hasn't revealed the cause of the delay, but tech issues are a likely culprit: Smart audio devices with always-listening microphones require constant connectivity, and developing that hardware can be challenging, as evidenced by the connectivity problems Amazon's Echo Wall Clock faced. Samsung likely wants to avoid any issues marring its smart speaker's reputation from the outset, but adding delays on top of an already late entry to the market could torpedo the company's efforts.What this could lead to: Smart speakers and connected audio devices have been building increasing share among consumers, but that momentum isn't so strong that it couldn't stall out.The companies behind these devices hope to push toward ubiquity, but in order to do that, they'll need to move beyond early adopters and into the wider pool of everyday users. Tech and/or PR stumbles like those listed above could deter consumers who are considering purchasing a device for the first time. That makes it more important than ever for companies to ensure compelling devices are available for consumers looking for hardware that gives access to the voice assistant of their choice. And they especially need to take steps to continually improve their voice assistants to provide as many consumers as possible — whether they're familiar with the voice interface or not — with a seamless and satisfactory smart speaker experience that they'll regularly use and integrate into their routines and their digital lives.Interested in getting the full story？ Here are two ways to get access: 1. Sign up for the IoT Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 3x a week. >> Get Started2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the IoT Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now