Rumored Siri Speaker in Production Ahead of Possible WWDC Debut

[Juicy Box]

Am I the only one who thinks these things are useless? I mean, why would you not want to just raise your wrist and ask Siri something there? You have to be in the specific room to use one of these...

Well, then you need something strapped to your body......

You could just use your iPhone.

 

[hawkeye_a]

So a talking trashcan...nice.

So much more personality here...

 

[yanki01]

Am I the only one who thinks these things are useless? I mean, why would you not want to just raise your wrist and ask Siri something there? You have to be in the specific room to use one of these...

it's all personal preference and IMO looks to be more of a cool house toy. still, i see no point in them. Since Siri came out - i think I've honestly used it a handful of times. it doesn't understand you half of the time.

 

[imran5720]

I think Apple will unveil it at WWDC alongside advancements in Siri and new APIs, and say that it's launching in autumn. This will give developers time to add support for it ahead of launch. Apple will again show it at the autumn iPhone event, maybe show something "extra" about it, and announce the pricing/release date info.

I tend to think that Apple will price something like this in the $99-149 range, and will want you to buy several for your house. I think such a device will also act as a mesh WiFi network, enabling better coverage throughout the home. This device will also act as a HomeKit hub, and having them scattered around the home will also increase range for bluetooth smart devices. It will also act as an AirPlay speaker, and it will be a good quality one. The secret announcement in September might be that these also act as wireless charging basestations, but that seems increasingly unlikely.

Spoiler: How do you add such spoiler button

 

[collegitdept]

Such as, the iPhone, iPad... and the Macintosh?

Comments like these are simply coming from fanboys who can't understand the usefulness of voice UI or AI because Siri is *SOO* bad that it's useless.

So of course fanboys can't see the usefulness of such a product

 

[pallymore]

Do we all agree that smart speakers are useless garbage nobody wants?

I'm one of the first to get Amazon Echo and I use it every day.
Call me lazy but I use it to:
* Turn on and off different lights in my house;
* Control my ACs
* Set a timer (when I'm cooking, or playing with my cat)
* Check the traffic before I leave
* Check the weather forecast
* Listen to news
(I do the last three when I'm changing clothes and packing for the day)

Occasionally I use it to do other things like set an one-off alarm, or convert units. I don't usually use it to listen to music.
I was skeptical when I first received my Echo but I have to say it vastly exceeded my expectations.

Competition is always welcomed. But I think one of the big reasons of Echo / Google Home 's success is their openness to third party integrations - I don't have to buy everything(or anything) from Amazon in order to make my smart home setup work.

It will be interesting to see what Apple is going to offer in this space.

 

[Razeus]

Neat!

Too bad about Siri though.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I feel confident that Siri will be comparable to Alexa and Google assistant with better microphones.

 

[jamisonbaines]

Let's just hope that the Siri Smart Speaker doesn't get murdered by Amazon Echo the way Apple Music got by Spotify.. Too late once again maybe?

i prefer apple music to spotify so yea hopefully that is the case

i do like the way spotify works across multiple devices though. ie song playing on ps4, add to your library from your phone.

 

[macduke]

Spoiler: How do you add such spoiler button

Spoiler: Here is the answer

[SPOILER="I own Apple stuff"]15" rMBP · 2.6GHz i7 · 16GB RAM · 512GB SSD · Work: 27" iMac · 3.4GHz i7 · 16GB RAM · 1TB Fusion
ETC…[/SPOILER]

 

[JamesPDX]

This will cost at least $599. Drill bits aren't cheap.

 

[collegitdept]

I'm one of the first to get Amazon Echo and I use it every day.
Call me lazy but I use it to:
* Turn on and off different lights in my house;
* Control my ACs
* Set a timer (when I'm cooking, or playing with my cat)
* Check the traffic before I leave
* Check the weather forecast
* Listen to news
(I do the last three when I'm changing clothes and packing for the day)

Occasionally I use it to do other things like set an one-off alarm, or convert units. I don't usually use it to listen to music.
I was skeptical when I first received my Echo but I have to say it vastly exceeded my expectations.

Competition is always welcomed. But I think one of the big reasons of Echo / Google Home 's success is their openness to third party integrations - I don't have to buy everything(or anything) from Amazon in order to make my smart home setup work.

It will be interesting to see what Apple is going to offer in this space.

How? That's my biggest question about Apple and their general future! "HOW?"

Tim Cook has effectively foreclosed on Apple's ability to become a player in AI, and he's the antithesis of a "cloud" CEO..... I don't see a bright future for Apple because AI will become pervasive in everything.

AI is the next internet

And Tim Cook refuses to become a serious AI player.

 

[macjonny1]

Why can a company produce such beautiful hardware but fail in software development? Siri is a horrible experience. For the love of God Apple please hire some talent to produce great software. You have billions of dollars to spend. Poach the best developers you can. Pay above market. Whatever you need to do to make your software great. Make Apple great again.

 

[cardfan]

Sorry Apple..no thanks.

 

[soanis]

So a talking trashcan...nice.

AFA looks are concerned; I doubt Apple would want to bring out their new product with a similar design to that of an admitted user disappointment, let alone make it look like a trash can, since it's going to be placed centrally, be visible and serve as a hi-fi speaker.

 

[Vjosullivan]

The product nobody asked for.

So was the iPhone and the iPad.

 

[Neepman]

Wow. Is there any way apple could become more of "me too" company?

 

[collegitdept]

Why can a company produce such beautiful hardware but fail in software development? Siri is a horrible experience. For the love of God Apple please hire some talent to produce great software. You have billions of dollars to spend. Poach the best developers you can. Pay above market. Whatever you need to do to make your software great. Make Apple great again.

Why? Because of Tim Cook

AI is a no go because of privacy

Working cloud services disrupts iPhone hardware sales (elongates hardware upgrade cycles)

 

[Speechless]

They are going to have to display a Siri that performs miracles on that stage because she is SUPER behind in innovation.

 

[hashholly]

if home kit plugs didn't suck I would be more excited about this.

 

[collegitdept]

They are going to have to display a Siri that performs miracles on that stage because she is SUPER behind in innovation.

Not going to happen

Tim Cook foreclosed on Apple's future in AI because of privacy

Apple doesn't have the data and doesn't have the talent (serious brain drain in the AI area).... the only way Apple will be able to attract AI talent is via acquisitions.

And Apple simply isn't serious about AI acquisitions..... and after Apple acquires an AI company, most of the AI talent would rather leave to more serious companies in AI anyway.

Apple's future is already foreclosed upon. Siri is the great representation of the story of Apple (and going forward)

 

[920R]

if this siri isn't more capable, then it will be completely worthless

I'll just wait for version two. Always wait for the second version of a new Apple product.

 

[CrystalQuest76]

I don't even use Siri on a device I have literally ALWAYS with me because it's so frustrating to ask her anything. Even more senseless on Apple TV and Mac IMO.

It may be your accent or possibly how you make requests to Siri. I use it all the time. I have learned that Siri wants questions/requests phrased a certain way. I have gotten her to set appointments for me often, as well as search for answers to questions. I have also used her to send text messages to specified individuals. If the request is not phrased the right way, then she can't do it. Its a computer not an android from TV.

 

[collegitdept]

I'll just wait for version two. Always wait for the second version of a new Apple product.

Siri isn't a hardware issue.

It's been 6+ years and Siri has barely improved. And comparatively to Google Now/Assistant/Home and Amazon Alexa - Siri has gotten much worse


Siri will never be able to stay competitive under Tim Cook, they don't have the data or the talent

 

[Mr. Skeleton]

I don't understand why Apple is developing a "me too" product that, due to their draconian rules for third-party integration, is guaranteed to be less compelling than the competition. The thing that makes Echo and Google Home so interesting are the integrations, and we all know that Apple will have this thing locked down for at least two years, and then they'll just ever so slightly crack the door open.

They need a real come to Jesus moment here. They need to admit that, despite their multi-year lead, they blew it with Siri. They should cut bait and integrate with one of the other two options. At the same time the entire Siri team needs to be shown the door.

You talk as if there is no reason for Apple to lock down their devices versus having wide open at first.

Maybe people don't want a government backdoors, having their IOT's hacked, or just want their stuff secure and private?

But keep astroturfing that Apple has irreversibly failed, by all means