Apple may be the new kid on the block in the smart speaker market, but one of its competitors might soon attempt to steal its thunder with hardware of its own. This week, MusicAlly spotted several new job listings on Spotify’s website which suggest that the streaming service is ramping up efforts to launch its own devices in the near future.
“Spotify is on its way to creating its first physical products,” reads the description for an Operations Manager position, “and setting up an operational organisation for manufacturing, supply chain, sales & marketing.”
The other listings are for Senior Project Manager and Project Manager, both of which will work in Spotify’s Hardware Production division on “innovative Spotify experiences via connected hardware.” Although Spotify has yet to show off or even confirm any hardware in the works, the listings seem to point to a smart speaker.
As The Verge points out, Spotify has said in previous listings that it wants to build “a category defining product akin to Pebble Watch, Amazon Echo, and Snap Spectacles.” The listings call for someone to run the strategy and execution of Spotify’s voice efforts as well, implying that whatever hardware the company ends up releasing, we’ll be able to control it with voice commands. Providing it is a speaker, it will need voice support to compete.
While Spotify is still the top name in music streaming, Apple Music has made a huge dent in recent months. In order to stay on top, Spotify needs to find new ways to ingratiate its service with our lives, whether that be in the form of a smart speaker, smart headphones or something else entirely. Either way, with production ramping up, we expect to hear (and see) more in the coming months from the international streaming giant.
