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

[samcraig]

Apple could kill Amazon in this by expanding Siri in this way allowing you to get the same from your iPhone or iPad, both presumably more portable than the Echo.

Can you elaborate on what you mean? The whole purpose is a standalone device that doesn't use a phone or tablet. Although you can access and control the Echo from the app (a bit). Siri is already on the iphone and iPad.

Also - Amazon now has portable devices that run on a rechargeable battery - that can be more portable. The echo itself is not really meant to move.

I'm intrigued by google home because of the power of the google search engine/google assistant attached to it. Also, it's smaller and if the price is right - you can buy a few and they can be linked. That's pretty cool.

 

[inkswamp]

Seems to be whatever Google does Apple copies.

And yet, somehow Apple is the yardstick by which everything else is measured. Must be a conspiracy.

 

[samcraig]

And yet, somehow Apple is the yardstick by which everything else is measured. Must be a conspiracy.

Not everything. I certainly don't think Apple TV is the yardstick for streaming. I don't think that the Apple Watch is a yardstick. A great entry - and ONE basis of comparison - but it's not the "gold standard." I also don't think Siri and Maps and other software solutions are yardsticks against their competition.

 

[inkswamp]

Can you elaborate on what you mean? The whole purpose is a standalone device that doesn't use a phone or tablet. Although you can access and control the Echo from the app (a bit). Siri is already on the iphone and iPad.

Also - Amazon now has portable devices that run on a rechargeable battery - that can be more portable. The echo itself is not really meant to move.

I'm intrigued by google home because of the power of the google search engine/google assistant attached to it. Also, it's smaller and if the price is right - you can buy a few and they can be linked. That's pretty cool.

Watch Amazon's promo for Echo. They gloss over the portability issue by saying (at 1:24) "And dad loves that Echo plugs in so we never have to charge it." But, if it's plugged in and I only own one, then I'm forced to unplug it, pack the thing around from room to room and plug it back in to get the same "convenience" they show in the promo.

I assume it charges while plugged in and you can use it for a limited time while not on wall power but then you're back to managing when it's plugged in and charging which contradicts what Amazon's promo implies about it being convenient.

To me, having a phone in my back pocket that does what the Echo does would solve all those hassles. Take it out, set it down and start speaking requests.

 

[69650]

And yet, somehow Apple is the yardstick by which everything else is measured. Must be a conspiracy.

Apple copying Google is the same as Samsung copying Apple.

I would rather see Apple innovate and create new products.

 

[Mikel30]

Siri is going to need some major work before this becomes usable.

 

[danranda]

It would be interesting if they took a multifaceted approach.
What if they included the same exact always on Siri into not just an AppleTV 4, but how about a Time Capsule and Airport Extreme and even express. There's definitely enough room in an airport extreme and time capsule for the microphones and speakers at least. And those devices are literally "always on"

 

[samcraig]

Watch Amazon's promo for Echo. They gloss over the portability issue by saying (at 1:24) "And dad loves that Echo plugs in so we never have to charge it." But, if it's plugged in and I only own one, then I'm forced to unplug it, pack the thing around from room to room and plug it back in to get the same "convenience" they show in the promo.

I assume it charges while plugged in and you can use it for a limited time while not on wall power but then you're back to managing when it's plugged in and charging which contradicts what Amazon's promo implies about it being convenient.

To me, having a phone in my back pocket that does what the Echo does would solve all those hassles. Take it out, set it down and start speaking requests.

The echo is not portable. It has no batteries. OTHER products just released are the ones that are portable. And I think they are more referencing far field mics in that you can be very far from the device and have it respond. Or maybe they have more than one device in the vide.

Don't you already have a phone with Siri that does what Siri does? On Android, You can use Google Now to make inquiries and play music - just have your volume turned up. That's why I don't understand your question. What do you think Echo does that the iPhone/iPad doesn't? The point is that it's a "smart" speaker that doesn't need to use your phone/iPad.

 

[erinsarah]

I'm okay with this as long as it answers one question...

"Hey Siri, where the heck did I leave my phone this time"?

But in all seriousness, I've lightly contemplated getting an Echo. granted it would hang out on the borderline of being a toy, but it might come in handy once in a while. The one thing (other than not caring to dispose of my income in this way) that's stopped me is the lack of integration into our household's Apple ecosystem. Thus, this new rumor is of interest to me. I've been waiting and hoping that "hey siri" will some day work on the Mac. I suspect that, if this product sees the light of day, ALL the apple devices in my house will some day respond to me in grand fashion without me having to get up from the couch.

 

[doelcm82]

Because they were first to which product or market exactly?

All of them, of course!

 

[Dr.Chroma]

Regardless of what Apple Develops, Siri is in need of help. A lot of great improvements have been made in the recent years, but it's evident Siri is falling behind. Viv, Google Voice and Amazons Echo are creating a more versatile and personal experience.

Siri is great for scheduling, notes and E-mails, but fails to expand beyond that. I think developers can hopefully change or add additional features in which will be helpful to further Siri.

 

[groovyd]

I don't care who's idea this was first but Apple selling a Siri version of such a device that works with home-kit devices is pure genius and i will be one of those day one buyers.

 

[Analog Kid]

The Echo is a pretty slick product, but Amazon's getting wishy-washy on encryption lately has taken that of my wish list.

I'll start to feel better about this whole concept though when the NLP happens locally...

 

[duffman9000]

The article said Apple's been working on it since before the Echo was even released. As usual, Apple takes the time to get the product right and then releases it. When I tried an Echo, I was unimpressed. I hope to be impressed by another Apple product.

As usual? If that were true Siri would have been in the oven at least another 2 years.
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I deleted google maps some time ago since I stopped using it. Safe to say that the maps issue is largely behind Apple. Still room to get better, but googles advantage in that space has been blunted.

Blunted only in the sense that Apple Maps is used more than Google Maps just because it's the default app. Blunted in data? No. Blunted in search to locate the correct location? Hell no. Not only hell no it's laughably no. Attach laughter to any product that uses Apple "search".

 

[Jakexb]

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

This comment is in every thread.

 

[coolfactor]

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.

Which is EXACTLY while Apple has an opportunity to out-do the competition by building in an on-device voice recognition chip into all of their products that they can't match. They have the CPU (A-series), the motion co-processor (M-series), and now it's time for the voice-recognition (V-series) chip.

I know that I sound like a broken record stating this again and again, but man... it just seems so obvious! The reason that Apple now seems like a me-too company is because technology has evolved and is now accessible to more companies. Open-source solutions are growing, developer communities are growing. Apple can no longer compete solely on features or aesthetic design, they must compete on performance. Greatness. Awesomeness. Create the WOW factor that headlined the rebirth of Apple back in the late 90s. Being first doesn't matter, but being the best does.

 

[mantan]

Apple copying Google is the same as Samsung copying Apple.

I would rather see Apple innovate and create new products.

You mean Samsung used to copy Apple.....

The rumors of the 2017 iPhone OLED (Samsung has), waterproof (Samsung has), wireless charging (Samsung has)....

 

[MacAddict1978]

You think they're too embarrassed to buy Viv? The company started by the guys who invented Siri, after Apple wouldn't listen to what they wanted to do? Lol. Plus Viv is already working with developers.

Viv > Siri

Viv would never sell to Apple after they screwed them after the Siri purchase and butchered their great app into a half baked bafoon. There is much bad blood. The founders of Siri left Apple for a reason.
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While Siri may not have been the first personal assistant in the market, it certainly had the mindshare of the public.

This just seems like Apple was asleep at the wheel and now finds itself in catchup mode.

Mindshare of the public? Siri is publicly seen as a joke and something to make fun of. (And rightfully so.)

 

[marklight]

It really does feel like apple is in 3rd place anymore with new tech. I welcome more competition in this space as I love my amazon echo and would love to have a more capable client. Iltll be interesting to see how amazon, google, and apple push each other in this category.

 

[jlc1978]

While Siri may not have been the first personal assistant in the market, it certainly had the mindshare of the public.

This just seems like Apple was asleep at the wheel and now finds itself in catchup mode.

Being a fast follower isn't always a bad idea; although Apple has apparently been working on this for a while. If Apple integrates it with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, HomeKit and AppleTV it would be very useful. Use the new remote as an input device so I could carry it around and turn on my devices would be great, along with the ability to do so remotely from an Apple device would be killer.

Add in the ability of AppleTV to display messages such as incoming calls and messages on screen while watching something and you're getting closer to one integrated home system.

 

[MisterK]

This is a bit pie in the sky, but I'd like to see Apple embrace the idea of enchantment. I've been banging the drum on David L. Rosie's book Enchanted Objects for some time. Briefly, the book explores the idea that we've consolidated the 'magic' of our tech into the single Swiss Army knife of our smartphones. Rose suggests viewing the Internet of Things through the lens of imbuing everything with technological magic. He sees a future that looks more like fantasy than traditional sci-fi. Through this lens, we get umbrellas whose handles that glow on days it's going to rain, electricians whose flashlights are actually projectors showing wiring before they break drywall, a plastic flower you give to your child that will always point towards you — a far easier UX for a toddler than GPS. I find it compelling. In a practical sense, it means we can look to fairy tales for inspiration. Magic mirrors, flying carpets, genie bottles and, in this case, a crystal ball.

Imagine the Amazon Echo or Google Home as a crystal ball. Apple's crystal ball Siri would speak back to you but it would also show you images. We've asked Siri today's weather a million times but it becomes novel again if it's showing you the snowstorm while it's telling you. You can ask to Find Your Friends but showing you Street View at the same time?! Amazing. Sports scores, encyclopedic information, asking about a plant or animal, being used as an earth globe, timers as hourglasses, visualizers while music is playing...

Apple doesn't have the same AI chops as Google so they'll need a gimmick to compete. They also often have a premium price over their competitors. Maybe not in the first iteration, but a crystal ball is a compelling ultimate form for this type of device.

 

[vvswarup]

I certainly wouldn't describe Apple as trustworthy these days. For them, privacy and security are simply another marketing ploy. Look behind the marketing hype and their image, and they are an extremely untrustworthy and unpleasant company. Some of their behaviour borders on that of white collar crime (their tax evasion strategies are a good example of this). Other areas include their false claims about their products, some of which border on fraud (they claimed, for example that iOS 9 would speed up phones, when it had the opposite effect).

If Apple were actually serious about security, they would bring in universal client side encryption ON EVERYTHING they produce. The fact they haven't done this speaks for itself. Apple aren't any better than than the alternatives at all, they just pretend to be, like they pretend to make better hardware and software, and they pretend to be innovative. The very nature of their entire business is a huge lie.

Apple, once you get behind the image, has a lot in common with criminal organisations who portray a respectable image in order to be able to continue with business as usual.

You seem to be describing Google to tee. Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt is on record for saying in response to user privacy concerns that if someone had something they didn't want others knowing about, they probably shouldn't be doing it in the first place. The fact that a person with such a deplorable attitude towards user privacy is still in a position of power speaks volumes about Google.

It makes no difference though. All Google has to do is to trot out some half-baked product like smart glasses or contacts or build castles in the air droning on about internet balloons and everyone drinks the Google-Aide by the gallon. I have long suspected that Google dabbles in stuff like self-driving cars, healthcare-related research, Internet balloons, and robotics just to distract the public from the fact that it's in the business of knowing everything there is to know about people's lives. One could say that Google portrays the image of a corporation that's really interested in tripe like "making the world a better place" just to continue with business as usual and sidetrack the public.

 

[jeremiah256]

This is a bit pie in the sky, but I'd like to see Apple embrace the idea of enchantment. I've been banging the drum on David L. Rosie's book Enchanted Objects for some time. Briefly, the book explores the idea that we've consolidated the 'magic' of our tech into the single Swiss Army knife of our smartphones. Rose suggests viewing the Internet of Things through the lens of imbuing everything with technological magic. He sees a future that looks more like fantasy than traditional sci-fi. Through this lens, we get umbrellas whose handles that glow on days it's going to rain, electricians whose flashlights are actually projectors showing wiring before they break drywall, a plastic flower you give to your child that will always point towards you — a far easier UX for a toddler than GPS. I find it compelling. In a practical sense, it means we can look to fairy tales for inspiration. Magic mirrors, flying carpets, genie bottles and, in this case, a crystal ball.

Imagine the Amazon Echo or Google Home as a crystal ball. Apple's crystal ball Siri would speak back to you but it would also show you images. We've asked Siri today's weather a million times but it becomes novel again if it's showing you the snowstorm while it's telling you. You can ask to Find Your Friends but showing you Street View at the same time?! Amazing. Sports scores, encyclopedic information, asking about a plant or animal, being used as an earth globe, timers as hourglasses, visualizers while music is playing...

Apple doesn't have the same AI chops as Google so they'll need a gimmick to compete. They also often have a premium price over their competitors. Maybe not in the first iteration, but a crystal ball is a compelling ultimate form for this type of device.

Thanks - I've been looking for a book that explores this theme. However, I always find it unfortunate (and ironic) when a book on technology is more expensive in it's electronic format than the paperback and hardback (as is currently the case). Never-the-less, it's on my wish list.

 

[Jakexb]

Google doesn't even have a Google Home that they trusted to use for a live demo. The entire thing was a scripted video and the only ship date they could commit to was "later this year". Honestly feels like they knew they needed to show something like this year before Apple did.

Here's a bet: Apple's version will ship before Google Home.

 

[Solomani]

I can unambiguously say Apple is the ONLY manufacturer of such a product that I would trust to listen to everything going on in my home 24/7. The others are simply not trustworthy.

Just you wait until the Huawei and Xiaomi "Listening Devices" come into market. They will spy on you, sending all your information, your data, your lifestyle back to the Chinese PLA's intelligence branch.