Another Microsoft Cortana speaker is in the works to compete with the Google Home and Amazon Echo

It’s a good idea to pay attention to a product space when we see companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple competing head to head with their own devices. Smart speakers with virtual assistants continue to grow even though we’re seeing attempts from some companies flounder with their first device. Microsoft has Cortana, and while they have partnered with Harman-Kardon to launch the Invoke smart speaker, they have yet to release something in the same light as their Surface Book laptops. However, a new report indicates that Microsoft has been working with another company to release what could end up being their own branded smart speaker for Cortana.

Similar to how Google and Amazon allow other companies to release a new piece of hardware using their own virtual assistant, Microsoft does the same. This is how Harman-Kardon was able to manufacture and launch the Invoke smart speaker, but it looks as if Microsoft isn’t happy with its results. It doesn’t benefit a 3rd-party company to advertise and market a device that isn’t selling well and Microsoft can’t grow their own virtual assistant without getting it out in front of more people.

A new report from Roland Quandt of WinFuture cites “evidence in documents from a developer team” that shows Microsoft has been taking the initiative and is currently working on its own design for a Cortana smart speaker. The documents show that Microsoft has teamed up with the Taiwanese contract manufacturer Quanta Computer and shows the device is still in its early stages of development. There are some who believe this will end up being a Microsoft branded device, while others say it will merely be a reference design that 3rd-party companies can use to bring their own device to market.

It is too early to tell at this time but it does show that Microsoft hasn’t given up on the smart speaker market just yet and that they still have full confidence in Cortana as their virtual assistant of choice.

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Source: WinFuture

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