Virtual Assistants Expected To Beat Virtual Reality Gears In 2016 Holiday Sales

A battle between virtual assistants like Amazon's Echo and virtual reality gadgets like Oculus Rift is heating up this holiday season. While both devices are seen to increase in popularity and sales, Echo and other virtual assistants are expected to be on top of the game in the latter part of this year.

The Consumer Technology Association forecasts that virtual home assistants will beat VR and other competitors in the tech business, just two years after Amazon launched Echo, a hands-free speaker with an AI-powered virtual assistant called Alexa.

An analyst said virtual assistants will "blow VR out of the water," predicting that up to 12 million Amazon Echo and Google Home virtual assistants would be sold this holiday season, Reuters reports. Between Echo and Home, tech analysts say Echo has the edge because it is cheaper and has more features.

Echo is so popular several units of it have been ordered far in advance, and there will be no new supplies until next month, Geekwire reports. Amazon.com says the speaker will not be in stock until January 3, 2017, which means those who do not have it yet are unlikely to get it for Christmas.

Time included Echo in its list of gadgets powered by the AI assistant Alexa that consumers should not miss. Much of the credit goes to Alexa, who can respond to any question, play music, and perform a host of other useful functions.

Alexa will also be present in three of Ford's newest models, other speakers like Jam Voice, smartwatches, intercoms, and communicators.

On the VR side, industry insiders expect sales to hit 2.2 million, including 300,000 units of Facebook's Oculus Rift and Sony's PlayStation VR. Samsung's Gear VR headset may have the highest sales because it comes with smartphones.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Technology Association predicts wearables including the Apple Watch to sell 12.6 million units, while drones would reach 1.2 billion.