Samsung’s smart speaker will be launched in the first half of next year

It was rumored earlier this year that Samsung will enter the smart speaker market with a Bixby-powered product in the near future. The company confirmed four months ago that it’s working on such a product and that it would be launched “soon.” According to a new report, Samsung is aiming to launch its Bixby-powered smart speaker in the first half of next year.

Samsung’s smart speaker

Citing people briefed on the company’s plans, Bloomberg reports that Samsung will launch its smart speaker in the first half of 2018. The device will reportedly have a strong focus on audio quality and the management of connected home devices like smart lights and locks.

Bixby, Samsung’s AI-powered virtual private assistant, will be present on the device to rival similar products that run other assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. The smart speaker will reportedly also synchronize with other Samsung devices like TVs and smartphones.

One source mentioned that Samsung is still working on improving the speaker’s ability to conduct web searches based on voice commands. A prototype version that’s being tested is said to be the size of the latest Echo speaker from Amazon. The device may be offered in multiple colors but the prototype is sporting a matte black finish.

Samsung is thinking about launching the device in multiple markets by the first half of next year and is thinking about a price point of around $200. The pricing and release plans are said to be fluid which means that they might change.