We'd heard whispers before, but now it's confirmed, Microsoft is planning to launch a Harman/Kardon branded smart speaker dubbed "Invoke" inside Autumn 2017. It'll be based on the firm's powerful Cortana AI assistant and cost around $150, according to reports.
Sources on Twitter specify it will arrive in "the 3rd week of October", but the device has already been spotted in a product listing on the Xbox rewards page, though it has since been removed, presumably being added in error (or "in error", nudge-nudge-wink-wink).
Actually that accident is also where the price came from - you see, Xbox rewards are priced in the platform's own digital currency (gems), but that does translate into real-world values fairly easily based on what other rewards listed there cost too. The circa $150 price tag, if accurate, would make it more expensive than the Amazon Echo Plus and Google Home, but that may be due to the "premium" hardware of Harman/Kardon.
In terms of functionality, it's thought you'll be able to conduct Skype calls and listen to Spotify. It goes without saying that it'll need a lot more functionality than that to compete with Amazon and Google's offerings, but there may be a lot more it can do that is yet to be revealed at this stage. Fortunatley, we don't have long to find out.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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