Patently Mobile has obtained a granted design patent for an "audio device" made by Samsung. However, since it's only a design patent, it doesn't give away any details as to specs or features, but just shows us a design that Samsung has in mind.
However, given it's described as an audio device, coupled with the fact the company has its own voice-assistant called Bixby and the design looks like a screen mounted on a tripod; we wouldn't be surprised to find out Samsung is prepping its very own Amazon Echo Show rival.
Just because this particular design patent has been granted, doesn't mean it will represent the design of the final product, but it's clear that Samsung is planning a device to takeover your home.
It may be sometime before we see Samsung's Bixby speaker see the light of day, especially since the Bixby voice assistant can only understand Korean at the moment and wasn't even available on the Galaxy S8 at launch. Clearly, Samsung has some work to do with its voice assistant before it rolls it out on a more global scale.
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If the Bixby speaker does become a reality and have a touchscreen, it would be only the second voice-controlled smart hub to feature a screen after the Amazon Echo Show. We'd expect it to work in a similar way, being able to show you video clips of the latest news, make and receive video calls, and access smart home products such as cameras.