iPhone 8 Rumors: Apple Will Enhance Siri To Compete With Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant

To keep up in the AI race against Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, Apple is working on an enhanced version of Siri for its iPhone 8 launch, Digitimes reported Tuesday.

Supply chain sources suggest Apple is responding to increased competition among smart assistants after the Amazon Echo and Google Home assistants gained popularity. The sources say Apple’s next iPhone lineup is expected to feature a better version of Siri.

In an effort to boost Siri’s capabilities Apple acquired Australian start-up Turi last August for $200 million. Turi lets developers create apps with machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Other smartphone sellers, including Samsung, Huawei, LG and Xiaomi are also likely to roll out models featuring AI apps in an effort to boost market shares this year, sources told Digitimes.

Google Pixel phones come with Google Assistant, but it’s somewhat limited. Google is “expected to promote the adoption of the Google Assistant by other smartphone vendors, noted the sources, adding that Xiaomi has already adopted the Google Assistant,” according to Digitimes.

Huawei, which unveiled its Huawei Mate 9 featuring Amazon’s Alexa, is the third largest smartphone seller worldwide. The company is reportedly trying to compete with rivals Apple and Samsung when it comes to AI to get the number one spot, sources said.

Meanwhile, LG is apparently in talks with Amazon and Google for the companies’ AI based platforms. LG is expected to implement Amazon’s Alexa into its LG G6.