Xiaomi and Microsoft have signed a new deal. Both companies already have an existing partnership that sees the latter’s office suite of apps pre-loaded on Xiaomi’s phones. The new deal which focuses on AI will bring to market a Cortana-powered Xiaomi smart speaker.

Xiaomi already has a smart speaker called the Mi AI speaker. The speaker uses an in-house assistant and only supports Chinese. Cortana currently supports English (Australia, US, UK, Canada), Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish.

The Cortana smart speaker will actually be a “port” of Cortana to the Xiaomi Mi AI speaker. Reviews say the speaker does look good and has great audio and build quality. It is also pretty cheap as it sells for just ¥299 (~$50). So this sure looks like a win already.

The agreement between both companies is actually a Strategic Framework Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement will result in a combination of Microsoft’s experience in cloud and AI technology and Xiaomi’s expertise in smart hardware development for achieving select goals. Both companies will leverage on the other’s strength for success.

Xiaomi will also have access to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and also get development and marketing insights for its own laptops.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro AnTuTu Score vs Mi 5 vs Mi 6 vs Redmi Note 5: SD 636 on Par With SD 820!

There is no time frame for when the speaker will hit markets as details are still scarce. Nevertheless we are still excited about the news.

(Source)

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