Huawei Is Developing Voice Assistant for Its Smartphones
In a possible blow for Google, Huawei Technologies is preparing to enter the competitive world of digital assistants with its own voice-powered service.
According to bloomberg, the development is currently in early stages, but Huawei aimed at effectively competing with heayweigts such as Apple (Siri,) Amazon (Alexa,) and Google Assistant.
Huawei's advantage over its competitors could be the fact that its digital assistant would communicate in Chinese languages and target domestic users. However, the company will continue to work with Google and Amazon's Alexa service outside China.
Building its own answer to Siri may help Huawei devices stand out in a crowded Chinese market, where many Google services that come with the dominant Android smartphone operating system are blocked.
Having a major Android device manufacturer choose to build a voice assistant in-house may throw another wrench in Google's plans. Huawei last month announced it would use Alexa on its Mate 9 smartphones in the U.S. Currently, the Google Assistant only runs on Google's Pixel smartphone, Home speaker and smartwatches running the latest version of the Android Wear software.
Samsung acquired Viv Labs last year, a startup formed by some Siri founders, to serve as the basis for its own voice assistant. Samsung plans to release the first devices with this new technology later this year.