Gene Munster Shares WWDC Predictions: Beats Product With Siri Integration, Improvements to AI and AR

[MacRumors]

Ahead of next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster today shared his predictions for the features and services that Apple will unveil during the event.

Munster expects Apple to debut new Siri, AR, AI, and Digital Health functionality, including a Beats-branded accessory (presumably a speaker) that includes Siri integration, much like the HomePod. Some of Munster's predictions have been previously covered in rumors shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, but Siri integration in a lower-cost Beats product is a new prediction.

We expect Monday's keynote to be highlighted by extending the reach of Siri (most likely adding new domains, opening HomePod to more capabilities, and integrating Spotlight), along with additional AI tools (new Core ML extensions).

We also anticipate new features around digital health (privacy and device management) and ARKit (development tools).

Expect Siri integration with Beats.

Collectively, these announcements advance the ease of use and intelligence of Apple's mobile and desktop experiences.

According to Munster, Apple may be planning introduce a $250 Beats-branded product that will offer Siri integration similar to the HomePod, allowing Apple to "advance its digital assistant ambitions" with a more affordable option. Apple currently sells a Beats Pill+ speaker for $179.95, and the device has not been updated in some time.

Apple is going to announce a new "Decade Collection" at WWDC according to a Best Buy leak, but that collection is limited to existing headphones in new colorways and does not appear include new products or a new speaker. It's possible that Apple does have a new Beats product ready to unveil, and a recent somewhat sketchy rumor did suggest that Apple's "low-priced" HomePod would be under the Beats by Dre branding.

That rumor would make some sense if Apple is indeed planning on introducing a Beats-branded speaker product that includes Siri integration. Siri competitor Alexa is available as an option on many speakers outside of Amazon's own, and Apple could be planning to follow in Amazon's footsteps. Obviously, though, it's not clear if the rumor and/or Munster's prediction are accurate.

Munster has several other predictions for features and services coming at WWDC. Specifically, he expects Apple to introduce new Siri domains, with support for "things like navigation and email" and integrated Spotlight Search to better improve Siri's performance compared to Alexa and Cortana, the AI assistants used by Amazon and Microsoft, respectively.

Munster also believes Apple will introduce new domains for CoreML, the machine learning SDK that Apple introduced with the launch of iOS 11. Munster doesn't offer details on what the new domains might be, but at the current time, CoreML offers features for developers like real time image recognition, search ranking, text prediction, handwriting recognition, face detection, music tagging, text summarization, and more.

Previous rumors have said Apple plans to introduce support for multiplayer augmented reality games, and Munster believes Apple will also introduce "subtle new developer tools" to improve AR development and lead to more compelling AR apps.

Similarly, rumors have indicated Apple is working on a Digital Health tool that will let parents better monitor the amount of time children are spending on iOS devices. Munster says Apple could also include additional features that notify users when data is being shared with developers and new device management features aimed at curbing "screen time and digital anxiety."

Munster's full range of predictions for WWDC can be read on Loup Ventures, and our iOS 12 roundup contains all of the other iOS-related rumors that we've heard thus far.

Article Link: Gene Munster Shares WWDC Predictions: Beats Product With Siri Integration, Improvements to AI and AR

 

[usersince86]

How about Siri improvements first? (Or at least simultaneously)

 

[Dydegu]

"Siri integration with Beats."

Finally. The WWDC we've all been waiting for.

 

[jonnysods]

Hopefully there's more than this!

Apple has been a little shy when it comes to product releases lately

 

[ali5289]

I am not sure why blogs continue to share information from Munster. He's never been credible. Anyone of us that reads any Apple blogs on a daily basis can make better predictions than this guy.

 

[centauratlas]

How about Siri improvements first? (Or at least simultaneously)

How about Mac updates! You know, the platform that runs Xcode which developers use to develop.

 

[69650]

Sadly I’m not expecting to see anything exciting announced at WWDC.

 

[macbeta]

After seeing what others like google can do with voice and integration, apple have a lot of work to do. Slapping the existing Siri into a beats product sounds like a waste of time.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Gene Munster — seriously, Mac Rumors? The guy who went on for years that Apple was "just about" to release a television? The guy who would get the color of the sky wrong in his analysis?

If I send you some predictions, will you print them as rumors? Because there's not much difference between that and printing whatever Munster is passing off as analysis and prognostication.

 

[agsystems]

Muster useless hard hitting predictions- bring back Ming chin

 

[Reapro]

Hey Gene, when is that Apple television coming? I predict that Apple will release iOS 12 this year and introduce at least one new iPhone. You can quote me if you want.

 

[Rogifan]

Gene Muster doesn’t know squat. He has zero inside information.

 

[Carlanga]

lmao seems $250 is the cheap siri speaker and is beats branded... They clearly have no idea how to get into the home assistant market.

 

[lilrush]

Dear Apple, launch iMac 2018 and I will throw my wallet at you.

 

[69Mustang]

Siri on Beats? This doesn't really make sense to me. I don't even think people really associate Beats with Apple. Beats has their own following independent of their parent. One of the reasons Apple keeps the brand running. Siri's kind of an albatross. One that I wouldn't want hanging around my neck if I'm Beats.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

lmao seems $250 is the cheap siri speaker and is beats branded... They clearly have no idea how to get into the home assistant market.

Apple has done nothing to position the HomePod as a home assistant. That's not the market they're going after at all. Did you bother to watch the Keynote or look at the HomePod page on the Apple website? If you had, you'd have noticed that they talked about music for 90% of the presentation. It wasn't until the very end that they quickly mentioned some Siri pieces. If you go to the website, you see the exact same thing. 90% of the webpage is devoted to music and sound quality. It's not until the end where they mention Siri.

It's very clear that Apple is not marketing the HomePod as a home assistant. It's about music first and foremost. Yes, it has Siri capabilities but it's not at all meant to be used in the ways the Alexa and Google Home are. Apple hasn't positioned it that way at all.

 

[bodonnell202]

Might be exciting if Siri was remotely useful. Right now I’d rather be trapped in a room with all of my exes than try to talk with Siri.

 

[tkermit]

Sadly I’m not expecting to see anything exciting announced at WWDC.

Me neither. I literally have no expectations. The good news is that this means I won't be disappointed regardless of what they announce. Could be all about Beats-branded accessories for all I care.

 

[Mascots]

Siri on Beats? This doesn't really make sense to me. I don't even think people really associate Beats with Apple.

I don't think it matters if it comes from Apple or not - just like the W1 is an Apple technology used in several relevant Beats products and benefits only the iOS ecosystem, I think Siri can be woven in the same.

 

[trip1ex]

boring. Hey guys Siri is going to be improved. zzzzz. AI and AR are going to be improved. zzzzzz. Beats Speaker with Siri. zzzzzz.

new macs are what we want to hear about. Maybe iPHone SE and iPad Pro. New OS features too. I heard a rumor we'll find out in 6 days.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Live market testing of ideas for future Apple-branded products. Excellent.

 

[69Mustang]

I don't think it matters if it comes from Apple or not - just like the W1 is an Apple technology used in several relevant Beats products and benefits only the iOS ecosystem, I think Siri can be woven in the same.

The difference is the W1 isn't a liability. It works, works well, and stands on it's own as an excellent piece of tech. Siri on the other hand? You'd be hard pressed to find a more universally maligned Apple property. The W1 brings something to the table. Siri...

 

[goobot]

lmao seems $250 is the cheap siri speaker and is beats branded... They clearly have no idea how to get into the home assistant market.

I would assume it is also portable.

 

[mariusignorello]

While I think it’s important, I think the whole “device usage health” thing is a very convenient excuse to distract Apple from advancing Siri (but probably have separate resources dedicated to it). I think they’ll overdo it (45 minutes of the keynote dedicated to it) and backburner Siri.

Just don’t make it another emoji thing where it sucks up all the attention.
[doublepost=1527642563][/doublepost]

Me neither. I literally have no expectations. The good news is that this means I won't be disappointed regardless of what they announce. Could be all about Beats-branded accessories for all I care.

What irks me is the “developer” part of WWDC is slowly being erased in favor of product announcements, political gatherings, etc. Let’s see some serious improvements to iOS, Mac, etc like back in the Jobs era (you know it’s true). WWDC literally sets the stage for Apple’s future innovation. If they can’t get WWDC right, then there’s a problem.

It’s a *developer* conference not a tech social gaggle party.

 

[vipergts2207]

Apple has done nothing to position the HomePod as a home assistant. That's not the market they're going after at all. Did you bother to watch the Keynote or look at the HomePod page on the Apple website? If you had, you'd have noticed that they talked about music for 90% of the presentation. It wasn't until the very end that they quickly mentioned some Siri pieces. If you go to the website, you see the exact same thing. 90% of the webpage is devoted to music and sound quality. It's not until the end where they mention Siri.

It's very clear that Apple is not marketing the HomePod as a home assistant. It's about music first and foremost. Yes, it has Siri capabilities but it's not at all meant to be used in the ways the Alexa and Google Home are. Apple hasn't positioned it that way at all.

Unfortunately, a home assistant is what people want. There are already a plethora of various types of speakers on the market and if you combine them with an ATV, you can even ‘Apple-fy’ them. I don’t think the market was clamoring for yet another speaker.