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Xiaomi announces world's second Cortana-powered smart speaker, it costs just $30

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By Cosmin Vasile

Published: Dec 29, 2017, 8:21 AM

Xiaomi announces world's second Cortana-powered smart speaker, it costs just $30

Harman Kardon was the first company to launch a smart speaker powered by Microsoft's Cortana personal digital assistant – the Invoke. Unfortunately, the Invoke is slightly more expensive than other smart speakers that benefit from more exposure, but Cortana might push its sales in countries where the brand is powerful enough.

Invoke was just the first Cortana-powered smart speaker that made its debut on the market this year, but a second should have already been announced by HP. Although that didn't happen, it looks like another company will be using Cortana to power one of its smart speakers – Xiaomi.

The Chinese company has just introduced the so-called Yeelight Voice Assistant, a new smart speaker that is said to come with two AIs systems believed to be Alexa and Cortana. Another good news is the device will cost just $30 when it launches on the market on January 31.

The Yeelight Voice Assistant features 6 mics, a 2-watt speaker, a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core processor, as well as 256MB RAM and 256MB storage. It can be activated by voice command from over a 5-meter distance and it's only available in China for the time being.

Keep in mind though that Cortana only knows around 230 skills, a very low number in comparison with Alexa's 25,000 skills. Luckily, the smart speaker is equipped with dual AI systems, so it will work with both Cortana and Alexa. We expect Xiaomi to launch its cheap Echo Dot copycat in other countries very soon, including in the United States.

source: Xiaomi via MSPU

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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brought a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.