Apple Siri Speaker Poised to Take on Amazon Echo Michael Kwan May 31, 2017 News Amazon has its Echo family of smart speakers, including one with a touchscreen. Harmon Kardon has a smart speaker and it looks like Microsoft wants to challenge in this space too. And let’s not forget about Google Home and the recently revealed Essential Home by Andy Rubin. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that an Apple Siri speaker is in the works. What might be more surprising is that it’s a lot closer than you might think. Based on numerous rumblings on the Internet, the upcoming Apple WWDC event will include the announcement of a smart speaker powered by Siri. As you might imagine, it’ll work very similarly to how Alexa operates on the Amazon Echo or you can do things with Google Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana, except it’s doing it with Siri. The actual name of the hardware has yet to surface, so we’ll just go with Siri Speaker for now. From what we hear, the device will come with Beats audio technology for the optimal sound experience. In this way, it’s not just about asking a series of random questions and requests to Siri, but also for enjoying music. That’s where the rumors of virtual surround sound also come into play. Like the Echo Show, it might also have a touchscreen if recent comments by Apple exec Phil Schiller are to be believed. “There’s many moments where a voice assistant is really beneficial,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean you’d never want a screen.” Also rumored for WWDC are updates to Apple’s full suite of operating systems, including iOS 11, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. The 2017 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference takes place from June 5 to June 9 at the San Jose Convention Center. Share This With The World!
