Sony Xperia Ear will be Sony's entry into the fray of digital assistants. Currently, the realm of digital assistants is being dominated by Google's Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana. Sony Xperia Ear will be available in the U.S next month for less than $200.
Sony has been a leading brand in household electronics although in the realm of smartphones it pales in comparison to industry leaders such as Samsung and Apple. PlayStation and Flat screen TV's are more of what comes to mind when people think of Sony, not exactly smartphones.
Sony Xperia is the name used by Sony for their smartphone lineup which also includes their corresponding accessories. Sony Xperia Ear will be available for retail in the US on December 13.
The Sony Xperia Ear will be a hands-free device that can be paired with an Android smartphone via Bluetooth or NFC. Sony Xperia Ear will be similar to Apple wireless earbuds called AirPods that work with Apple's own digital assistant Siri.
The Sony Xperia Ear will work via voice activation and can do functions ranging from checking email, giving weather forecasts, checking traffic conditions, setting calendar appointments, sending messages, to simply making a call. Once the Sony Xperia Ear is connected to a smartphone, the user can simply talk and tell the device to do the user's bidding.
The @Sony Xperia in-ear #VoiceFirst device features a voice assistant designed by @Sony. Includes head nod as an affirmative confirmation. pic.twitter.com/s5DGvhvetd
— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) November 18, 2016
Since the device has not been released yet, it is left to speculation as to how well the Sony Xperia Ear will perform. Consumer expectations have been raised by the likes of Google and Apple, this will put Sony in a tough position when the Sony Xperia Ear is released.
Sony has a knack for making its devices work well with its own brand of electronics, so it can be said that to make the most of the Sony Xperia Ear it would have to be paired with a Sony Xperia phone as well. According to TechTimes, the Sony Xperia Ear will only be available in black and will retail for $199.
