At the Mate 20 event in China last week, Engadget got a sneak peek at an upcoming Huawei AI speaker. While it's not very original from a design standpoint, the price is likely to get users excited. From the outside, the Huawei AI Speaker looks almost identical to Apple's HomePod, except that it has four buttons on the top surface. The price tag, on the other hand, is a lot lower than its Apple twin, at just 399 yuan, or about $60.
Instead of Siri being integrated into the device, Huawei's own Xiaoyi voice assistant will help you jam and find music, as well as stay connected to other smart home devices like your lights, smart locks, or security cameras. Six internal microphones and voiceprint recognition mean Xiaoyi should have no problem understanding your requests. At this point, the HomePod should be getting nervous.
Within the unimaginative exterior, Huawei does, in fact, offer some unique characteristics. The speaker plays music based on the company's 'Histen' 3D tech, which is "a music equalizer and booster software” also found on Huawei's smartphones. Unlike the mobile devices, though, this gray cylinder's high-fidelity hardware -- with 10W of power and two bass radiators -- brings an intense base performance with natural sound.
As the reveal at the Mate 20 event was just a teaser, no details were given about a launch date. But at just $60, this is a smart speaker we can already get excited about.
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