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Samsung is working on a smart speaker to take on Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, Google Home, and soon Apple’s HomePod. The existence of a Samsung smart speaker and plans to release a speaker soon were shared with CNBC today by DJ Koh, president of the mobile division at Samsung.
Koh did not share details about the price or appearance of the speaker or whether it will use Samsung’s Bixby intelligent assistant, which expanded to 200 markets worldwide earlier this week, but Samsung has previously expressed an intention to put Bixby inside all its appliances.
Confirmation of a smart speaker by Samsung follows months of speculation on the matter, beginning in May when Samsung filed a design patent with the U.S. government for an audio device with a visual display.
In July the Wall Street Journal reported that a Samsung smart speaker was being developed; however, two weeks later the Korea Herald, also speaking with anonymous sources, said the project had been shelved because Samsung did not believe there was enough money in smart speakers.
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Whenever it comes out, Samsung’s smart speaker will enter an increasingly crowded market. On Tuesday, anonymous sources said Google is working on a smaller version of the Google Home, and a few weeks ago sources familiar with the matter said Facebook is making its own smart speaker.
Harman International, which is owned by Samsung, plans to release its Harman Kardon Invoke smart speaker with Microsoft’s Cortana inside this fall.
