The only Cortana-powered speaker is about to lose Cortana
Harmon Kardon will disable the assistant on its Invoke speaker by tomorrow.
Harman Kardon Invoke
84
Engadget Review
Harman Kardon's Invoke is a solid smart speaker debut for Cortana. It sounds amazing, so it's particularly well-suited for audiophiles. Cortana isn't as capable as Alexa yet when it comes to integrating with other products, unfortunately.
But Cortana needs to evolve to better match the competition.
Devindra HardawarOctober 20, 2017
Pros
- Better sound quality than other smart speakers
- Cortana works well across PCs, iOS and Android
- Cortana's voice sounds very natural
Cons
- Limited music service integration (no Pandora!)
- Cortana doesn't have as many skills as Alexa
- Short power cord length
Harman Kardon
Engadget
84
Critics
10 reviews71
AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE
Users - Not yet scored
N/A
AVERAGE USER SCORE
View All Critic & User Reviews
Harman Kardon Invoke
- Critic Reviews (10)
- 71AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE10 ReviewsPC Mag40Harman Kardon InvokeHarman Kardon's Invoke, the first Microsoft Cortana-powered speaker, is a poor competitor for voice assistants from Amazon and Google.Time70Review: What It's Like to Have Microsoft's VirtualThe Invoke represents Microsoft's first major step into the smart home space, and like most first steps, it has upsides and shortcomings. Cortana fares well when it comes to speech recognition and intelligent responses, but still feels rudimentary in a race toward natural language savvy that's just getting started.SlashGear70Harman Kardon Invoke Review: Cortana finds her voiA handsome, great-sounding speaker with smarts that focus on a single busy person. Now, Microsoft needs to demonstrate it has the commitment to build on that with more features and skills, in order to make Cortana the go-to assistant the software company clearly would like her to be.TechHive60Harman Kardon Invoke smart speaker review: CortanaThe Invoke is a pretty good speaker, but it’s too early to bet that Cortana will come out on top against the digital assistants Amazon and Google are offering.Mashable90With Invoke, Cortana makes a great escape from youHarman Kardon Invoke may be the smart speaker Cortana needs to break free from your Windows PC.The Verge70HARMAN KARDON INVOKE REVIEW: CORTANA GETS A SPEAKEIf you do live in Microsoft’s world and sound quality has some importance to you, there’s a lot to like about the Invoke. It’s further along than where Amazon or Google were at their debuts, and it already does a lot of things you want a smart speaker to do.Digital Trends70Harmon Kardon Invoke reviewWhile falling short of the Sonos One, the Harman Kardon Invoke is a solid smart speaker debut for Cortana.The Daily Dot80Review: The Harman Kardon Invoke is Microsoft’sWith the Google Home Max and Apple Homepod coming out later this year, you might want to hold off on the Invoke. But if you aren’t willing to spend so much and are OK with Cortana’s limited feature set, then the Invoke is a great sounding alternative to the Echo.Refinery2980Is Invoke The Right Smart Speaker For Your ApartmeIf you are a regular Windows user across devices, you can't go wrong with buying Invoke. With high-quality audio, responsiveness, and the ability to call anywhere, the $199 smart speaker will serve you well.USA Today80Microsoft-Harmon answer to Amazon Echo is promisinOverall I was pleased, even if Cortana passed again when I asked once more for her opinion of the Echo. "Consider this a polite dodge of the question,” she said.
Key Specs
TYPE
Wireless speakers
CONNECTIONS
Bluetooth, Wifi
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