Samsung mobile division president DJ Koh confirms to the Wall Street Journal the long-rumoured Bixby-powered smart speaker will see release sometime in H2 2018.

“When I introduce the first model, I don’t want to give the impression that Samsung delivered another affordable mass model,” Koh tells the WSJ. “I want to focus on more premium.”

Details on the Samsung smart speaker are as scant as it gets. One can assume it will tie with the SmartThings smart home system, allowing it to handle home automation tasks as well as usual assistant duties such as music, reminders, timers and trivia. The WSJ also suggests the speaker might have different pricing tiers, with a more affordable version launching together with the premium device.

One such device from Samsung might be Project Ambience-- a means to turn regular non-connected speakers into smart speakers complete with Bixby shown off back in October 2017 at the Samsung Developers Conference.

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