It looks like Samsung is gearing up to enter a crowded field of voice-controlled devices, giving competition to Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. According to a new report by Bloomberg, the South Korean based tech giant is working on a smart speaker and is targeted to release within the first half of 2018. The smart speaker is expected to cost around $200(approximately Rs 12,800).

The report suggests that the company’s main focus will be on audio quality and the management of connected home appliances. The speaker is essentially designed as the hub for Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem. Samsung is still working on improving the device’s ability to conduct voice-based web searches, as per the report.

The new speaker will run on Bixby, Samsung’s own proprietary digital assistant. The speaker will reportedly sync with the company’s other devices such as smart TVs, Galaxy smartphones and other Samsung devices.

Samsung is relatively late to join the game at this point as most of the Samsung’s competitors have already released their own smart speaker alternatives, including Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

(Source: Deccan Chronicle)