Apple Isn't Working On Amazon Echo-Like Speaker? At WWDC, Company Reportedly Making Siri Omnipresent AI Assistant Across Devices

Reports emerged Tuesday that Apple might be working on a Siri-based speaker called Siri Hub, which would compete with the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Now it seems the rumor was unfounded — according to more recent reports, the company is in no hurry to launch a direct rival to Google and Amazon’s offerings.

Rather, the company is working on making the voice assistant “omnipresent AI assistant across devices,” Tech Times reported Tuesday, citing unnamed Apple sources.

Apple’s approach seems pragmatic since the company faces a lot of competition when it comes to voice assistant functionality. While Apple had the first mover advantage with Siri, it was diluted when Google came out with its artificial intelligence (AI)-based Assistant. While Amazon has its Alexa voice assistant, HTC has the Sense Companion and Samsung is working on Bixby, Apple currently just has the old version of Siri, which has been more or less the same since it was released with the iPhone 4. The only development since has been that Siri functionality was introduced on Apple MacBooks at WWDC 2016.

All these other assistants actually evolve according to user behavior, unlike Siri which can do basic tasks such as answer queries using Google search or conduct conversation based on previously saved responses. At most, you can access the calendar and clock and set reminders and alarms. But AI-based smart voice assistants can actually do much more, including letting users make purchases by using just their voice.

To match up, Apple is expected to come out with an evolved version of Siri rather than a full-fledged smart speaker at WWDC 2017. The company acquired Australian start-up Turi in August 2016, which lets developers create apps with machine learning and AI capabilities.

WWDC 2017 is expected to be held in San Jose, California, in June 2017.