Harman Kardon Invoke – The First Cortana Powered Smart Speaker

In the last months, there were several new smart speakers released.

Amazon has been continuously extending its product portfolio following the success of the Amazon Echo.

Google has also brought two new Google Home speakers to the market and Apple has announced the Apple HomePod which will hit the markets at the beginning of next year.

Microsoft did not want to be left out of the party, so the first Microsoft’s Cortana-enabled smart speaker is here: The Harman Kardon Invoke.

In terms of shape and design, the speaker resembles the first generation Amazon Echo but it is a bit wider at the base and it got a premium metal speaker grille.

It has a capacity touch control and a circular light on the top which lights up if the speaker responds to a voice request.

Under the hood, there are three direct-radiating tweeters, two passive radiators, and three woofers, so it produces an omnidirectional sound.

The Invoke is not just a smart speaker but also decent for listening to music.

It produces better audio experience than the competitors like the Amazon Echo which has got only one tweeter and one woofer.

The Invoke has seven built-in microphones with noise cancellation ensuring that Cortana can hear your voice commands over the music.

Currently, the speaker works with Spotify, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio and Harman Kardon promised that Pandora will come.