“What might Apple want from a Siri Speaker? Well, first and foremost I suspect that this device is going to offer several different features,” Ian Morris writes for Forbes. “It will need to do this to support what will almost certainly be a more advanced price point than, say, Alexa or Google Home. But Apple’s focus will be on industrial design, with sound quality being key, too.”
“Having spoken to some people the idea seems to be that Apple will follow the cylindrical approach to its speaker design,” Morris writes. “”If Apple wants this speaker to be a rival for Amazon’s Echo, the Siri is going to need to be a little bit smarter. I don’t think this is news to anyone, and Apple would be working on a massive improvement to Siri this year anyway, to help support the launch of the iPhone 8 in the summer. But really we need Siri back on form with more humour, and able to do more.
“It stands to reason too that Apple will push all of its devices, Apple TV and a new speaker, to integrate together and make Apple’s Home a much more compelling product,” Morris writes. “If Apple can leverage the devices which are joining the HomeKit programme and tie them all together within this speaker, then it might really push that platform forward.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, advancing HomeKit and really spurring usage of Apple’s Home app would be a great selling point for Apple’s Echo echo – along with Airport Mesh Wi-Fi (à la eero) baked right in, too, pretty please!
Wi-Fi router capabilities to be built into Apple’s Echo echo? — MacDailyNews, November 21, 2016
And – dare we dream? – sufficient supply at launch, too!
Once they finally get something shipping in quantity, it’ll be fun to watch how quickly Apple takes the top end of the market away from Amazon’s Echo since Apple’s solution will certainly have unique advantages within Apple’s ecosystem that makes it the obvious choice for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch users. — MacDailyNews, May 10, 2017
SEE ALSO:
Wishlist for Apple’s Siri Speaker: Hi-Fi audio, multi-user control, HomeKit, and more – May 8, 2017
Phil Schiller on Amazon Echo-like devices and more – May 6, 2017
Apple’s Amazon Echo echo rumored to borrow trashcan Mac Pro design cues, could arrive at WWDC – April 28, 2017
Following debut of Echo Look with built-in camera, Amazon likely reveal new Echo device with a built-in display – April 27, 2017
Apple said to be working on a Siri-based Amazon Echo rival – April 27, 2017
Apple’s Amazon Echo echo: What if AirPort Extreme becomes the Siri speaker? – December 1, 2016
Apple abandons development of wireless routers – November 21, 2016
Apple’s Amazon Echo echo – September 26, 2016
Apple’s Amazon Echo rival said to include includes built-in cameras to read users’ emotions, recognize faces – September 23, 2016
Apple’s Siri-powered Amazon Echo-like device reportedly now in prototype testing – September 23, 2016
Why an ‘Apple Echo’ would be a hit – June 15, 2016
New Apple TV to take on Amazon’s Echo, source says – May 26, 2016
Apple preps Amazon Echo rival, opening up Siri – May 24, 2016
Apple should make a stationary voice command device like Amazon’s Echo – May 19, 2016
Google unveils its Amazon Echo knockoff called ‘Google Home’ – May 18, 2016
Where’s Apple’s answer to Amazon Echo? – March 31, 2016
Amazon Echo leads mindshare in smart home platform war – February 29, 2016
Why did Apple buy a startup whose tech can read emotions via facial recognition?/a> – January 7, 2016
Apple buys Emotient, maker of artificial-intelligence tech that reads emotion by analyzing facial expressions – January 7, 2016
I have a tough time now getting Siri to understand me or give me back what I was asking for. Kinda given up on her.
Exactly. Siri sucks. I rarely use it. I have to yell at the dumb thing for it to understand me and yes I speak perfect English.
I liked the poll that mdn recently had on their website where over half of users polled said they weren’t interested in a Siri device lol.
Apple just really let the competition move way ahead and didn’t do anything spectacular with upgrading Siri significantly.
Kind of like the same way Tim has handled the Mac lineup…
(I’m starting to see a pattern here)
Yup, as much as I wish one day she would work flawlessly, she doesn’t and it is frustrating to the point of abandonment. It is funny listening to her after I cuss her out though (because she cant get it right)…
Pretty much like Google Home and Amazon Echo – seen one and you’ve seen ’em all. Can’t imagine anything particularly earthshaking.
Que Siri Siri
What will be will be.
Still can’t get her to play ‘Air’. Wonder if the French version understands it.
may sound archaic but I wish that, instead of siri trying and failing at so called natural language (pipe dream) simplify her to basic (1-3 word commands) language while broadening her depth of control. I would rather memorize basic words she immediately responds to that try to worry about using artificially induced ‘natural’ siri speak and limited depth of system control.
How about some audio multicasting like Sonos or AirFoil/Satellite? I have a bunch of Airplay speakers and Airfoil is dropping the stream. Apple should be all over this as an entertainment hub. iTunes on a Mac server is nice but I like to stream from other services too.
Me : Hey Siri call Jane White,
Siri : calling John Wright
Not John Wright you peace of £&@*
Hi this is John Wright, who are you calling a piece of £&@*
No no, I didn’t mean to call John Wright, I said hey Siri call Jane… oh never mind
Siri : calling Jane o Nebermind
SIRI Speaker will look similar to Amazon’s product with one important difference! SIRI will still completely suck and no one will use it much! Thanks to Tim Cook and his Cracker Jack team….
I’ve got Siri on my iPhone, ,MBP, iPad and Apple Watch.
Four devices and I barely use Siri at all. And when I do, it’s usually a complete bust.
So why would I want an expensive, stupid version of an Amazon Echo from Apple?
How about fixing Siri BEFORE making a dedicated version.