In the smart speaker space, it’s safe to say that Google and Amazon are currently dominating. For the most part, they are all similar in functionality, where they let you interact with digital assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa. We are also seeing smart displays, which are essentially smart speakers with a built-in display.
However, it seems that Microsoft could have something new and interesting in the works. According to a recently discovered patent, it seems that Microsoft could be potentially be working on a smart speaker that comes with a built-in pico projector. The idea behind this is that it can project a screen onto a wall which in turn would allow users to video conference with each other.
While that seems to be more or less what smart displays currently offer to users, the main difference is that this can be projected onto a wall, which allows for multiple users to partake in the experience instead of crowding around a small display. That being said, Microsoft hasn’t been particularly active in the smart speaker scene.
The company did work with Harman Kardon on the Invoke smart speaker, but we haven’t really seen anything else from them since. That being said, since this is a patent, there’s no way of knowing if Microsoft will actually make it a reality, but we do think that it is a good idea that might be worth exploring.
