Report: Samsung to take on Amazon, Google, and Apple with Bixby-powered speaker

As the demand for AI-powered smart speakers increases, more and more companies are entering the market with their own devices. Andy Rubin’s Essential announced the Essential Home last week, while Apple took the wraps off the HomePod a couple of days ago.

Samsung could be the next to enter the voice-controlled speaker fray, according to a report by The Korea Herald. The tech giant is apparently working on a speaker powered by the Bixby digital assistant, which made its debut on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when it will be released or how much it will set you back. Knowing Samsung, it probably won’t be the most affordable device you could opt for. In terms of features, we can expect that Samsung’s upcoming speaker to offer more or less the same as its competition. The device will likely be able to play music you like, tell you all about the weather, answer any questions you might have, and more.

Additionally, Harman Kardon, a subsidiary of Samsung, has also entered the AI-powered smart speaker market. It’s the manufacturer behind Microsoft’s Invoke device, which is powered by Cortana and will be released in the third quarter of the year.

All of these new products will go head to head with Amazon’s Alexa-powered speakers that are currently way ahead of the competition in terms of sales. According to the research firm eMarketer, the Echo and Echo Dot devices are expected to claim a 70.6 percent share of the US market this year. The Google Home, on the other hand, may only grab 23.8 percent of the market in 2017.