Samsung is reportedly building a Bixby speaker to rival Apple's HomePod

Samsung's 'Vega' speaker hobbled by Bixby rollout delay

Carly Page
@CarlyPage_
04 July 2017

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ME-TOO COMPANY Samsung is working on a Bixby-powered speaker in a bid to challenge Apple's HomePod, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

The WSJ (paywalled) claims that the launch of the device, codenamed 'Vega', has been hobbled by the delay of Bixby in the US. Samsung announced plans to suspend the rollout of the AI assistant in the US last month, because it's, er, struggling to understand English.

The report claims that the full rollout of Bixby to Galaxy S8 owners in the US is "unlikely before the second half of July," suggesting that Samsung's Vega speaker probably ain't going to launch anytime soon.

Last month, the Korea Herald also reported about Samsung's upcoming Bixby speaker, and while it also was light on specs, it noted that the firm has been granted patents for the mooted device in South Korea.

News of Samsung building its own AI-powered speaker comes, unsurprisingly, not long after Apple took the wraps off its first stab at the Amazon and Google-dominated market. The speaker, called the Apple HomePod for some God-forsaken reason, is a 7in tall bin-like device

The speaker, called the HomePod for some godforsaken reason, is a 7in tall bin-like device, which can be controlled using Apple's Siri AI assistant.

Inside you'll find Apple's A8 processor, which the company claims is "the biggest brain inside of a speaker". This sits alongside a 4in Apple-built subwoofer and a seven tweeter array with precision acoustic horns and directional control. We don't really know what that means, either, but Apple claims it will "rock the house". Er.

The speaker also features "spatial awareness," which allows it to automatically tune the sound to the space that the speaker is in.

"Apple reinvented portable music with iPod and now HomePod will reinvent how we enjoy music wirelessly throughout our homes," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

"HomePod packs powerful speaker technology, Siri intelligence and wireless access to the entire Apple Music library into a beautiful speaker that is less than 7 inches tall, can rock most any room with distortion-free music and be a helpful assistant around your home."

The Apple HomePod will be available from December, priced at $349. UK pricing has not yet been announced. µ