Harman Previews Harman Kardon Invoke Voice-Activated Speaker with Cortana from Microsoft

R&D departments in the whole global audio and mobile industries are focused on developing the next-generation of voice-activated speakers exploring the success of the Amazon Echo. Most companies are exploring the tools and developments kits that make it easy to implement Amazon's Alexa or Google's Assistant voice personal assistants. Now, Harman unveiled its own effort of a voice-activated speaker, working with Microsoft's Cortana and featuring improved audio features.

Amazon announced that for the first time it is making the high-performance far-field microphone array and voice processing technology found in Amazon Echo available to hardware makers who want to build the Alexa experience into their products. With the Amazon Alexa 7-Mic Far-Field Development Kit, Amazon is making it easier for commercial developers to build and launch far-field voice-initiated products with Alexa by reducing development time and cost.

Audio hardware continues to outpace the wider Consumer Electronics sector, with global Q4 sales growing 28% year-on-year to $10.2 billion, according to new data from Futuresource Consulting’s quarterly audio tracking service, which includes a review of the key trends in the audio market. The popularity of music streaming services continues to drive market growth, as well as interest on Voice Personal Assistant (VPA) speakers, and growing adoption of wireless headphones.

Logitech announced a new Amazon Alexa skill that enables voice control of the entire living room entertainment experience using a Logitech Harmony Hub remote control with Alexa-enabled devices such as the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot. When the skill is enabled on Amazon Echo or Amazon Echo Dot, users can start and stop Harmony Activities, control entertainment devices, or even select favorite channels, using only their voice.