Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple VP Phil Schiller Implies Voice-Activated Smart Speakers Could Benefit From a Screen
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Great, yet another "Us too!" product (just like the watch, the self-driving car, pencil, etc). The first iPhone release was the last time Apple was first to the party. I'm not saying the smart speaker is a terrible idea, but I think it will be more fodder for those who claim that Apple no longer innovates because they're too busy chasing their competitors.
Apple, if you're really hell-bent on making a go of it in this space, please focus on getting the software right first.
Apple, if you're really hell-bent on making a go of it in this space, please focus on getting the software right first.
Yah take a nice idea of simple and cheap home automation and quadruple the price. I have Dots all over my house. I'm not doing that with anything that cost most that $80
I'm puzzled by the screen comment. So I'll need to walk up to the Siri speaker to see the results of my query?
"Siri give me the recipe for smoked kippers"
So then I'll bring my iPad to the speaker, take a photo of the recipe result on the speaker screen so I may take my iPad to the kitchen? This is ludicrous.
I have a Google home and the fixed screen idea is puzzling indeed. I ask google to show me photos of such and such on the tv for example. And up they come because I have a chromecast. It can be a song from Spotify, or a YouTube video. It all just works.
And if I ask any question, it will respond human like more often than not with a reasonably solid reply. And to supplement my query, a card is automatically produced in the google home app on my iPad where I can tap for further reading. Why would things work any other way?
It's all about streamlining from there with more natural interaction and integration.
"Siri give me the recipe for smoked kippers on my iPad and play the latest episode of iron chef on my tv. Also don't forget to remind me to drop the kids off at the usual pool"
Unfortunately, Siri is years behind the competitors in its ability, so a rabbit out of the hat is the only thing we can hang to.
"Siri give me the recipe for smoked kippers"
So then I'll bring my iPad to the speaker, take a photo of the recipe result on the speaker screen so I may take my iPad to the kitchen? This is ludicrous.
I have a Google home and the fixed screen idea is puzzling indeed. I ask google to show me photos of such and such on the tv for example. And up they come because I have a chromecast. It can be a song from Spotify, or a YouTube video. It all just works.
And if I ask any question, it will respond human like more often than not with a reasonably solid reply. And to supplement my query, a card is automatically produced in the google home app on my iPad where I can tap for further reading. Why would things work any other way?
It's all about streamlining from there with more natural interaction and integration.
"Siri give me the recipe for smoked kippers on my iPad and play the latest episode of iron chef on my tv. Also don't forget to remind me to drop the kids off at the usual pool"
Unfortunately, Siri is years behind the competitors in its ability, so a rabbit out of the hat is the only thing we can hang to.
Last edited:
Apple isn't first, I was using a Compaq designed HDD based MP3 player long before the iPod was invented. Apple certainly executes brilliantly on good ideas with jewelry like precision which I love. But, I'm pretty much done with Phil Schiller and all of his arrogant courageous bluster, done.
There is a place for a display on the speaker appliance in certain locations but as a day one Alexa user I can say that the whole point in most areas is cheap voice control, everywhere. I now have a house full of Echos and Dots, working with Smart Things, Harmony, Hue etc. and they are truthfully very useful. Saying simply "Turn on the TV" and having Harmony run the macros to power up the media center is great. Walking to the coffee table and picking up the harmony remote and having its screen and buttons already in sync with watching TV is pretty awesome.
Would Apple ever work that well in a house full of 3rd party devices? I doubt it, they want the ecosystem and I'm not interested.
We use a dot in the kitchen, split to a small powered speaker and to our whole house stereo. 90% of the time we just use the small sound, but when we want big sound one just says "turn on the stereo" and the big system comes on-line (and the harmony remote is in sync should one grab it to adjust something).
Voice controlling 3rd party music and radio apps is huge in our house and is the primary use of these devices day to day.
So, in a house full of voice activated low cost appliances, I could see maybe one with a display in a heavy traffic area but honestly, I would more likely just use my phone or iPad for that.
There is a place for a display on the speaker appliance in certain locations but as a day one Alexa user I can say that the whole point in most areas is cheap voice control, everywhere. I now have a house full of Echos and Dots, working with Smart Things, Harmony, Hue etc. and they are truthfully very useful. Saying simply "Turn on the TV" and having Harmony run the macros to power up the media center is great. Walking to the coffee table and picking up the harmony remote and having its screen and buttons already in sync with watching TV is pretty awesome.
Would Apple ever work that well in a house full of 3rd party devices? I doubt it, they want the ecosystem and I'm not interested.
We use a dot in the kitchen, split to a small powered speaker and to our whole house stereo. 90% of the time we just use the small sound, but when we want big sound one just says "turn on the stereo" and the big system comes on-line (and the harmony remote is in sync should one grab it to adjust something).
Voice controlling 3rd party music and radio apps is huge in our house and is the primary use of these devices day to day.
So, in a house full of voice activated low cost appliances, I could see maybe one with a display in a heavy traffic area but honestly, I would more likely just use my phone or iPad for that.
It would also make sense to make the speaker assistant device the HomeKit hub.
I seem to recall Apple tinkering in the range extender/AP with an audio output jack. SJs gave a demo at one of the D conferences. Perhaps Apple could solve the mic in every room problem by providing a wall plug in device which has a mic and speaker in it and it pairs to the main device via wifi.
If the wall plug in devices have BT proximity built in, it could defect which room you are in. Perhaps even support triangulation. I think the ATVv4 has something like that in it already. I think the newer ATV remote app will detect (once paired) which ATV you are closest to and automatically connect to that ATV upon launch of the app.
Apple has a lot of catching up to do vs Amazon and Google, but they can bring a lot to the table with a product to blow away the competition.
I seem to recall Apple tinkering in the range extender/AP with an audio output jack. SJs gave a demo at one of the D conferences. Perhaps Apple could solve the mic in every room problem by providing a wall plug in device which has a mic and speaker in it and it pairs to the main device via wifi.
If the wall plug in devices have BT proximity built in, it could defect which room you are in. Perhaps even support triangulation. I think the ATVv4 has something like that in it already. I think the newer ATV remote app will detect (once paired) which ATV you are closest to and automatically connect to that ATV upon launch of the app.
Apple has a lot of catching up to do vs Amazon and Google, but they can bring a lot to the table with a product to blow away the competition.
i'm not sure he's making grandiose comments as opposed to trying to say, without saying, that our iPhones etc are our smart speakers. which would mean likely the very 'fix siri' that you are speaking of
It's difficult to imagine Apple in this space. Siri is the worst digital assistant hands-down. She sounds like a dumb tool and acts like one, too. She doesn't understand simple requests and is utterly incapable of dialing any ethnic sounding, non-anglo name from my address book. Apple, fix your sh*t!
Bingo! on the microphone limitation. It's a hurdle that I doubt any voice-controlled device will adequately solve. For one, how do you give a voice instruction over playing music without shouting? Secondly, distance is an issue itself. Even the current gen AppleTV needs a mic within the handheld remote controller to work. Thirdly, the presence of other voice-controlled devices already causes confusion. Finally, the voice instructions themselves are so specific and grammatically truncated, that many people still can't commit them to memory.
So far, voice input has worked reliably in only one condition: on the Mac, in a quiet office.
Phil the visionary describing what the competition envisioned a year ago and now accomplishes:
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/09/amazon-echo-show-june/
Last edited:
I'm not sure I buy a dedicated screen for these devices. I thought the purpose was to be an extension of your existing ecosystem.
I'd much rather no screen on the device, but have the ability to say "show me results on ______" and it'll automatically open the results on the device I named.
"show me the recipe on my iPad", opens on my iPad, "show emails on main tv" will open show on main tv.
putting a screen on the device really doesn't help with this "whole home" idea
I'd much rather no screen on the device, but have the ability to say "show me results on ______" and it'll automatically open the results on the device I named.
"show me the recipe on my iPad", opens on my iPad, "show emails on main tv" will open show on main tv.
putting a screen on the device really doesn't help with this "whole home" idea