What is a smart speaker? How to use smart speakers?

Smart speakers are not just speakers, they are the entrance to the next generation of human-computer interaction

“Smart speakers are one of the best consumer-level AI products on the market. The innovative integration of smart technology is not top-notch in terms of technical difficulty, but it allows ordinary people to enjoy the fun of technology," said Pan Yunhe, academician and former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, "Smart speakers are not just speakers. It is likely to become the entrance to the next generation of human-computer interaction.”

Since Amazon launched its first smart speaker Echo in 2014, which quickly became a “phenomenal” product, domestic and foreign IT giants have successively entered the smart speaker market. In 2015, JD.com and iFlytek jointly launched the smart speaker Ding Dong, and in 2016 the Google smart speaker Google Home was launched. This year is the "explosion year" of smart speakers.

On June 20, the audio platform Ximalaya FM released its first full-content AI product, Xiaoya AI speaker, with a market price of 999 yuan and a first batch of pre-sale price of 699 yuan; on July 5, Alibaba launched the smart speaker "Tmall Elf", priced at 499 yuan; on July 26, Xiaomi released the AI ??speaker "Xiao Ai Classmate", priced at 299 yuan; until November 16 at the Baidu World Conference, Baidu also came Chidi released Baidu’s first smart speaker Raven H, priced at 1,699 yuan. Another strong competitor, Apple, will also release its own smart speaker HomePod from the end of this year to the beginning of next year, priced at US$349, or approximately RMB 3,774.

Seeing the explosion of smart speaker products on the market, many consumers who don’t know why will have questions. What is the difference between smart speakers and ordinary speakers? The reporter learned that compared with traditional speakers, smart speakers The selling points are mainly focused on voice human-computer interaction and content services. Users can use it to play music and audiobooks, check the weather and news hot spots, and even tell jokes with just a move of their mouth. At the same time, based on various apps on the application platform, users can use it to order takeaways, shop online, and take taxis. If consumers purchase supporting smart home products, the smart speaker can also become the central control center of the smart home, obeying the owner's commands to control the lights, curtains, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. in the home.

Although the smart speakers currently on the market have similar functions, the smart speakers launched by Internet giants all have distinctive personal styles, highlighting the core advantages of their own companies. For example, the built-in artificial intelligence system of "Tmall Genie" integrates information from Alipay, Taobao and Cainiao Logistics, so that in addition to regular functions such as listening to music, setting alarm clocks, and checking the weather, Tmall Genie can also order takeout, recharge phone bills, Check express delivery and browse Taobao.

“Xiaomi Classmate” focuses on smart home. Users can use voice to control Xiaomi’s TVs, sweeping robots, air purifiers and other home equipment. According to Xiaomi's public data, Xiaomi's Internet of Things platform has more than 85 million connected devices, and smart speakers will replace smartphones as its control center.

The "Xiaoya" smart speaker benefits from the huge audio content of the Ximalaya FM platform. It is positioned as a content-based speaker and has significant advantages in terms of the richness of content resources.

In Apple’s official propaganda, music and sound quality are the focus of HomePod, and it even hopes to change the way of music interaction like the Ipod back then. But with the support of Siri, Apple may also join the "entry battle" for voice intelligence in the future.

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