Samsung’s long-rumored equivalent to Apple’s HomePod is set to come out at the second half of 2018, president of the company’s mobile communications DJ Koh, has confirmed. Reports of Samsung developing a smart speaker came out last August and Bloomberg had initially reported last December that the Bixby speaker would be set to release in the first half of 2018.
Koh has also said that they plan to “focus on more premium”, explicitly stating their plans to take on the HomePod and avoiding the more affordable counterparts like Google Home and Amazon Echo Dot. But Bloomberg’s report about the rumored release date also included claims of its price point at just $200, $150 less than the HomePod. So it’s uncertain whether or not Samsung decided with such a rapid change so quickly.
Details on the actual device and its functions also have yet to be announced. The speaker will likely be connected to Samsung’s SmartThing’s network that lets you control all your smart home devices via voice assistant.
