By now, most people are familiar with Amazon’s Echo speaker lineup and Alexa assistant. Amazon has had a huge head start over others with Alexa and it most certainly dominates the market. Recently, Google jumped into the game with Google Home and seem to be doing well with it. Now the rumor of a Siri speaker from Apple is gaining traction with some hinting at a June WWDC release. This is a rumor that hasn’t seen any major image or design leaks.
Usually at some point we see either concepts, blueprints, patent drawings, or something for an upcoming Apple product. The Siri speaker has not been on the radar much so these rumors could very well be just rumors. Other sites are pointing to noted Apple analyst, KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims Apple will indeed announce an AI assistant. Others are pointing to leaker Sonny Dickson’s Tweet about Apple releasing a Siri speaker soon.
Apple is currently finalising designs for their Alexa competitor, expected to be marketed as a Siri/AirPlay device.
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) April 27, 2017
Apple leaker Sonny Dickson predicted the launch of a Siri Speaker product at WWDC last week. Dickson said the device had a trashcan Mac Pro inspired style design; Kuo does not give insight into the product’s physical appearance.
KGI says that Apple’s entrance into this space will headline superior acoustics performance and computing power, with a similar integrated SoC as the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S processors. Kuo indicates the obvious integrations with Siri, iOS and Mac, and AirPlay.
Even if Dickson and Kuo are correct in their predictions. Apple’s Siri software isn’t nearly as good as Alexa or Google Assistant. Apple would have a lot of work ahead to make Siri more than just a novelty. It will be interesting to see if the Siri speaker does come to market and just how well it does against Amazon’s Alexa.
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