What’s the story with the Apple Siri Smart Speaker, aka Apple’s Amazon killer? When Amazon launched the Echo smart speaker in November 2014, the smart home scene gained instant traction. Echo has had unparalleled success – reports say more than 20 million Echo units were sold last year. Ever since, tech companies have been building Amazon Echo competitors. Most notably, Google released Google Home. But Apple has still not come to market with a smart speaker product.
No Apple Smart Speaker Today
Fast-forward two years since its initial widespread release (Amazon launched Echo in June 2015 for the United States) and Echo is firmly holding its own, despite the growing competition. Google Home comes first to mind, probably the biggest rival Echo currently has. Then, you have the ivee Voice, Triby smart speaker (also powered by Alexa), Lenovo Smart Assistant and lots of others. Heck, even Microsoft is in for the ride, teaming up with premium audio maker Harman Kardon.
Yet, noticeably, something is missing. Better yet – someone. Among the myriad of tech companies entangled in the smart home management, one name you won’t find in the list is Apple. The company that defined much of the tech world for the past two decades is absent from the current proceedings. You can chalk it up to a number of different reasons – the company’s unwillingness to refrain too much from the winning formula, its slow reactive stance toward smart home or anything you can think of as an excuse or a valid reason for one the mightiest companies in the world not to have a player in the smart home scheme. The truth remains – there is no Echo-like Apple product on the market, even if the company practically lives off its hardware. Will there be an Amazon Echo competitor from the Cupertino company? Now that is an entirely different story.
Apple Speaker rumors
If anything, we’ll always have rumors to entertain us when it comes to Apple. A constant magnet for speculations, there have been numerous reports of the company making an Amazon Echo competitor. The most substantial one came from Bloomberg back in September last year, saying Apple was working on an Echo-like smart-home device that would act a central hub for other smart appliances. While many speculated within the confines of that report, rumors of Apple’s Echo-like device gained serious traction more recently. Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller added fuel to fire in an interview with Gadgets360 at the beginning of May. Schiller noted that a screen, in addition to voice assistance, would be a winning formula with smart home hubs.
The comment was a response to a question about the current smart home hubs. Interestingly, they were in line with growing speculation that Apple was indeed planning its very own smart home hub. The device would, naturally, feature Siri as the personal assistant in charge to execute voice commands. Additionally, it would support third-party apps to allow users the control over other smart home devices. Another report suggests it would cost more than Amazon Echo (now retailing at $179.99) and be on-par with iPhone 6s in terms of speed and power. All in all, it would be your standard, run-of-the-mill smart home hub that would be better and faster and sport a familiar logo. Reportedly, there is a good chance Apple will announce the mystery device at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this June. At least some of the speculations will be shed then.
No confirmation of a Siri Speaker from Apple
As is the practice with Apple rumors and speculations, Schiller didn’t confirm if such a device is in the works. There’s no surprise there but his comments on the competition and one particular feature they are missing – a screen – are so far the best indication Apple is, in fact, working on a an Apple speaker device that would serve as a central point of a smart home, albeit with an added bonus of a display. Coupled with Siri, it would be a major advantage for the company whose is primarily known as a hardware company. With Siri still being the number one voice agent for iPhone, the built-in display device would certainly find its audience.
If the device sees the light of day in June this year, it will be exactly two years after the launch of Amazon Echo. Why the change of heart? We know Apple has been investing in the smart home by focusing on the software aspect of it. The company very much believes smartphones will be the central piece of hardware for smart home management. That is why it pushed for iPhone to easily connect to those devices to control them without the need for another piece of hardware.
However, things changed probably due to the rapid expansion of the smart home market. It has grown so much that it has simply become too big for Apple to sit idly and ignore it. Perhaps the company has waited too long and did nothing (or very little) in terms of smart speaker hardware. In the meantime, Amazon introduced Echo Show, a rectangular version of Echo with a 7″ touchscreen display. The device also sports a camera and a bunch of other welcome features. It’s still too early to tell how well the device is received but it’s exactly what Schiller was talking about. If Apple ever releases its Echo competitor, it remains to be seen if it will be more in line with Echo or sport a display like Echo Show. Either way, we won’t have to wait too long to see what the Silicon Valley company has in store.
Conclusion
There is nothing definitive on the table at the moment with regards to an Apple speaker. There are talks about an Echo-like device, somewhat supported by comments from high-ranking officials in the company. Still, there is nothing rock solid that we can put our finger on. That is just the way it goes with Apple sometimes (usually, more than often). At this point, it’s a waiting game. Amazon’s latest offering has the chance to cement its position as the one smart home hub. More so, the company could further distance itself from Google and Apple by being the first to fill the gap. Even so, it’s still unclear if the Apple version of Echo will have a screen. That is if there is such a device in the works, to begin with.
Chances are, there will be a Siri-based Apple speaker device. Too much is at stake here and all the evidence so far shows the mystery device will soon see the light of day. There is much uncertainty now but luckily, WWDC is just around the corner. Hopefully, things will be much clearer then.