Microsoft isn't letting underwhelming interest in Cortana smart speakers sour it on the assistant technology, even if Amazon Echo and Google Home still get the lion's share of sales - and attention - in the connected home. The software giant still resists calls to develop its own smart speaker, instead relying on third-party hardware like the Harman Kardon Invoke to fill that niche.
Harman Kardon has expanded its Onyx Studio series with the newly unveiled Onyx Studio 5. This new speaker has a classy circular design with a built-in handle for portability, as well as the maker's Dual Sound, which enables two speakers to be paired together for a more immersive experience. The new model is being exclusively sold by Brightstar and Sprint.
![Harman Kardon Citation 500 smart speaker runs Google Assistant [UPDATE]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Harman_Kardon_Citation_500-1.jpg)
Now owned by Samsung, you might expect Harman Kardon to be pushing Samsung’s Bixby into its nascent smart speaker line. The irony of the situation is that, aside from Siri, Harman Kardon now has speakers supporting each of the major smart assistants except Bixby. The latest to join that small group is the Citation 500 that set itself apart from the brood by not only using Google Assistant but also having a surprisingly high price tag.
Samsung and Harman Kardon have a pair of new soundbars, packaging Dolby Atmos and DTS:X into a simple home theater upgrade. The HW-N950 and HW-N850 are the first co-branded speakers to be released since Samsung acquired Harman back in March 2017.
Move aside, Alexa; back off, Google Assistant. Microsoft's Cortana is here, and she wants to be the de-facto virtual assistant for busy people in their busy homes. Breaking free of the smartphone and desktop for the first time, Cortana's newest form is the Harman Kardon Invoke, a new entrant to the burgeoning smart speaker market that promises audio quality to rival true music systems along with everything from both your home and your work lives.
There's been no shortage of Bluetooth speakers on display at IFA 2017, but this next one from Harman Kardon is certainly special for one reason: Alexa integration. Harman Kardon revealed today that its new Allure speaker will feature Alexa on board, making it a prime candidate for inclusion in the smart home enthusiast's IoT collection.
While many Android manufacturers seem to have lost interest in tablets, the device category still has a few supporters, like Samsung, ASUS, and now Huawei. The Chinese OEM has just unveiled its new MediaPad M3 Lite, in 10-inch and 8-inch models, that brings the latest and greatest of Android to the masses. And like its non-Lite namesake from last year, the Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite summons the power of Harman Kardon to give it some added credibility.
The Harman Kardon speaker with Cortana has been officially announced, adding yet another smart speaker to the growing market. Unlike most of these smart speakers, which run Amazon's Alexa, the Invoke speaker utilizes Microsoft's own personal digital assistant to support voice commands and more. The speaker itself provides 360-degree audio and a cylindrical tower shape not entirely unlike the Amazon Echo's design. Two different colors will be offered, both featuring what Harman describes as a 'sleek, modern design."
It seems that Microsoft is really putting the heat on Google, among other competitors. Just days after it unveiled its Windows 10 S answer to Chrome OS and the first batch of Chromebook rivals, the company is partially unveiling its take on the smart home speaker niche market. For this round, it has partnered with the famed Harman Kardon to create Invoke, your premium, and most likely expensive, Cortana in a can.
The personal assistant war has long moved from smartphones to smart homes the day Amazon launched its Echo speaker and introduced Alexa to the world. Pretty soon, Google followed with its Home (not Gnome) and Google Assistant and soon, Microsoft will do likewise with Cortana. That device has already been teased before to bear Harman Kardon's brand but very little else. Now some more details are falling into place courtesy of leaks, including a rather unusual but still totally generic name: Invoke.
If you thought Amazon and Google were the only ones battling out in the still niche smart living room speaker arena, Microsoft would beg to differ. Just as it poised Cortana as the cross-platform smart assistant to beat, it is now also positioning her/it to be the cross-device smart assistant to challenge them all. That means Cortana in your desktop/laptop, tablet, smartphone, Xbox One, and, yes, smart living room speaker. And to accomplish that, it has enlisted the help of famed audio masters Harman Kardon.
A very cool 3D smart projector made by XGIMI using Harman Kardon audio has hit Indiegogo and it is called the H1. The projector supports 4k resolution and is a 3D smart projector capable of turning 2D films into 3D content. The projector can throw a 300-inch image if your room is big enough.