Is Spotify building its own smart speaker to take on Amazon, Google and Apple?

Spotify is working on its first hardware products, leading to speculation that it could be gearing up to launch a smart speaker to rival the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod.

The music streaming firm recently posted a job ad for an Operations Manager – Hardware Product at its Stockholm office, including the revealing phrase: “Spotify is on its way to creating its first physical products”.

The ad keep things fairly vague but reveals that the successful candidate will “contribute in the creation of innovative Spotify experiences via connected hardware”.

The firm is also advertising for a Senior Project Manager for Hardware Production and a Project Manager for Hardware Production and Engineering. The trio of telltale ads was first spotted by Musically.

Spotify has previously relied on third parties audio manufacturers to support its Spotify Connect service. This allows Spotify Premium subscribers to stream and control music on compatible products, but the

Apple HomePod’s lack of support for any non-Apple music services is a timely reminder that Spotify may need to develop its own hardware to stay ahead in the space.

If Spotify does launch its smart speaker, it could well offer support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Home. It’s also possible that Spotify could be developing its own voice control platform, though this seems considerably less likely.

Spotify has been contacted for comment.

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