Huawei teams with Devialet on a $300 smart speaker for China
The Sound X will have a 60 watt double woofer and 360-degree surround sound.
Huawei has unveiled the Sound X, a smart speaker it build in conjunction with bespoke French HiFi company Devialet. On top of the premium look, it packs a 60 watt double subwoofer and 360-degree sound, along with Devialet's speaker active matching (SAM) that eliminates distortion and push-push woofer vibration-cancelling tech.
It's also got one-touch control, Huawei's HiLink smart home control, Huawei's "Xiaoyi" voice assistant and support for Huawei music. The speaker was unveiled at the same time as Huawei's iPad Pro-like MatePad Pro tablet. Huawei already has a couple of smart speakers, including one that strongly resembles (wait for it) Apple's HomePod.
Devialet said the Sound X represents its "first partnership in Asia," and noted that China is its "second-largest region worldwide in terms of sales." The company has done a number of alliances elsewhere, however, including a surround sound TV speaker for Sky, the Altice Amplify smart speaker from Altice USA, Renault's crazy Symbioz self-driving car and an unusual set-top box with internet provider Free in France.
Huawei's Sound X will only be sold in China, but it's now on pre-order for a relatively low sum -- at least, considering the Devialet angle -- of 1,999 yuan (around $285). It doesn't appear that the product will be coming to any western markets, however.
