It seems like just about every tech giant on the planet has already released, or has plans to release their own smart speaker; usually utilizing one of the more popular voice assistants like Google Home or Alexa.
Even China's Huawei intended to leap into that market. A new report from The Information says that, prior to US President Trump's recent Huawei restrictions, the company was working on a branded smart speaker of their own. Apparently, the product's development was already quite advanced -- Huawei was reportedly planning to reveal the device at IFA this year.
The Information claims that those plans have been shut down due to the ongoing US-China trade war. It's unclear what features Huawei's speaker would have had, but in terms of sales plans, the tech firm was hoping to sell it "globally," either in stores or online depending on the country.
This speaker's development was the result of a collaboration with Google: if the device had launched, it would have used Google Assistant to answer questions, play music, help consumers with shopping, and perform all the other tasks an Assistant-powered speaker is capable of.
For consumers, it's tough to say whether or not Huawei's failed smart speaker project would have been a benefit to them or the industry as a whole. There are already more smart speakers on the market than most users are even aware of, and they all seem to share similar privacy issues.
At any rate, we'll have to wait and see if Huawei reboots its smart speaker once tensions have cooled between China and the US (if that ever happens).
Image credit: Shutterstock
