Samsung Smart Speaker 'Vega' to Arrive Soon?
Samsung is reportedly planning to introduce its Bixby-powered smart speaker to the market. The device is said to carry the codename "Vega" and there is talk that it has been under construction for over a year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the South Korean technology giant will not be launching Vega soon, though, as it is currently prioritizing the English version of the Bixby virtual assistant.
Many U.S. clients were disappointed when the Siri-like feature was not included in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus smartphones, and users from South Korea were so far the only ones able to take advantage of Bixby. With the delay of the virtual assistant, it may take a while for the smart speaker to be unveiled to the world.
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Samsung has already begun rolling out the previews of the English voice support for Bixby in the U.S. Rumors claim it will be finalized in the middle of July, but there has been no confirmation on this matter. The biggest reason for the delay is said to be the lack of data in deep learning technology.
A source told The Korea Herald that the other hurdle Samsung is facing is the language barrier between the engineers located at Samsung Research America in California and the main office in Korea.
"Many engineers in the US are making full efforts to develop the English version. But, (due to geographical and language barriers) their frequent reports to and communication with the management located in Korea makes the progress much slower than developing the Korean version here," the source said.
Unlike what happened with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, launching a smart speaker without the Bixby voice assistant will not be feasible. Samsung will likely lose revenue, as its device will fall short of the features offered by leading speakers from Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Apple has already announced that the HomePod, the Siri-powered speaker, will be available in December.
