Today, Microsoft and Harman Kardon finally announced when the Invoke smart speaker will be released, and it will be available this Sunday, October 22. The release date, price, and specs were leaked a couple of weeks ago when Microsoft accidentally published a listing on its online Store.
It"s the first Cortana-powered smart speaker, competing with Google"s Home, Amazon"s Echo, and Apple"s upcoming HomePod. Naturally, the value proposition behind it is that you can set reminders, make to-do lists, and more, and all of that is synced with your PC, phone, and Xbox One. And, of course, it works the opposite way, where you can set a reminder on your Xbox and get the alert on the Invoke.
You"re also going to want to use it to listen to music, and Harman Kardon is a leader in the premium audio space. Unfortunately, at this time, Cortana only supports integration with Spotify, TuneIn, and iHeart Radio, but Pandora is coming soon.
The Invoke only comes in two colors: Graphite and Pearl/Silver, and there are no other planned. You can grab it from the Microsoft Store beginning on Sunday for $199, but it"s only going to be available in the United States. It also comes with six free months of Skype calling to landlines and mobile phones.