Earlier this week, a report said that Apple was working on an Amazon Echo competitor. A new report today from VentureBeat says that competitor may come in the form of a refreshed Apple TV.
The company will build on its enhancements to the Apple TV announced last year, which brought the Siri virtual assistant to the set-top box. A new version of the Apple TV will solve problems with the existing box and remote control, a source familiar with the matter claims.
“They want Apple TV to be just the hub of everything,” the source told VentureBeat.
Apple reportedly considered several options including building a standalone speaker, using the Siri Remote as the key device, or turning the Apple TV into a more comprehensive assistant. The problem with using the remote as a hub is that it needs to be recharged.
The new Apple TV would eventually get its own microphone and speaker and Apple is working on additional computing infrastructure to handle processing queries and serving up results.
The end goal for Apple is to own the living room and the connected home in general, according to the report. It will be interesting to see how well merging Echo like hardware with a set-top box will work. Often the Apple TV is placed in a cabinet or with other home theater components which isn't located as central as the Amazon Echo or Google Home devices would be.
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Comments (6)
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0
Cthulhu - May 27, 2016 at 2:59am
I love Apple but Siri is absolute garbage. Google Now and Alexa are far better. It's really not even close.
0
gamerscul9870 - May 27, 2016 at 5:18am
Siri is actually decent to me, and there's cortana, one of the most fallen behind voice assistants in history, a true form of garbage.
0
Yea - May 27, 2016 at 12:10am
We all know Alexa is far superior than Siri.
0
gamerscul9870 - May 27, 2016 at 12:28am
Forgot to mention the makers of Siri made Viv! An upgrade from Siri. How about it? It's in beta I think since the last time I heard of it weeks ago!
0
Magic Jack - May 26, 2016 at 8:24pm
Location, location, location as the saying goes. An Apple TV device is problematic in that it only works in in a single room for voice recognition while smart home automation requires listening devices in several areas which is the benefit of the Alexa family of Amazon devices. Looking forward WWDC for better guidance.
0
gamerscul9870 - May 26, 2016 at 8:18pm
But the 4th one just came out. It's going to take some time before another refresh.
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