Thanks to the popularity of the Amazon Echo and Google Home, we're going to see a lot more smart speakers coming down the pipe. Companies that may not have originally considered a hardware component to their traditional software platform may see an opening, and, more than anything, another means to net some money. Which is why it may not be all that surprising to hear that Spotify may be wading into the hardware market at some point in the future.
A few reports surfaced recently pointing to job openings within Spotify that have, very clearly, a focus on hardware. And as anyone who uses Spotify knows, the company is a music streaming platform that doesn't have any devices to fill those job openings right now. But that could be changing.
Of course, reading the tea leaves regarding the future of a company based on job openings isn't a guarantee by any means (sort of like trying to guess what Apple does next with its litany of patent applications), but the idea that Spotify could be looking to branch out is certainly an interesting one.
Plus, as a Spotify user I have to ask myself if I'd even consider buying something like a smart speaker to listen to music.
Personally, that's all the Google Home was doing before I ultimately handed it over to a family member. I didn't need the speaker to tell me the news, because that's simply part of my routine when I turn my computer on every morning. I didn't need weather updates, or have any desire to do searches with my voice.
When it wasn't playing music it was playing trivia games.
Google Home and the Amazon Echo serve specific purposes for both companies that create the smart speakers, and Spotify's attempt --if it exists-- would be no different. The company would position it as another connected device that responds to the owner's voice, and it would probably have some pretty great speakers (one would hope) to fill your place with music.
I can't help but wonder if the device would have something like Amazon's Alexa on board, too, just for good measure. And then one has to ask if you, as a potential buyer, would prefer a Spotify speaker with Alexa or Google Assistant built in. Having options is pretty great, especially for a completely theoretical device.
I'm not entirely sure that I'd pick one up, but pricing would be the biggest factor either way. Spotify would have to be aggressive with pricing, going up against Amazon and Google, and may even have to undercut the competition to make their own smart speaker seem like an option. Then again, if Spotify was simply throwing in smart controls to a speaker that it sees as a competitive product to, say, Sonos, well ... that wiggle room for price certainly skyrockets.
What do you think? Should Spotify venture out and create a smart speaker of its own? Or should the company keep its focus on its streaming music service? Let me know!
