Recently we announced that HARMAN International was working with Microsoft to deliver a speaker to compete against the likes of the Amazon Echo and Google Home. The new speaker is going to feature Microsoft’s Cortana assistant on-board, allowing you to make use of the same assistant AI found in Windows 10, Xbox One and more.
Now HARMAN has released the official word that the “Invoke” speaker will be hitting shelves this fall and now we finally know what it looks like and what it can do.
Available in both silver and black (Pearl and Graphite), the new 360-degree speaker, developed by a name that has delivered premium audio time and time again throughout the years, will feature a metallic design that hides three woofers and three tweeters that will help fill a room with sound. Seven built-in microphones help Cortana hear you from any angle in the room, including from a distance, and feature technologies such as echo cancellation to decipher your commands clearly with.
It will feature everything you’d expect to find from a smart speaker. You will be able to interact with Cortana for the news, weather, calendar, traffic, reminders and so much more. You will even be able to make phone calls due to Skype being a part of the integration of things.
Interact with your favorite smart home devices, like turning the lights on and off or control the thermostats in your home (ie, Nest and other smart options).
Like their competitors, Microsoft is looking to expand their involvement in the lives of their consumers, allowing you to be able to interact with Cortana anytime, anywhere. The new Harman Kardon Invoke makes this ever more the possible. From the phone in your pocket, to the PC you work on. Now, any room of your house or office can be connected as well to the very same cloud AI.
“We are excited to partner with Harman Kardon to create a speaker that combines premium audio and stylish design with the intelligence of Cortana.” said Jordi Ribas, CVP, AI Products at Microsoft. “This is our next step in bringing Cortana to even more devices to help users be more productive wherever they are.”
It will interact with any of your Windows 10 devices (PC, phone, tablet, etc), where you will be able to set up and interact with Cortana’s features. This includes Android and iOS devices with the Cortana app installed.
They plan on launching the speaker this fall (2017), where it will be available at some of your favorite stores as well as online from places like Amazon.
