Profile of Anker, manufacturer of cables, battery packs, chargers, and more for mobile devices, as it expands into the smart home and auto markets
Illustrations by William Joel Photography by James Bareham — Steven Yang quit his job at Google in the summer of 2011 to build the products …
Context & Ripple Effects
This 2017 profile catches Anker at the pivot point: a company built by ex-Googler Steven Yang on cables, battery packs, and chargers deciding to compete in categories where software and services matter. Its origin story matters here — Anker grew up selling through Amazon rather than carrier shelves, which is what makes a move upmarket credible for an accessories maker.
The follow-on coverage shows the bet paying out in both directions Anker named: Alexa-integrated consumer devices ($130 smart speaker and $300 vacuum), then a Google Assistant play in the car ($50 Roav Bolt charger), all while the core charging business stayed the cash engine, as its CEO discussed years later covering gallium nitride bets and the EU's proposed USB-C legislation.
First-order effects
- Anker enters the smart-home market as an Alexa partner rather than building its own assistant — trading ecosystem independence for immediate compatibility with Amazon's installed base.
- Its Amazon-native D2C channel gives it shelf presence in categories (speakers, vacuums) where incumbents typically pay heavily for retail distribution.
Second-order effects
- Voice-assistant platforms get a new class of low-cost hardware distributor: Google answered in the car segment by certifying Anker's Roav Bolt alongside JBL's Link Drive, extending Assistant into vehicles through third-party accessories.
- Apple's MFI licensing program becomes a pricing and compliance lever on Anker's legacy charging line even as the company diversifies away from iPhone-dependent revenue.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the accessory-to-brand ladder becomes a repeatable path: commodity-charging margins fund platform-agnostic devices, and regulation like EU USB-C mandates commoditizes the entry category further, pushing such makers toward differentiated smart hardware.
- Hardware competition reorganizes around whoever controls distribution and voice platforms — brand owners without their own assistants rent intelligence from Google, Amazon, or Apple, ceding the assistant layer to a handful of gatekeepers.
The trend: Accessories manufacturers are climbing from commodity chargers into branded smart-home and auto hardware by renting voice platforms and owning their own marketplace distribution.