When it comes to the digital voice assistant Cortana, it seems like Microsoft has few plans under its sleeve for the next year. Starting from Jan 2020, the company will shut down the assistant on iOS and Android. Apart from that, the company seems to be working on a smart speaker if the recently surfaced patent is to be believed. As per the patent, the smart speaker is going to be highly efficient allowing it to produce better sound quality with less power consumption. The patent titles ‘High-efficiency speaker with multi-magnet structure’.
Microsoft Smart Speaker Surfaces in Patent
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Diving further into the patent, you will find how the brand was able to make the speaker more efficient. The traditional speakers which are currently available in the market feature flexible and corrugated support called Spider. It is used to suspend the voice coil in place within the housing. Well, Microsoft has gone with a different approach here. The Spider when attached to the membrane (for example, diaphragm) on one side while the magnet on the other side resulting in stabilization for the membrane. Because of this stabilization throughout the corresponding range of motion, the efficiency of the speaker significantly increased.
Microsoft Smart Speaker drives on smaller amplifiers without compromising on volume or sound quality. Coming to the design, the speaker looks like any other smart speaker out there with the cylindrical form factor. Since it is a smart speaker, it will come with Cortana integration. Speaking of integration, Microsoft is also planning to use Cortana to its office lineup which we have already seen with the Surface Earbuds.
Since this is the patent we’re talking about, it doesn’t mean that the company might end up launching the product in near future. If they did, it would be interesting to see how well it manages to sell in the market. With Google and Amazon already in the game, it would be a little difficult for Microsoft to pit Cortana against them.
