The Huawei Sound X is Huawei’s answer to the Apple HomePod

The first set of wireless speakers from Huawei (or at least, in recent memory) has arrived, and it looks remarkably familiar to an offering already on the market. The Huawei Sound X was launched alongside the P40 series and a new smartwatch, the Huawei Watch GT 2e, and is a product of a collaborative effort with French audio company, Devialet.

This means that some of Devialet’s tech is included in the Sound X, including something called Speaker Active Matching (SAM). Devialet says that this allows the system to adjust the audio signal to suit “the characteristics” of your speaker; this is done by matching the sound pressure reproduced by the speakers with the recorded signal.

Meanwhile, Devialet’s input also includes the Push-Push symmetrical structure, which basically means that physical vibrations of the speaker are better cancelled out. In theory, this would allow for the music on the Sound X to be played at higher volumes, without being distorted by vibrations.

But its similarities with the Apple HomePod (in case you haven’t noticed the resemblance yet) go beyond the respective designs of the speakers. Huawei says that the Sound X produces 360-degree surround sound with the help of 2 woofers and 6 full-range speakers, with Huawei also boasting that the Sound X has a peak power value of 144W.

Bass is also a big deal when it comes to the Sound X, with Huawei claiming that there is a peak-to-peak amplitude of 20mm, while bass frequencies can go as low as 40Hz.

However, the Sound X is certainly a larger wireless speaker than the HomePod, with regards to its footprint. Dimensions of 203mm x 165mm for Huawei’s speaker are significantly larger than the HomePod’s dimensions: 172mm x 142mm. This also contributes to a heavier weight for Huawei—3.5kg over the 2.5kg-heavy HomePod.

Connectivity-wise, Huawei Share is supported for wireless streaming with EMUI-10.1-supported devices—if not, you can still connect to the Sound X with WiFi Direct or Bluetooth. There is also a set of touch buttons on the top of the device to control the Sound X, which also glow in time to music being played.

While the Sound X has the potential for “smart” home integration, Huawei CEO Richard Yu explained that the “AI speaker” capabilities will only be available via a software update in the future. This is in reference to Huawei’s very own virtual assistant, Celia (?), that was also announced at the same event.

As for pricing and availability, the Sound X will reportedly be available in the Summer of 2020, although no official pricing details have been announced yet. There aren’t any concrete details on Malaysian availability either, although Malaysia has historically been a key market for Huawei in the region, which means that we could see the Sound X hit our shores sooner rather than later.

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