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Apple's Rumored Amazon Echo Competitor Could Be a Next-Generation Apple TV

Thursday May 26, 2016 11:46 am PDT by Juli Clover
apple_tv_squareEarlier this week, The Information said Apple was actively developing an in-home hub that would compete with the Amazon Echo and the Google Home, and now VentureBeat has shared new details on the product and its prospective features.

Citing an unnamed source, VentureBeat says rather than developing a new product, Apple could add Echo-like features to a revamped version of the Apple TV. The Amazon Echo, for those unfamiliar, is an in-home personal assistant device with a built-in speaker and a robust AI system. The Echo is able to perform a wide range of functions, from giving weather reports and answering queries to controlling smart home devices.

A future version of the Apple TV may gain a dedicated microphone and speaker, along with deeper Siri integration to allow it to function like the Echo. Processing queries and serving up results is said to require additional computing infrastructure, which Apple is working on. It is not clear what extra computing infrastructure is needed as the fourth-generation Apple TV includes the same A8 processor that was used in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, two devices more than capable of processing Siri inquiries.
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, ranging from a more comprehensive Siri implementation in the Apple TV to an improved Siri Remote to a standalone Echo-like product, but the standalone option was dropped in favor of furthering development on the Apple TV.

VentureBeat's report does not include details on when a next-generation Apple TV box with the aforementioned features could be released, but a late 2015 rumor from DigiTimes suggested Apple was already at work on a fifth-generation Apple TV with a new CPU and redesigned heat-dissipation solution to go along with it.

Turning the Apple TV (or another hardware product) into an Amazon Echo competitor will require more robust Siri capabilities, which could come as soon as iOS 10. Apple is said to be working on a Siri SDK, allowing third-party developers to build Siri support into their apps.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12, HomePod
Tags: Siri, venturebeat.com, Amazon Echo
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Neutral), HomePod (Neutral)
[ 276 comments ]


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canyonblue737
31 months ago
so basically apple is way behind on what has become a hot market niche and is throwing out leaks to reporters so that we know that eventually they will try to catch up even though there will be nothing to show in 2016.

everything i own in tech is an apple product but lately they seem to be chasing everyone else and nothing is an innovation.
Rating: 44 Votes
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Nunyabinez
31 months ago

Please! Don't forget to support 4K video, for that reason I ended buying the Roku 4.


4K would be nice, but I'm not sure what I would do with it since:

1. I don't own a 4K set yet
2. I don't have a 4K capable Bluray
3. No one seems able to stream uncompressed 4K to me

Of course that will change in the future, but I'm not missing it as of yet.
Rating: 23 Votes
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Nunyabinez
31 months ago

How about a feature that inverts the mic in the Siri Remote to a speaker so I can say "hey remote" allowing it to beep so I can find the remote when inevitably gets lost 18 times in the couch during a movie?

But let's add Siri so I can scream "order me a pizza" and then it tries to "hoarder me a spritzer" :mad:


I swear that Siri used to be better at understanding me. This is me Sunday in my car:

Me: "Hey Siri, play album Believe, Hope, Endure."
Siri: "I can't find Believe, hope indoor."
Me: "Play album Believe, Hope, ENDURE (Enunciating as clearly and slowly as I can)"
Siri: "I can find Believe, Hope in Doer"

So I have to give up because the music app is so convoluted that I can't easily find it since it is a compilation of artists and it doesn't seem to be in various artists.

I never had these problems before, in fact my wife tells me that she sees Siri initially hearing everything she said perfectly and then changing it to something that makes no sense.
Rating: 16 Votes
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jrlcopy
31 months ago
Ugh great... so ****** search can work on that also? My holiday went like this: "Siri find the movie Miracle on 34th Street" Her reply: "Sorry I can't find the maps application"
Rating: 16 Votes
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rictus007
31 months ago
Please! Don't forget to support 4K video, for that reason I ended buying the Roku 4.
Rating: 14 Votes
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Szarky
31 months ago
I'm just here with my popcorn for the jokes about Siri, ignore me in the corner.
Rating: 13 Votes
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djbuddha
31 months ago
How about a feature that inverts the mic in the Siri Remote to a speaker so I can say "hey remote" allowing it to beep so I can find the remote when inevitably gets lost 18 times in the couch during a movie?

But let's add Siri so I can scream "order me a pizza" and then it tries to "hoarder me a spritzer" :mad:
Rating: 12 Votes
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Nunyabinez
31 months ago
Ugh. I put off buying the AppleTV for a long time because I was sure they would update it any time. After years of waiting they finally did, and I was hoping this one would be the current model for a while. Luckily, they aren't super expensive, but I would hope that some things could be software updates and not require new hardware every year.
Rating: 12 Votes
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duffman9000
31 months ago
For the people who bought the current Apple TV because the previous version was ridiculously outdated... SUCKERS!!!

-National Enquirer
Rating: 11 Votes
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nutmac
31 months ago
It makes a great deal of sense to integrate Echo-like features (essentially Always On Siri) to Apple TV, although for this feature to shine, HDMI-CEC needs to work more reliably to wake up connected TV.

This is one of the reasons why Apple should make a TV of its own, or at least a stripped down large monitor that is sold as an accessory to Apple TV, iPhone/iPad, and Macs.
Rating: 9 Votes

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