It was first reported last year that Samsung has a Bixby Speaker in the pipeline. The reports made sense as smart speakers powered by digital assistants have become quite popular and it wouldn't have surprised anyone if Samsung wanted to compete in this market as well.
The CEO of Samsung's mobile division DJ Koh revealed in a talk with reporters following the Galaxy S9 launch event yesterday that Samsung is going to release its Bixby Speaker in the second half of this year.
Bixby Speaker
Samsung introduced its Bixby digital assistant with the Galaxy S8 last year. The company is already committed to expanding Bixby beyond its mobile devices so it wouldn't really be surprising when it comes out with a smart speaker of its own.
Previous reports have suggested that Samsung's Bixby Speaker will be at the center of its Connected Vision household. The device will enable users to control connected objects around their home such as TVs, refrigerators, AC units, ovens, washing machines and more. Samsung has already confirmed that Bixby-enabled TVs will be launched this year.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Koh mentioned that Samsung is going to release a smart speaker powered by its Bixby voice assistant in the second half of this year. When he was pressed for a more concrete launch timeframe he said that he couldn't guarantee a precise release date just.
Samsung will really have to push the Bixby Speaker as a central part of its Internet of Things ecosystem if it wants the product to succeed in an already competitive market that's dominated by the likes of Amazon and Google. Both companies also enable third-party OEMs to integrate Alexa and Google Assistant digital into their own products. This isn't something that we can expect Samsung to do with Bixby.
We'll be following all of the developments related to the Bixby Speaker closely and will update you as and when more information comes in about this product.
