Microsoft set to release a Cortana powered smart speaker

Watch out Alexa, there is a new digital assistant in town. Microsoft and Harman Kardon, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, are set to release a smart speaker this fall that plays music, manages calendars, checks traffic and more – and it is powered by Cortana. Called Invoke, the device uses Cortana's natural language recognition and deep integration, combined with Microsoft's suite of knowledge and productivity tools in a bid to take on Amazon's Alexa. Invoke is outfitted with Harman's SONIQUE far-field voice recognition technology. And it is a proprietary 360-degree adaptive technology (featuring 7 microphones) that recognizes all details of voice commands even in environments with high ambient noise.