When it comes to “smart speaker†offerings involving anyone other than Amazon and Google it may be a case of being a bit too late to the party, but evidently Samsung doesn’t think so, as it finalises plans to unveil its Bixby-powered speaker next year.
Is there room to for Harman, Apple and Samsung to all capitalise on the popularity of voice control with their individual smart assistants?
Samsung says yes, and is confidently affirming its focus on sound quality mean it will be a cut above Apple and Sonos when it comes to the usefulness of its smart speaker (both of which may have something to say about that one…)
According to Bloomberg, Samsung’s not-so-secret ‘Project Vega’ will come to fruition sometime in 2018 and will be priced at US $200 to begin with to try and match products like the Sonos One. The speaker will incorporate the manufacturer’s Bixby voice assistant users of the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be familiar with.
Rumours suggest that the speaker’s size will be somewhere between the Amazon Echo and the Apple HomePod, and originally, come in a variety of colours.
Meanwhile details on when Apple’s Siri-powered speaker, the HomePod, will come out are scant at the moment.
Samsung is also considering a touchscreen version for those who don’t fancy the Echo Show.