VOICE CONTROL Home Entertainment


April 2022 ertonline.co.uk


The Zuma Lumisonic speaker light


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We’re told the Zuma roadmap will allow users to


expand the capabilities of the devices to include motion sensors, smoke alarms and security systems. Morten Warren, Founder and CEO of Zuma,


describes the smart speaker light as “a game changer”. “There are many smart products on the market


today that do one thing, be that audio, or lighting or security, but they don’t integrate with each other easily, if at all.” He says his vision is to integrate these core applications into a single platform. For a Bluetooth wireless speaker with more


attitude than the average Echo, it’s worth throwing a spotlight on the Marshall Uxbridge Voice. The brand’s portable Emberton (right) is a best-seller, and this Marshall model has similar potential. Adopting the brand’s trademark guitar amp livery, it’s available with either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant onboard, as well as Airplay 2 and Spotify Connect support. The speaker uses a dual mic near field array, and


comes with a standard mic mute button. Although compact, it packs a meaty 30W digital amp and positively relishes raucous rock ‘n’ roll playlists.


Voices in (on) your head When it comes to headphones, there’s no shortage of models with Voice Assistant support. More often than not, this comes in the form of Google Assistant or Siri. For buyers used to conversing with AI at home, upgrading to compatible smart headphones should prove a compelling proposition.


Pitched firmly in the high-volume, affordable


camp are Sennheiser’s HD 450BT. These noise cancelling over-ears are competitively priced at under £200 retail, smartly designed and backed with the sonic credibility you would expect from the Sennheiser brand. They have an Amazon Alexa enabled


stablemate, the HD 450SE. This Special Edition adds Alexa as an option to Google and Siri, but is exclusively available from Amazon online. So what of the future? Smart voice assistants will


soon be able to offer a lot more than music navigation and weather reports, an expert suggests. Rory Kenny, CEO of music technology


company Loudly, is convinced voice control platforms like Siri and Alexa will soon usher in ever more sophisticated functionality, as our homes become more interconnected. “If built correctly, AI


is very good at making predictions based on learning about our daily habits,” he says. “When it comes to how AI will evolve in the home, we can imagine that it will become intertwined


directly in our energy usage, home grocery shopping, water usage, waste disposal, security and lifestyle.” In the near future, we may not even have to


talk to our smart assistants. Mr Kenny says: “Tomorrow’s AI will be able to predict our mood patterns throughout the day and serve up a musical soundtrack in our homes.” It seems, our smart speakers


will soon be able to read our minds…


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