“Imagine turning your home into the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise, where a disembodied voice deftly answers every question you can ask, and you don’t carry an iPhone or iPad anymore. Unfortunately, you also can’t unlock your doors, you can’t go outside, the brands you like are replaced with generic alternatives, and popular games, creative apps and other content aren’t available anymore,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for AppelInsider. “This is the fantasy future of Amazon Alexa — but fortunately not the vision of Apple’s new HomePod.”
Dilger writes, “Apple is selling the building blocks for home applications that need powerful, encrypted, Continuity-connected, high-quality hardware.”
“Expect that Amazon and Google will continue to deliver smart apps for Apple’s emerging home platform,” Dilger writes, “even as their own standalone voice platforms tank alongside their loss leader hardware sales, just as previously occurred in smartphones, tablets and wearables.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The Apple naysayers will, as always, be disappointed as Apple wins yet again.
There are two problems with MDN’s analysis:
First – Amazon has a HUGE lead in the market. Not saying it’s unsurmountable because….well…Apple. Nonetheless Apple got into the game pretty late on this one & most home automation accessories have lumped in with Amazon. Many don’t and won’t support Homekit.
Second – Siri flat out sucks. I have an Amazon Echo Dot I got when they were only $29 so I could compare Alexa to Siri. As much of an Apple fanboy as I tend to be (I own and use a fairly recent version of pretty much one of everything Apple makes) even I have to admit – it’s not even close. Alexa crushes Siri. When at home I don’t even bother to use Siri for anything other than setting an alarm on my phone or a timer on my watch while cooking dinner – because she either doesn’t hear me or will misunderstand me. I speak clearly and annunciate. Doesn’t matter.
Tim Cook & the rest of Apple’s VP Crew apparently either use some alternate version or don’t use Siri at all. It’s the only explanation because Siri is and has long been a joke.
I always see everyone going on about what Siri cannot do while it seems to do everything that I want it to. Never having owned a google or amazon device, please list everything that you use these devices for so I may decide if I even care.
I know I could quickly google capabilities; I’m asking you which ‘skills’ are valuable to you.
Thanks!
absolutely
Siri is a big problem in Apples eco sys… and a very dangerous problem.
Overall Apple Al, From spell check to contextual understanding to voice recognition and Siri ,truly and inexplicably suck and have sucked all the time…
seems no one cares. ( or as u said” managment must be using some other version if apple ai…..And they are clueless” )
The status quo is unacceptable and not an option …. it will turn around and bite apple in the butt faster than the can say ‘A’
If they dont catchup and and dare i say surpass. .
My biggest concern and frustration with Apple ! ..Siri and overall Apple Ai Suck ! frustratingly so!
its perplexing how complacent Apple seens to be here .
Ps. (…I have all Apple products including homepod……)
Agreed!
Siri does fine. It should do better. In comparison to its competitors, there are edge services provided by developers and Apple should pursue those sorts of things. As far as general administriva, Siri is more than comparable to Alexa due to its close integration with the Apple ecosphere. It scores well as a lifestyle product (what the Apple brand is all about), due to its meticulous build and high quality audio.
Home entertainment? Perhaps some people are amused bantering with Siri. I am not.
Until Apple (and Google) have some kind of ‘extension’ API for their respective Voice Assistants, I find it hard to see any gains being made towards topping, let alone approaching, the utility of Amazon Skills.
You had me at, “Imagine turning your home into the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise…”