Rumor: Samsung wants to release smart Bixby speaker in the first half of 2018

Samsung reportedly plans to launch a smart speaker with its Bixby assistant in multiple countries in the first half of 2018. The speaker must be able to work with Samsung TVs and Galaxy smartphones, among other things.

Samsung would focus on audio quality and smart home control with its smart speaker. Bloomberg claims that based on sources familiar with the Korean manufacturer’s plans. The speaker should be able to be integrated into smart homes and thus be able to control lighting, locks and sensors from Samsung’s SmartThings platform.

In addition, the speaker must be able to handle Samsung products such as TVs and smartphones. Samsung is said to be considering a price of $200, which would put it between the price of the Amazon Echo, at $100, and Apple’s HomePod, at $349. Also in terms of size, the speaker would sit between that of the Echo and the HomePod; at least, a prototype at this point would be that size.

Bloomberg still has a hand in the release period, as Samsung would still work on optimizations. For example, Internet search via voice control should be further improved. It is not known in which countries Samsung plans to release the speaker. The prototypes the company is now working on would not have a screen. Google is working on a variant of its Home speaker with a touchscreen, Bloomberg reports, again.

That Samsung is coming with a Bixby speaker is no surprise: the company confirmed this earlier this year. The company is therefore relatively late: Amazon, Google and Apple preceded the company and there are already speakers with Microsoft’s Cortana assistant.