“A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece for our Insider audience that talked about Amazon’s new Echo device,” Tim Bajarin writes for Tech.pinions. “I put the Echo on my kitchen counter and, using voice commands, I ask it all kinds of questions regarding things like the weather, news, play a specific song, turn on lights, etc. One of the handier features is to tell it to put an item on my shopping list and, when I go to the store, I just pull up the Echo app on my iPhone and all the items I told the Echo is on the list.”
“The more one uses it, the more becomes clear Amazon’s Echo is on to something,” Bajarin writes. “I suspect Amazon will offer a whole home security system tied to the Echo as this would be a great application for it. The Echo has the potential of being a digital control center for the home and, when tied to their mobile app, it could some day allow for a complete, centralized remote solution to manage all of the digital connections one has in their home.”
“Given Apple’s long history with the idea of using a TV/computer voice command system to navigate around digital data, I would not be surprised to see Apple making that a key part of their new Apple TV platform that included HomeKit apps and voice commands as part of its design,” Bajarin writes. “If so, this would be Apple’s answer to the Echo and it too could become an important strategic ‘Trojan Horse’ for Apple. However, Apple could have quite an edge over Amazon given Apple’s rich iOS.”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV as a full-featured Amazon Echo underpinned by Siri backed by the overwhelming force of iOS developers. That functionality alone would sell many millions of Apple TV and companion, Apple and third-party, devices. Now, add in an affordable, compelling Apple Internet TV service. The sky’s the limit.