Michael Grothaus 03/05/2017 - 2:03pm

It’s looking to take on Amazon’s Echo, but could Apple's rumoured Siri Smart Speaker beat Amazon and Google's more established setups?

If you asked anyone two years ago what the next hot tech product would be, virtually everyone would have said smartwatches. After all, everyone from Apple to Google to LG began making the devices.

However, despite all the marketing, smartwatches haven’t caught on like many thought they would. Instead another tech device slowly crept onto the scene. I’m talking about Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, which first came to market around the rise of smartwatches.

But where smartwatches have leveled off, smart speakers powered by AI assistants have become more popular. Amazon has now made several iterations of its Echo speaker and Google has gotten into the smart speaker game with its Google Home speaker powered by Google’s Assistant AI.

And now it looks like the smart speaker industry might really be heating up. There are strong rumors that Apple will unveil its own “Siri Smart Speaker” as soon as next month. Here’s everything we know about the yet-to-be-announced device.

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: What Is It?

It’s Apple’s rumored smart speaker that is aiming to take on Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home smart speakers. As those speakers are powered by the AI assistants Alexa and Assistant, respectively, Apple’s smart speaker is rumored to be powered by the Siri AI.

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: What Will It Do?

Well, no one knows for sure. News that Apple was working on a smart speaker first broke back in May of 2016. As MacRumors reported at the time:

“Apple is actively developing a product that would compete with the Amazon Echo and Google Home, reports The Information. Citing a source with direct knowledge of Apple's plans, the report suggests Apple is working on a Siri-based device that would include a speaker and microphone that could be used for features like listening to music, getting news headlines, and more.”

What’s interesting is Apple has supposedly been working on its Siri smart speaker since before Amazon debuted the Echo. If this is true it’s possible Apple’s smart speaker could do much more than Amazon’s Echo…if Apple took the time to refine more advanced features.

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: But Doesn’t Siri Suck?

Kinda. Siri isn’t the best AI assistant (that’s probably Google’s Assistant), but Apple has been making huge strides with it.

Apple needs to change the way it thinks about things if it wants to compete with Google Home and Amazon Alexa in the AI space. Siri is too closed-up to be useful outside of Apple’s ecosystem, it doesn’t play nice with anything non-Apple, and if this so called Siri speaker is to be successful, it will need to play nice with things like Spotify and Google Music.

The fact that Siri cannot open and play tracks in Spotify, the world’s biggest music streaming site, should tell you everything you need to know about Apple’s approach to voice activated personal assistants. Too proprietary, too closed-off and too slow to evolve – Siri really has her work cut out for her.

And YOU KNOW Apple will charge way more than Google Home and Amazon Echo for its Smart Speaker. It will charge more and, like Apple TV, the Siri Speaker simply will not be as good as the competition.

But things are changing. Albeit rather slowly... 

Just last year Apple opened up Siri to third-party developers. Plus it seems that Apple has been working very, very, very hard behind the scenes to make Siri better, reports Bloomberg:

“Beyond the home device, Apple is researching new ways to improve Siri on iPhones and iPads, two people said. With an initiative code-named “Invisible Hand,” Apple hopes to give users the ability to fully control their devices through a Siri command system within three years, one of the people added. Currently, the voice assistant is able to respond to commands within its application, but Apple’s goal is for Siri to be able to control the entire system without having to open an app or reactivate Siri.

“For example, a user would be able to ask their iPhone to open a web page and then share it with a friend without the need to ever launch the Siri interface. Other examples from Apple’s current research include being able to print a PDF by speaking “print” while reading it or saying “help” in order for the system to help the user navigate a particular task or application. Apple has also been researching opening this ability to third-party apps, the person said.”

It’s very likely “Invisible Hand” could be the Siri AI that runs on Apple’s smart speaker.

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: It Will Likely Have An AirPlay And Apple Music Feature Set

Besides being able to answer voice queries, Apple’s smart speaker will likely be marketed as an AirPlay music device, reports MacRumors:

“Dickson said that Apple is currently ‘finalizing designs’ for the Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor, which he expects to be marketed as a Siri and AirPlay device. ‘It is believed to carry some form of Beats technology,’ he added, while noting that the device will run a variant of iOS software.”

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: Design

As for what it will look like, rumors say it will kind of look like a Mac Pro tower:

“Dickson later told MacRumors that the device, allegedly codenamed B238 internally, will feature a Mac Pro-like concave top with built-in controls. His source, which he told us is ‘someone inside Apple,’ described the device as ‘fat’ like the Google Home with speaker mesh covering the majority of the device.”

Apple’s Siri Smart Speaker: Release Date & Price

Superstar Apple Analyst says the Siri Smart Speaker could be just around the corner. In a recent research note, he wrote:

“We believe there is an over 50% chance that Apple will announce its first home AI product at WWDC in June and start selling in the ]second half of 2017] in order to compete with the new Amazon Echo models to be launched […] 

“We expect Apple’s first home AI product will have excellent acoustics performance (one woofer + seven tweeters) and computing power (similar to iPhone 6/6S AP). Therefore the product is likely to be positioned for: (i) the high-end market; (ii) better entertainment experience; and (iii) higher price than Amazon Echo.”

As for what that premium price may be, who knows. However, we’re guessing it could be $299 USD or £249 GBP.