Apple Working on Amazon Echo Competitor, Opening Siri Up to Developers

[samcraig]

If I have my bathroom door closed, Echo can't hear me from the living room unless I yell whereas my iPhone is usually with me. Also, I can practically whisper when my iPhone 6S is next to me to turn off the lights so as not to bother anyone. You can't do that with an Echo in another room. There's a reason why Amazon released a smaller, cheaper version.

And that's my point. With all these personal devices which are usually close by or worn in the case of Apple Watch, I don't think an Echo clone makes sense for Apple. It makes sense for Amazon because they don't sell a lot of mobile products.

Also, Echo's speakers are crap compared to good AirPlay speakers so I'd rather Apple expand Siri and HomeKit so I can tell any Apple device to play whatever song/artist/album on any Airplay speaker I have in the house which would be a far more powerful solution than another Echo clone.

You can - actually. With Echo's remote and their app.

We differ in opinion. While you may not find it of use - it makes sense for Apple to have a device in this space. Especially for combining homekit and a smart music player. And one thing Apple could do is make it so when you play music - you can do so via airplay speakers instead of its built in.

 

[iPhisch]

Siri never does what I want it to do, so I rarely use it. About once a month i tell it to set a reminder for me. Last night I say, "who's on the pole for the Indy 500?" and she replies "Here's what I found on the web for 'Who's on the pole for the Indy 500'"
This does not help me, it would have been just as fast to type it into Safari and see a list of links. How would this help me on a device that has no screen? This won't be a useful product if it doesn't get smarter.

 

[jonnysods]

I'm Australian, I use Australian Siri and she doesn't understand me when I'm talking to a phone in my hand.

Can't wait to try to call out to a device like this in my home. I'll get loads done...

 

[smith4925]

apple has become a "ME TOO" company. They are so boring lately.

I have to agree. I have been a diehard apple fan since the early 90s, since Jobs died the company is slowly losing it's momentum. All their new products seem to be a rehash of something that already works. The products that have potential seem to be a second thought. Example, CarPlay. Forget the car and concentrate on the info system.

 

[bbeagle]

For crying out loud...this is not innovation. And I already carry 2 Siri's around with me at all times. I don't need another in the kitchen or wherever.

Why must everything Apple creates be 'innovative', while it doesn't matter for every other company?
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I have to agree. I have been a diehard apple fan since the early 90s, since Jobs died the company is slowly losing it's momentum. All their new products seem to be a rehash of something that already works. The products that have potential seem to be a second thought. Example, CarPlay. Forget the car and concentrate on the info system.

Name ONE thing Steve Jobs came out with that was not a rehash of something that already worked. Come on... I'm waiting.

 

[ProjectManager101]

Pretty soon I will be putting duck tape covering the Apple logo of my computer... is embarrassing what they are becoming.

 

[neuropsychguy]

I bet you didn't say that about Google when they came out with their own Echo competitor. You are a typical Apple hater.

Or when Amazon came out with the Echo. UCIC had the Ubi before Amazon released the Echo. I don't know if they were the first to market with a 'useable' product but Amazon wasn't the first.

It's funny (sad) how many people jump on any story here just to complain/whine about Apple.

 

[alocke18]

Ugh, I hate to be so negative. But yep, it's a little too late.

Not to mention, Siri is just so tainted to me. It fails at everything from playing music to simple queries to understanding me when I'm speaking perfectly fine. I just wish the Echo wasn't on constant backorder.

Home Depot stocks the echo... that's where I picked up mine.

 

[Rogifan]

Funny how Apple is doomed because competitors are doing a, b & c and they're going to leave Apple in the dust blah blah blah. Then when we here rumors that Apple is also working on a, b & c we get Apple is a "me too" company now, can't innovate anymore blah blah blah. Around here it's basically heads I win tails you lose. No matter what Apple does it's never the right thing.

 

[i5pro]

Funny how Apple is doomed because competitors are doing a, b & c and they're going to leave Apple in the dust blah blah blah. Then when we here rumors that Apple is also working on a, b & c we get Apple is a "me too" company now, can't innovate anymore blah blah blah. Around here it's basically heads I win tails you lose. No matter what Apple does it's never the right thing.

It's not so much doing the right thing...it's that we expect more from Apple since we're usually paying a premium for it. Why would I pay more for the same stuff...the apple logo is supposed to be better and "just works", but it hasn't been lately. They seem to have lost their way.

 

[NT1440]

Funny how Apple is doomed because competitors are doing a, b & c and they're going to leave Apple in the dust blah blah blah. Then when we here rumors that Apple is also working on a, b & c we get Apple is a "me too" company now, can't innovate anymore blah blah blah. Around here it's basically heads I win tails you lose. No matter what Apple does it's never the right thing.

They also overlook that Apple tends to be working on these kinds of products for years, yet because competitor X,Y, or Z released something first somehow that makes Apple a follower. I really don't understand that logic.

 

[maxsix]

Copying the competition isn't a good look for Apple.

Rushing a buggy product out before it's ready is an Apple tactic that's not serving them well.

What it does accomplish is to fulfill the companies obsession with bragging rights.

Following the market isn't working either, yet watch the responses, the old devotees will cite how much money Apple makes, which is more revealing about Apple Tax gains than anything else.

There's a silent undercurrent building, Apple is alienating many people despite the current sales volume.

 

[MacBergin]

Even though I already own 2 Echos a Dot and a Tap, I'm going to join millions of people and buy the Apple competitor, just so all the negative nancys on here can continue to complain about Apple, predict no one will buy or want it and then be wrong like you have for many years... You're welcome.

 

[NT1440]

Copying the competition isn't a good look for Apple.

Rushing a buggy product out before it's ready is an Apple tactic that's not serving them well.

What it does accomplish is to fulfill the companies obsession with bragging rights.

Following the market isn't working either, yet watch the responses, the old devotees will cite how much money Apple makes, which is more revealing about Apple Tax gains than anything else.

There's a silent undercurrent building, Apple is alienating many people despite the current sales volume.

So.....you just skipped right over the part of these reports that state Apple has been working on these products for several years now, before Amazon?

 

[jlasoon]

Funny how Apple is doomed because competitors are doing a, b & c and they're going to leave Apple in the dust blah blah blah. Then when we here rumors that Apple is also working on a, b & c we get Apple is a "me too" company now, can't innovate anymore blah blah blah. Around here it's basically heads I win tails you lose. No matter what Apple does it's never the right thing.

Siri "I did not quite get that"

 

[American Hero]

So instead of coming up with an idea of their own, Apple just copies yet another technology other companies have already come out with... Just like the Apple Watch and bigger phone screens.

Tim Cook's Apple is a failure that's living off of the jet lag from the Steve Jobs era. Soon enough that jet lag will disappear and Apple will be toast.

 

[jlasoon]

So.....you just skipped right over the part of these reports that state Apple has been working on these products for several years now, before Amazon?

Apple is always supposedly working on products. Anyone for a 2013 $5,000 MacPro lol

 

[American Hero]

So.....you just skipped right over the part of these reports that state Apple has been working on these products for several years now, before Amazon?

Yet they're the last to release the products, which aren't any better than those products that were released much earlier by other companies.

 

[kyleh22]

This is awesome! I've been dreaming for another way to access Apple Music....JK.

 

[American Hero]

Pretty soon I will be putting duck tape covering the Apple logo of my computer... is embarrassing what they are becoming.

I do that with my iPhone, except I use a case--well at least before I did. Now I just simply moved over to an S7 and don't regret it one bit.

 

[maxsix]

So.....you just skipped right over the part of these reports that state Apple has been working on these products for several years now, before Amazon?

No.

Actually I understand exactly how Apple operates. Much like every other company, they have many projects in the works. So what?

It's what they bring to market and how it performs, that matters. Two things that Apple was once very good at. Once... As in past tense.

And that's what many of us long term Apple enthusiasts find disgusting. No longer doing their best work, it's now nothing but words, hype, marketing spin and posturing.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Funny how Apple is doomed because competitors are doing a, b & c and they're going to leave Apple in the dust blah blah blah. Then when we here rumors that Apple is also working on a, b & c we get Apple is a "me too" company now, can't innovate anymore blah blah blah. Around here it's basically heads I win tails you lose. No matter what Apple does it's never the right thing.

Well I think there is truth in that but you left out the corollary: just as haters are gonna hate, lovers are gonna love. Either end of the spectrum there is a certain blindness that guides each respective sides opinion of Apple.

I seriously doubt that Apple just now decided to come up with a home Siri controlled speaker. More likely they are just one of the last to push one out. They were not first with the MP3 player or smartphone either, so there is that. Just the same I'm not sold that this is a product Apple needs or should market as its own. Licensing out Siri as part of HomeKit seems the better route -- let partners soak up that gravy if its there. It's really HomeKit that needs some loving by Apple. Apple announced it, what 3 years ago, and the # of home automation products that are compatible is paper thin.

 

[jlasoon]

I do that with my iPhone, except I use a case--well at least before I did. Now I just simply moved over to an S7 and don't regret it one bit.

Exactly, I'm using a 6p - I haven't looked back in years. Incredible what you get for the money on the Google side of things. The only Apple product I have left is my MacPro - and I'm not paying $5,000 for 2013 tech. Might have to go back to Windows soon.

 

[nope7308]

And in other cases the stuff Siri "can't" say, it returns from Bing results....... I just tried this and it worked, so i dunno where u were coming from. I would not fault siri, just because it automated something I would have otherwise needed to open a browser on the web to see an extract.

Huh? I meant that Siri could not accurately transcribe what I was saying. I'm born and raised in Canada, I only speak English, and I don't have a heavy accent. There's simply no excuse for this. Siri is and always has been a half-baked product with no real-world application. If I try to use Siri to send a text message while driving, it ends up calling a pizza place. I'm not even joking.

Frankly, if I worked at Apple, I wouldn't want my name associated with Siri. I'd rate it as more useless than Ping!

Yep, I went there.

 

[American Hero]

Exactly, I'm using a 6p - I haven't looked back in years. Incredible what you get for the money on the Google side of things. The only Apple product I have left is my MacPro - and I'm not paying $5,000 for 2013 tech. Might have to go back to Windows soon.

The only Apple product I have left is my Mac Mini that I bought a few months ago--It's so slow sometimes I've considered bringing my Dell which runs Windows 10 back to the office to replace it.