Facebook is currently developing a product that will compete with another that was recently presented by Apple, but that Google and Amazon have been selling for some time. We are of course talking about a smart speaker that the people at Facebook are developing and would like to launch, most probably, during the next year on the market, the information regarding its existence being provided by the company's partners.
Facebook is developing a smart speaker that will not have an intelligent assistant in the foreground, such as Siri or Google Assistant, but instead will focus on something else entirely. Facebook does not have a personal assistant developed and available for its users, so it was impossible to offer a product based on something like that because it has no way to create it in just a few months, and if it were based on it, the product would be a failure.
Instead, Facebook will rely on a 15-inch diagonal touch screen, the smart speaker will be manufactured by Pegatron, which also produces iPhone terminals. LG Display will provide the 15-inch diagonal screen that Facebook will use in its smart speaker, the in-cell technology, also used in some models of the iPhone, which will form the basis of this component for the smart speaker.
Facebook competes with Apple, will launch a smart speaker
Facebook created an aluminum and magnesium case for the smart speaker, and at the moment Pegatron has started producing a limited number of units. Facebook engineers in building 8 of the company's campus created the design of this smart speaker, so regardless of how it will look, those at Facebook will not be able to say that they chose to collaborate with an outside company for this.
Facebook will launch the smart speaker in 2018 shortly after HomePod will be launched by Apple, but Google could also announce a similar product. Those from Facebook are entering a market that started to become very interesting after Apple officially announced its intention to launch the HomePod smart speaker, so we will definitely see many other companies with similar ideas.
"Facebook is also rumored to be planning to release a smart speaker product, but instead of voice recognition functionality, the company will focus more on image display and will adopt a 15-inch touch panel for the device. The speaker will also be equipped with a magnesium-aluminum-alloy chassis. The speaker is reportedly designed by Facebook's Building 8 department."
Facebook is mainly known for the social network used by over 2 billion people on the planet, but the company also has various other projects in development. For now, it is not known when the smart speaker from Facebook will be launched and at what price it will be sold, but it will certainly not be cheaper than the products that Google, Apple, or Amazon have chosen.