When the Amazon Echo was first announced back in 2014, it created for a whole new market segment of smart speakers with built-in virtual assistants. Amazon followed up the original Echo with Echo Dot, Echo Tap, and Echo Show, and we've even soon Google and Apple jump into the game with the Google Home and Apple Homepod respectively.
Following the announcement of Samsung's Bixby AI alongside the Galaxy S8/S8+, it only seemed natural for Samsung to follow its competitors with a smart-speaker of its own. An article from The Korean Herald last month suggested that Samsung was currently working on such a product, but a new, conflicting report from The Investor suggests otherwise.
According to The Investor, Samsung will not be releasing its own Bixby-powered smart speaker for a number of reasons – most notably due to the this being an extremely difficult market to penetrate. Amazon's Echo lineup currently accounts for more than 70-percent of all AI speakers, and Google Home has steadily been increasing in its numbers as well.
Amazon Echo and Google Home are the two leaders of the smart speaker world
As per an anonymous source that recently spoke with The Korea Herald:
"Samsung currently does not view AI speakers as marketable, as the global market is already dominated by unbeatable Amazon and the Korean market is too small to make profits."
Along with this, Kim Jong-ki – a researcher in the mobile industry at Korea's Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade – said that:
"Samsung may take the wait-and-see attitude rather than hurriedly jumping into the uncertain market with a new device, whose functions are no different from existing rivals"
While this may come as disappointing news for die-hard Samsung fans, it's a decision that honestly doesn't come as too much of a surprise. Samsung just recently released Bixby voice functions in the United States for the Galaxy S8/S8+ after facing a delay due to Bixby having difficulty understanding the English language, and the beta had already been received with unfavorable reactions.
Although we'll likely see a Bixby speaker later on down the road, don't hold your breath for one anytime soon. Samsung clearly still has some work to do before its virtual assistant is ready for that kind of a stage, and until that time, Amazon and Google will continue to dominate the market.
Source: The Investor
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