Channelnews : jbl to take on sonos beam with new voice activated link soundbar

The Samsung Harman owned JBL is set to release a new voice activated Link soundbar, initially tipped for 2018 the bar that is set to go on sale in Australia in the second half of 2019 also

delivers Google Assistant and will take the Sonos Beam head on. The Android-powered soundbar was first announced in May 2018 at Google I/O. It was originally planned for an October release

at IFA 2018, but this failed to happen due in part to production issues in China. The new Link Bar has built in the functionality of both an Android TV set-top box as well as a Google

Assistant smart speaker. All a user has to do is deliver a voice commands like a Google Home, and then display content directly onto your TV like a set-top box. It is even able to overlay

certain information on top of your TV content, such as your Google Calendar appointments. Of course, it should also offer a pretty decent upgrade over the built-in speakers in your TV.

Tipped for a September launch in Australia the soundbar is tipped to sell for $599 with a separate subwoofer available, which is set to cost $499. combined the pair will sell for sub $1,000.

About Post Author David Richards David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the

Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The

Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he

writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.