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Amazon and Google Want to Turn Their Smart Home Speakers Into Telephone Replacements
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This seems like a solution to a non-existent problem. If I'm walking around the house, I usually have my iPhone with me. All I have to do is say, "Hey Siri, call ____ on speakerphone." I don't have to stand around a table-top device while talking.
And what happened to privacy here?
Will they provide a handset or bluetooth connectivity to be able to have a private conversation?
Will they provide a handset or bluetooth connectivity to be able to have a private conversation?
Hang on, The next iPhone will cost $1000, why would I want to make a phone call via 'Smart speaker'?
Gradually, day by day, our privacy is being taken away from us. Another good day for the NSA. Much easier to centrally monitor than a traditional phone.
So "dumb" speakers would end up with both microphones and cameras?
With discounts if you have a teenage daughter?
And all we have is Google saying "trust us, we won't peek"...
NO THANX!!!!
With discounts if you have a teenage daughter?
And all we have is Google saying "trust us, we won't peek"...
NO THANX!!!!
The Echo and Dots don't even communicate with each other on the network. Each one is separate (my biggest gripe as we have them around our house). Why would I want a device that is only in one room and if I'm walking around talking to someone on the "phone" I can't walk into another room (where I might have a Dot) without stopping the conversation? My iPhone is fine for phone calls around the house.
They might want to work on 'linking' up their Echo/Dots so that each one works together for music, phone, etc.
They might want to work on 'linking' up their Echo/Dots so that each one works together for music, phone, etc.
Uh oh Amazon and Google on Apples territory...The precious iPhone.
Apple will definitely going to annonce a new product in march. I hope it also has airport functionalities.
Apple will definitely going to annonce a new product in march. I hope it also has airport functionalities.
These devices DO NOT RECORD constantly. Please do some research. They are always listening but that is different than records constantly. The Amazon Echo devices ONLY send data to Amazon after it hears the wake word along with a fraction of a second before the wake word. It does have a tiny buffer for recording that is constantly overwritten. This is so that fraction of a second can be sent to make sure the device gets the whole command. Amazon clearly spells this out for all to see on their privacy page about the Echo. I do not know the specifics of the Google device but I would imagine it is close to the same.
These home speakers are just a silly fad. People yelling across the room to shout orders that aren't understood half the time, and now yelling to other people, and the speaker yells back? When I can just use my phone that I have lying around nearby or on me anyway? Seriously?
This will be just as successful as people talking to their "smart" assistants on the phone.
Not to mention the privacy issues with an always-on microphone in your home, permanently connected to the Internet. This will be a feast for hackers when these speakers don't get security fixes anymore.
This will be just as successful as people talking to their "smart" assistants on the phone.
Not to mention the privacy issues with an always-on microphone in your home, permanently connected to the Internet. This will be a feast for hackers when these speakers don't get security fixes anymore.
That is a funny definition of "record." Obviously, they're always listening (unless you disable it, which Amazon lets you do with a button; not sure about the Google Home), but they don't necessarily record (in the sense that one would be able to retrieve the data later) unless you use the "wake word" and utter something afterwards--or at least that's what Amazon says. I'd assume Google works the same. And as someone else mentioned, if that's our definition of "record," this isn't an issue at all since "Hey siri" might be doing the same thing on your iPhone.
Also, apparently a lot of people are complaining that they think these products are useless or a "fad." Just because you don't find them useful doesn't mean others don't. I love my Echo for its ability to turn on/off, dim, and change scenes on my lights, as well as adjust my thermostat (when I want to turn it a degree or two higher on a cool morning or down before I leave, though my existing home automation system will try to do that if it detects I'm gone for a while).
Not until Apple makes one and you'll be one "of those" who wait in line to buy one lol
get real - we love our amazon echo devices
Have fun with siri.
I want stupid stuff. Oh, wait! I got siri..
Ideal for the NSA to hack and listen in to muslims...
I use a VPN on all my devices.
Don't use Facebook or similar crap.
do you want a sticker? Why are some introverts so proud that they arent on facebook or instagram?
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no chance
paranoid much? tell us what youre doing that needs to be so secretive?
so does this hypothetical scenario require an additional line, or does it pair with my phone? I'd prefer the latter. I would love for apple to do a similar device to the echo; I'm a big user of homekit and it would be cool to be able to just command my devices with God-like authority without having to laboriously push a button
Maybe it's paranoia, maybe some people just like privacy. Google can now know when a person is awake, asleep, at home, or away with their thermostat, house cams, and smoke detectors. They can also tell where a person is going with either Google Maps or Waze in the car. A smart device that has the ability to listen, learn, and possibly record (yeah, I know, it doesn't really record), phone conversations is just one more leak of privacy. It's not unreasonable to believe that some people still value the right to privacy.
Just my $.02.
Apple should not get dragged into making one of these devices. Amazon already does it well enough.
Even if it didn't, this would be another product thrown into the "other" category.
Apple should rather focus on growing it's services business through original TV content and a 4K Apple TV.
Even if it didn't, this would be another product thrown into the "other" category.
Apple should rather focus on growing it's services business through original TV content and a 4K Apple TV.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Once the device is there, and "upgraded" are you sure that's all that's going on? How would you tell?
Ask yourself: how does it know when you said "Alexa"?