The SRS-XB402, New Wireless WiFi/BT Speaker with Google Assistant coming from Sony

Sony will be launching a new WiFi and Bluetooth enabled wireless speaker in the near future.  Preliminary information is limited right now but there is support for 2.4/5.0Gz Wifi a/b/g/n and Blueooth 4.2 LE. The device was certified on FCC and Wifi Alliance last month, so perhaps a market introduction will occur within the next few months.

The design from the documents is difficult to ascertain, and it does not seem to match any current speaker in Sony's lineup, ie SRS-XB40, SRS-XB12 or even the S50G with Google assistant.  Therefore me might be looking at a new design but possibly stand upright rather than on its side.

The device uses the Mediatek MT8516 SoC, which is quad core Cortex-A35, 64bit, clocked at 1.3Ghz. It looks like the speaker will come with Google Assistant judging by the description Mediatek provides for the SoC.

The MT8516 is an efficient and highly integrated application processing platform with diverse interfaces and connectivity that focuses on audio and microphone processing. It is designed for Cloud-supported voice assistant devices, Google Cast for Audio...

Bluetooth support will top at version 4.2 LE, while v5.0 would be nice, for a device that will probably spend most of its time connected to the wall, 4.2 is more than sufficient. 

 (WiFi certification, via WiFi Alliance)

 (WiFi certification, via WiFi Alliance)

Sony's only offering in the WiFi/BT speaker market is their 2016 SRS-Z5/Z7 and S50G model with google assistant.  The rest are either only Bluetooth or Bluetooth with Google assistant.   With the popularity of Smart speakers, it is no surprise Sony wants in on the market with another device.  It will be interesting to see if the device will feature other ports, like like or change to USB type C.

Oddly enough there are 2 versions on the FCC, the XB402M and XB402G with the only different being the app software, maybe for different markets, different software?  This is what Sony stated in the docs:

We, Sony Corporation., declare that the Wireless Speaker, FCCID:AK8SRSXB402, Model SRS-XB402M is identical with Model SRS-XB402G,ONLY except for app software that is used when the product is connected to Wi-Fi.

The combination of the XB wireless speakers and Google Assistant is new and if priced right, should sell well.  Will update the post if I receive any more information.  If anyone has any more information, please contact me.