Samsung Confirms Plans to Launch Smart Speaker
Yesterday DJ Koh, the president of Samsung’s mobile division, confirmed to CNBC that a Samsung brand smart speaker is in the works:
Maybe soon we will announce it. I am already working on it. As I mentioned I wanted to provide a fruitful user experience at home with Samsung devices, and I want to be moving quite heavily on it.
Based on Koh’s statement, it appears that a smart speaker is a high priority for Samsung and is looking to launch one sooner rather than later. Koh did not give any other details about the device or if it will include Samsung’s voice assistant Bixby. Rumors began swirling earlier this year that the company was working on a Bixby-powered smart speaker after filing a patent for an audio device with a display. But then a few months later, the Korea Herald reported that Samsung was hesitant to enter the increasingly saturated smart speaker market.
Can a Samsung Smart Speaker be Successful?
Samsung could become a big player in the smart speaker market – it has a large user base already being the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world today. Yes, the competition is stiff with Google rumored to be working on a Google Home Mini, the Apple HomePod launching this fall and even the Samsung owned Harman Kardon is launching its own speaker this fall as well with Microsoft’s Cortana.
But Samsung is probably better positioned than any other company to jump into the ring. The company’s strength is hardware and electronics (despite the Galaxy Note 7 disaster) and it has a large product line of smart home devices, from refrigerators to televisions, readily available to integrate with its smart speaker device. Samsung is probably better positioned than any other company to successfully enter the smart speaker market, Bixby woes aside.
