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Apple To Open Up Siri To Developers, Release An Amazon Echo Competitor (bgr.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BGR: According to a new report from The Information, Apple is finally ready to let Siri grow up. Specifically, the publication relays that Apple will finally offer official Siri APIs to developers, thus paving the way for third-party integrations, the kind that Amazon Echo users can't seem to get enough of. Things like ordering an Uber or pizza are currently impossible, because Siri is locked down by Apple. What's more, Apple is also reportedly working on a standalone device meant to compete with the Amazon Echo and Google's recently unveiled Google Home. If that's true, it's huge news -- Apple has been lacking any kind of smart home hub until now, but a Siri-powered device would be a serious play to get Apple into our homes. Google is the latest tech giant to announce a virtual home assistant. It unveiled Google Home, a small round gadget with microphones and speakers that listen and respond to your questions and commands.
Can we put Siri and Cortana in a sound proof room and let them fight it out?
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
If Apple maintains its privacy oriented stance I might actually consider one of these.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
This is the start of the "Hey we have that too" reaction to product RND
You mean like they did with that failed MP3 player of theirs? What was it called the iMP3 or something?
It'll probably cost double what the Echo does, and you'll have to buy a new one once a year.
Yes, because every single Apple machine turns into a pile of dust one year after it's bought.
You might choose to buy a new one every year because you get excited by the Apple event where the new one is introduced, but you don't have to do that. (I have to buy a new iPhone this year, but that's because next year it becomes an iPod touch with an extra useless radio. It still works, and is actually still mostly usable on the Intertubes.)
I have to give them credit here. If anything, Google or Apple should have been the first one to release the first "Echo". But complacency is one hell of a drug. Looks like they've been dipping into Microsoft's stash.
Precisely. MP3 players were quite common, and Apple loved the UI of the Creative player, so they made their own and ripped off the UI. And then slickly marketed it!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
It'll probably cost double what the Echo does
I have an Amazon Echo. I would gladly pay double for something twice as good. The Echo is nice, but it has a lot of limitations, and there is plenty of room for improvement. For instance, I can tell it to "turn off the kitchen light" and I can tell it to "set a timer for 5 minutes", but I can't tell it "in five minutes, turn off the kitchen light". Another nice feature would be to recognize individual voices of household members, so if my daughter says "play some music" it plays something she likes, and if I say "play some music" it knows I prefer Willie Nelson over Taylor Swift.
The summary didn't once mention the tech giant Google and their recent unveiling of Google Home.
The summary does mention Google Home. But this Apple announcement is way more interesting than the Google Home because it will have an open API. That will make a huge difference. A voice activated API opens up a world of possibilities. Google Home offers nothing new over the Amazon Echo.