At IFA 2018, Huawei presented a new device named “Huawei AI Cube(B900-230)”. The Huawei AI Cube is a smart speaker equipped with Amazon Alexa, an audio assistant developed by Amazon in the US. In addition to its function as a smart speaker, it also has a function as a stationary LTE wireless router. Huawei B900 AI Cube combines a 4G Modem, a home WiFi router, high-end 360-degree wireless speaker, and a Huawei-Amazon collaboration that promises Alexa integration and some not-yet-articulated AI capabilities.
Huawei B900 AI Cube Appearance
The Huawei B900 AI Cube looks a little bit similar to its predecessor Huawei B528 but there is the obvious difference. On the top, there are three keys available: one volume up key, one volume down key, and one mute key. On the body, there are three LED indicators for Signal, WiFi and LAN. However, unlike the latest Huawei B618s-22d WiFi router, there is no connector for the external antenna in the B900 AI Cube.
Below the indicators, there are two buttons: Power and WPS buttons. On the bottom of the Huawei B900 WiFi router, the product name Huawei B900-230, IP address (192.168.1.1), User name(admin), SSID, WiFi key, WPS pin, Power input and Made in China information are listed on the bottom label. The SIM card slot is also at the bottom with the Reset hole. The Huawei B900 WiFi cube uses Micro SIM card size. Below the IMEI & S/N number label, there is an Ethernet port for LAN and WAN. The power plug port is at the side of the Ethernet port.
Huawei AI Cube B900 Smart Speaker Function
The Huawei B900 AI Cube Router can be controlled via voice assistant Alexa with around 50,000 voice commands. For example, the router can play music or Internet radio through the built-in speaker. Smart home hardware such as TVs, Wi-Fi bulbs or refrigerators can also be controlled, as long as they are compatible with Amazon Alexa.
As a stationary LTE WiFi router, the Huawei B900-230 cube could achieve download speed up to 300Mbps and upload speed to 50mbps. It has 802.11ac with dual-band Wi-Fi, in total up to 1.200 MBit/s are attainable over WLAN according to Huawei.. You get four microphones with far-field voice recognition. How many users could be connected with the cube is unknown yet, but we list the general specifications of Huawei B900 AI Cube for reference:
* Support 4G LTE Band B1/B3/B7/B8/B20/B32/B38
* Support 4G LTE Cat.6 2CC Technology - CA Bands: CA_3C/CA_7C/CA_38C/CA_1A-8A/CA_1A-20A/CA_3A-7A/CA_3A-8A/CA_3A-20A/CA_7A-8A/CA_7A-20A/CA_20A-32A/
* Support 3G UMTS/WCDMA/HSPA+ B1/B8
* LTE download speed to 300mbps, upload speed to 50mbps
* WLAN: WiFi 802.111a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band(2.4GHz & 5GHz), 2 x 2 MIMO, 2 x 2 DBDC(Dual-band, dual-carrier)
* External Antenna connector: No
* SIM Card size: Micro SIM (3FF)
* Interfaces: - 1 x RJ-45 for data, GE - 1 x SIM Card slot (3FF), 1 x power interface - 1 x Hi Key/ 1 x Reset Key/ 1 x Power key - 2 x Voice + - / 1 x Mute Key / 1 x Pause Key
* Speaker: 15W Mono Speaker * Voice Input: 4 x Microphones
* Main features: Huawei Hilink, Huawei Histen, Amazon Alexa, Far Field Voice Recognition
* Power: AC 100V - 240V, DC 12V, 2A
* Dimensions: 218mm (height) x 116mm (diameter)
* Weight: 900g
Huawei said the Europe version would be available around the end of 2018, but not mention about the availability for US market. Regarding the Huawei B900 AI Cube price, Huawei didn’t give any information. We have to wait for the news from Huawei.
