The Next “It” Gadget To Have At Home: Smart Speakers

By Adam Kerr

Every year, we marvel at the new technology introduced to the world at conventions like CES and IFA. And then there are the standalone events that we look forward to like the Apple Special Event (read about it here) and Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, which just saw the launch of the new phones, tablets and more.

But one thing that’s been on the rise are smart speakers; i.e. devices that double up to play your favourite music and help you with pretty much anything, thanks to built-in voice-controlled virtual personal assistants (VPAs). Over the past few years, we’ve been seeing some incredible ones, like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and Sonos One. The variety of these products is only going to increase, and so will its popularity.

We’ve questioned before if Singaporeans really care about smart speakers, but we’re calling it: it’s going to be the next big thing that you’ll want / need in your home, especially if you like to be ahead of the curve (and your friends, of course). Here are a couple that we have our eyes on.

B&O BeoSound 2

Ah, what a beauty. We all know of Bang and Olufsen’s commitment to sound excellence and product quality when it comes to all their products, and the guys behind the Danish luxury audio brand aren’t compromising on anything with the BeoSound 2. It’s the brand’s first foray into the smart speaker market, and it’s clear that they’re out to beat the competition from the get-go.

For one, it doesn’t even look like any other conventional speaker out on the market, and can serve as a pretty piece of decor for your home. But more than just looks, the metallic cylindrical shape serves a purpose: The speaker driver drives the sound downwards into an acoustical lens while pumping basslines underneath so that music you hear is amplified evenly all round.

Equipped with Google Assistant, the BeoSound 2 also comes with advanced echo-cancelling technology and five microphones to help differentiate between sounds from the speaker and commands from your voice, so you can ask for a delicious rendang recipe for dinner while dancing to Disco Hue’s “Can’t Be Mine” without worry. On the top of the device is a control panel with buttons you can assign tasks to play your favourite playlist, stream a radio station and more; and a volume control wheel.

The BeoSound 2 has both Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 integration, so you can stream music from pretty much any major music service right from your phone.

Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2, $3,200. Available at Bang & Olufsen stores at Hyatt, Takashimaya and TANGS at Tangs Plaza.
Equipped with: Google Assistant

Bose Home Speaker 500

Also joining the fray for the first time is home audio pioneer Bose, with the Home Speaker 500. This one looks little bulky, but so are the current designs of most smart speakers on the market right now (we can’t help but notice the striking similarities with the Sonos One).

But right off the bat, you’ll notice that the Home Speaker 500 stands out among its competitors with its front-facing screen. Unfortunately, you can’t really do anything with it; it’s not a touchscreen. It only displays the album art of whatever music you’re listening to. Still a pretty neat USP, nonetheless.

That aside, the Home Speaker 500 comes with Amazon Alexa voice support — “with more VPAs on the way” — to give you access to a ridiculous amount of songs, information, smart home control and more. They’ve also integrated Bose’s proprietary mic technology — an eight-microphone array strategically positioned around the speaker — so that it can pick up your commands over your music no matter if you’re near or far away from the speaker.

Encased in anodised aluminum, the speaker houses a pair of custom drivers on opposite ends, and has basic playback functions on the control panel at the top.

Bose Home Speaker 500, $599. Available at authorised Bose dealers from 21 September.
Equipped with: Amazon Alexa, “with more VPAs on the way”

Harman Kardon Citation 500

Harman Kardon is like that super extra classmate who does more than what is required for his assignment. Instead of releasing just one smart speaker like the rest have, they’ve launched an entire new series — the Citation series. While the range is all about combining acoustic design and modern technology with multi-room capabilities when paired with more than one speaker, we’re specifically looking at the Citation 500.

The Citation 500 houses 200W stereo speakers and has the ability to stream 24 bit/96Khz high def audio. If you’re not an audiophile, you won’t be able to tell the difference, but it’s good to know that you have the choice once you’ve trained your ear well enough. It uses Google Assistant for all your commanding pleasures, and comes with an LCD touchscreen control panel at the top. Harman Kardon has also enlisted the help of Kvadrat, a leading European design textile manufacturer, to wrap the speaker with a wool fabric that’s dirt repellant and a fire retardant.

This speaker is pretty straightforward, and shares a lot of similarities with the Google Home Max; with the exception of the sound quality, of course.

Harman Kardon Citation 500, US$649. Availability TBA.
Equipped with: Google Assistant

Huawei AI Cube

A cube it is named, but a cube it is not. Huawei fans, rejoice as Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei hops on the bandwagon this year, revealing their first-ever smart home speaker at the recent IFA. This geometrically-confused speaker looks suspiciously similar to a Google Home, but yeah, we’ll let it slide because we’re still in the early days of smart speakers (we’re beginning to see a trend here).

If Harman Kardon is the super extra classmate, then Huawei is the overachieving one who upstages everyone by successfully juggling good grades, three CCAs and a leadership position on the student council. The AI Cube is more than any of the other three products we’ve featured; it is a speaker, with Amazon Alexa built in, and a 4G router as well. Perhaps that’s how it got its name.

It might sound like a great idea to do away with your current home router completely — it’s compatible with 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, meaning it can work on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels and transmit data via LAN at speeds of up to 1,200Mbps — but we remain skeptical for now. Just like some of its other devices, Huawei uses its proprietary audio sound tuning system called the Histen, which enhances the high quality audio with virtual bass, linear phase equalizer, adaptive gain control, far-field voice recognition and more.

Huawei AI Cube, price and availability TBA.
Equipped with: Amazon Alexa