Samsung has confirmed the firm will ‘soon’ release a smart speaker designed to take on Amazon’s Echo, Google’s Home and Apple’s HomePod.
DJ Koh, the president of Samsung’s mobile division, told CNBC a smart speaker was on the way.
‘Maybe soon we will announce it. I am already working on it,’ Koh said.
In the hopes of keeping up with its rivals, Samsung is rumoured to be working on a new smart speaker featuring its voice assistant, Bixby
‘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,’ he added.
The secret project is believed to be codenamed Vega, although little is known about the details of the device.
It will use Bixby, the company’s digital personal assistant currently found on the flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone and Note 8 device.
After months of delays, Samsung finally launched its Bixby voice assistant in more than 200 countries worldwide this week.
Among the countries with access to the smart assistant are the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa – although it can only understand American English and Korean.
The launch will come as a huge relief to Samsung, which suffered major delays as Bixby ‘struggled to understand English.’
Bixby is a smart assistant, similar to Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana.
It operates through ‘Quick Commands’ – a feature that allows users to create custom voice commands.
Koh said that this first version of Bixby is ‘just a baby’, but the long-term ambitions is to have the digital assistant able to control all sorts of devices.
Samsung’s speaker will face stiff competition from both Apple’s HomePod (pictured left), which was revealed last month, and Amazon’s Echo (pictured right) and Echo Dot speakers
Apple’s $349 HomePod speaker will work with Apple Music and has several speakers and a built in woofer
‘In Samsung, there are many customers using Samsung TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and smartphones.
‘If those kinds of devices are connected and then you can control by just using voice, that is my vision,’ Koh told CNBC.
For example, users can use the command ‘good night’ as a shortcut for ‘Turn on Do-not-disturb mode, set an alarm for 6:00am and turn on blue light filter.’
The voice assistant can also use deep learning technology to understand the way you speak, ask questions and make requests.
Sriram Thodla, senior director of services and new business at Samsung, speaks about the new voice agent named ‘Bixby’ that is featured on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 during a launch event, March 29, 2017 in New York City. The firm has now confirmed it is working on a speaker using the technology
For example, if you take a photo and then tell Bixby to ‘send the picture just taken to Mum,’ the assistant will know which photo you are referring to and will text it to your mum.
Bixby also improves over time to recognise your personal preferences and style of speaking.
A report in the Wall Street Journal previously claimed that Samsung is working on a smart speaker.
Details are very minimal, and the report does not mention any specifications, features or a release date.
The WSJ now says Samsung sees the full release of Bixby voice support available for the Galaxy S8 as ‘unlikely before the second half of July.’
Samsung’s speaker will face stiff competition from Apple’s HomePod, which was revealed last month, Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot speakers, and Google’s Home speaker.
MailOnline has contacted Samsung for comment.
The connected speaker market has been growing steadily in recent years.
Amazon released its Echo range of speakers in 2014, followed by Google Home appeared a year later.
Microsoft has also opened up its Cortana assistant for use in third-party speakers.
Meanwhile, last month, Apple said its Siri-powered HomePod will be available by the end of the year.
APPLE HOMEPOD – HOW IT WORKS
Two speakers can be linked together to form a stereo pair
At just under 7 inches tall, HomePod represents years of hardware and software innovation, Apple says.
It is activated by a user saying ‘Hey Siri’.
It has an Apple-designed upward-facing woofer, paired with the custom A8 chip, enables bass management
Custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters, each with its own amplifier
Apple-designed A8 chip provides the brains behind the audio
Automatic room-sensing technology allows HomePod to quickly learn its position in a room
The $349 speaker will work with Apple Music and has several speakers and a built in woofer
Six-microphone array with advanced echo cancellation enables Siri to understand people whether they are near the device or standing across the room
Siri waveform appears on the top to indicate when Siri is engaged, and integrated touch controls also allow easy navigation;
Automatic detection and balance of two speakers using both direct and reflected audio to deliver amazing audio wirelessly for an even more immersive experience
Easy setup that is as intuitive as setting up AirPods — simply hold an iPhone next to HomePod and it’s ready to start playing music in seconds
Six-microphone array with advanced echo cancellation enables Siri to understand people whether they are near the device or standing across the room