Everybody is getting into the smart speaker game, Amazon, Google, Apple and more recently Samsung. Now Huawei is joining other mobile device manufacturers with its own offering – the Huawei AI Cube.
It was the only real “device” that the Chinese company unveiled at IFA 2018 earlier today, with the majority of their press conference dedicated to the new Kirin 980 chipset.
Details on the AI cube at slim when it comes to pricing and availability, with Huawei likely reserving that information for the Mate 20 launch on 16 October.
For now the festive season has been floated around for the US and other select regions. With South Africa now one of Huawei Mobile’s key territories, hopefully that includes us as well.
Despite details being sparse, international media have gotten the chance to get hands-on with the device and weigh in.
@HuaweiZA getting into the smart speaker game too, revealing the #HuaweiAICube. Looks curiously familiar. pic.twitter.com/xNTqyLg30r
— Hypertext (@htxtafrica) August 31, 2018
As what the general consensus is, the AI Cube is not very cube-shaped at all.
Then again, we could have gauged that for ourselves. In fact, had it not been for the Huawei logo on the front of the AI Cube, we could have easily thought this is a new Google Home offering, as the shape and colour scheme are quite similar.
Where’s Huawei’s version differs though, is that it’s running Amazon’s Alexa as its go-to digital assistant and not Google’s smart offering.
It also houses a 4G modem and ethernet port, along with an LTE SIM card slot to allow owners to turn it into a 4G hotspot or alternatively make it the WiFi hub in their home.
The 4G connectivity is LTE Cat.6 in nature, with The Verge reporting that cellular speeds of up to 300Mbps. There’s dual-band WiFi (802.11ac) thrown into the mix as well.
In terms of its audio capabilities the Huawei AI Cube is said to deliver 360-degree sound, although it’s not touting any fidelity-level quality here.
As for dimensions, the Huawei AI Cube stands 8.6″ tall and 4.57″ wide, tipping the scales at 900g.
Where sound meets synergy, the #HuaweiAICube. A powerful speaker in a smart environment. #ExperienceSmarter #HuaweiIFA2018 #IFABerlin #IFA18 pic.twitter.com/iJj2qk4hJU
— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) August 31, 2018
That’s about it really for Huawei’s new smart speaker. With the AI-sporting hardware yet to really kick off locally, perhaps the Chinese manufacturer will be the first to find success in South Africa?
[Image – Engadget]