A few months ago, Samsung confirmed that it's got a smart speaker in the works, but we haven't heard much about the device since then. That's changing today.
Samsung is planning to release its Bixby-powered smart speaker in the first half of 2018, say sources speaking to Bloomberg. Samsung wants to offer its speaker in multiple markets, according to the tipsters, and the company is considering a price of around $200.
The Samsung smart speaker is expected to have a focus on audio quality and support for smart home products, like Samsung's like of SmartThings devices. It'll also sync with TVs, Samsung smartphones, and other Samsung devices. The device will offer support for voice-based web searches, too, says today's report, but Samsung is still working on improving that feature.
The smart speaker market is becoming populated with many of the major players in mobile. It started with Amazon's Echo a few years ago, and after that device became a surprise hit, we saw Google launch its Google Home device. Now Google has launched two more smart speakers in the Google Home Mini and Google Home Max, Amazon has the Echo Dot and Echo Plus, and Apple is prepping its own HomePod smart speaker for launch soon.
Considering all of those big names are selling or will soon be selling smart speakers, it's no surprise to see Samsung is interested in launching its own device, especially since it's got its own assistant in Bixby. We'll just have to wait and see if Samsung's speaker offers enough features to help it compete against devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home that've been on the market for awhile now.
Does a Bixby-powered Samsung smart speaker interest you?
