You couldn't be more wrong. Amazon has got exactly the ecosystem to take advantage of it
The Echo is already miles ahead of anything Apple is doing in terms of home automation and is backed by Amazons cloud business, again far and away ahead of anything Apple is doing in that space. The Echo allows the user to shop using voice commands and have the items delivered to their door.
No amount of apps on the App Store or movies on iTunes are going to help them in this market. It was a great value add for mobile but it makes no difference here. The big players the Spotifys, the Ubers they will all be present on Amazons service.
I see the Amazon echo as a lightweight, single-purpose device which sold well, but will ultimately suffer from high abandonment rates and whose functionality will eventually be swallowed by smartphones (Siri for ios and / or Google Now for Android).
The Amazon echo has no future. Not in its current incarnation, at least.
The Echo can be used to hail an Uber. While outdoors why wouldn't you use your phone rather than pay $160 for some awkward looking wireless earbuds to do it? Its a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
I am not buying airpods solely for the purpose of being able to hail an Uber using Siri while outdoors. It's just one of many possible advantages to having Siri at your ear.
At the end of the day, why would I want to fragment my AI experience between Alexa at home and Siri / Google Now outside? Might as well consolidate around one standard, and that's where Alexa ultimately loses out because Amazon has no mobile presence whatsoever.
What exactly is the value add of Amazon's cloud services in this regard?
Honestly at the pace Apple moves with these things I think its more likely that an Amazon or a Google or somebody else comes along and eats their lunch.
When you see the strides that Amazon have made with Alexa since releasing the Echo only two years ago and bear in mind Amazon aren't particularly even a technology company, that isn't their core business, it is absolutely embarrassing the state Siri is in after five years on the market. Theres no reason to believe Apple are going to be at the forefront of voice based AI.
IMO, each company has its own challenges.
Apple's challenge is improving Siri at a quick-enough rate within the constraints of their self-imposed privacy limitations. But otherwise, Apple will have no problems earning from this through their hardware sales (i.e.: more iPhones / Apple watches / iPads / EarPods sold).
Google's challenge is in successfully monetizing their AI services, because Google currently has a very bad record of profitability when it comes to their various investments.
But ultimately, I expect Apple and Google to converge on the same point. They are simply starting from opposite starting points, that's all.
As for Amazon, like I said, they lack a platform to sustain them beyond shopping and cloud services. Likewise, you just raised a very valid point. AI isn't Amazon's core business, so what exactly is the benefit to Amazon here apart from selling more echo devices (they are probably being sold at cost anyways, so profit is minimal) and hoping people will use them to buy more stuff online?
Well i'm happy for you. You're the customer Apple wants - one who adjusts their workflow to the way Apple forces you to with ios, rather than mac os, which gives the user way more flexibility on how to manage workflows the way they feel suits them best
You make it sound like a bad thing.
Truth was the iPad was working better for me than a Mac in my line of work anyways. It was lighter, had longer battery life, the form factor was more convenient, and when I saw AirPlay mirroring being demoed on an Apple TV, I knew there was no going back.
At the end of the day, it's not about iPad vs the MacBook. It's about using the best device for the job, and as a teacher, the iPad simply works better for me than any laptop for the things I want it to do. There are still tasks I prefer to do on my 27” iMac (like working on massive spreadsheets), but I am getting more done on my iOS devices every day.
And if I have to adjust my workflow a little, so be it. Contrast with the Mac, where no amount of finagling will allow me to do on the Mac what I am doing with ease on my iPad.
