Harman Kardon Invoke won't be a Cortana speaker anymore

Microsoft wanted Cortana to be its answer to the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. But now, the first and last speaker to have Cortana onboard will be letting it go. The Harman Kardon Invoke will receive an update this Wednesday that will disable Cortana. The company said Cortana will stop working in the coming months whether you receive the update or not.

Source: The Verge

Harman Kardon enters premium Google Assistant-powered speaker market with Citation 500

Harman Kardon isn’t a stranger in the smart speaker space but it just unveiled its first Google Assistant-powered one and it’s right in the premium segment of that market. The Citation 500 packs in 200W stereo speakers that supports 24-bit/96Khz high-definition audio streaming. The smart speaker comes with a small LCD display at the top of the bulky speaker to help with controlling playback. But since it is a Google Assistant speaker, it supports the usual voice commands. As 9to5Google points out, it isn’t clear yet if the display fully integrates with Assistant as it seems too small for any smart display functionality. But we should hear more about this soon as the speaker goes up for pre-order in Europe for £549 (around CA$920) and it’ll be showcased at IFA 2018.