Siri Smart Speaker

There is zero word on what Apple's speaker might be named, so until we hear more, we'll refer to it as the Siri Smart Speaker, based on its rumored feature set.

We have no hints yet on what it might be called, and guessing a name is even more difficult because it's both a new product line and a product line where the primary functionality isn't yet entirely clear.

Few of the rumors we've heard have focused on the design of the speaker, but known leaker Sonny Dickson, who sometimes shares reliable information on upcoming product releases, has said the device will feature a Mac Pro-like concave top with built-in controls.

Someone "inside Apple" has allegedly described the device as "fat" like the Google Home speaker with a mesh material covering the exterior.

During the prototyping phase, Apple designed two versions of Siri-based speakers, one that was larger and one that was smaller, much like Amazon's lineup with the Echo and the Amazon Echo Dot, but it's not clear what a finalized product will look like.

Sound quality has been described as one of the main focal points of the device, suggesting its primary use will be as a speaker for playing music, podcasts, and other content. Apple is said to be differentiating itself from Amazon and Google by introducing superior speaker and microphone technology. It is said to offer "excellent acoustics performance" from one woofer and seven tweeters.

It is rumored to include Siri integration, allowing it to respond to queries much like an iPhone, and it's said to serve as a smart home hub, acting as a gateway for controlling smart home products like lights, smart plugs, locks, curtains, and other smart devices.

The speaker may be able to do things like reading an email, sending a text message, reading tweets, delivering news headlines, streaming content from Apple Music, and deeply integrating with iOS to provide reminders, notifications, and more. Apple has reportedly been working to greatly improve Siri, and it's not unreasonable to think a new and refined version of the personal assistant could debut alongside Apple's smart speaker.

Rumors suggest the Siri Smart Speaker will run a version of iOS and it could include "some form of Beats technology," but it's not entirely clear what that means. AirPlay functionality is rumored to be included, and its computing power has been compared to the iPhone 6 and 6s.

Prototypes of the Siri Smart Speaker included facial recognition sensors and cameras for face recognition purposes, which would allow the speaker to know which member of the family it is interacting with. Facial recognition could perhaps be advanced enough to allow the device to determine the emotional state of a person, should Apple incorporate technology acquired from startups like Faceshift and Emotient.

With facial recognition, the speaker could be able to pull up information based on each person's preferences, adjusting room aspects like light and music based on the user's tastes. Such a feature would enable a customized interactive experience for each member of the home.

Third party apps could also be a part of the experience, rivaling the Echo and the Home. Apple is said to be planning to release an SDK that would allow developers to modify their apps to work with the speaker and the integrated Siri functionality.

Third-party Siri integration is a feature that was first introduced for iOS devices with iOS 10, but it is limited to a certain kinds of apps like ridesharing apps and workout apps. Whether Apple will relax those restrictions with the launch of the Siri speaker is unknown.

When asked about voice-activated smart speakers, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said that the idea of a voice assistant without a screen is of limited use. According to Schiller, voice assistants without screens wouldn't work well with social networking apps.

Schiller's comments aren't necessarily indicative of what Apple is working on, but what he had to say does perhaps give some insight into Apple's line of thinking when it comes to a speaker with Siri integration.

So there's many moments where a voice assistant is really beneficial, but that doesn't mean you'd never want a screen. So the idea of not having a screen, I don't think suits many situations. For example if I'm looking for directions and I'm using Maps, Siri can tell me those directions by voice and that's really convenient but it's even better if I can see that map, and I can see what turns are coming up, and I can see where there is congestion, I understand better my route, and what I'm going to do. [...]

I have yet to see any voice-only games that, for me, are nearly as fun as the one that I play on my screen. And so I think voice assistants are incredibly powerful, their intelligence is going to grow, they're gonna do more for us, but the role of the screen is gonna remain very important to all of this.

Following Schiller's comments, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who often accurately predicts Apple's plans, released a report stating that he believes the Siri speaker will feature a touch panel display, allowing it to compete with Amazon's recently released Echo Show (pictured below).

According to Kuo, Apple's Siri speaker has an "over 50 percent chance" of debuting at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, which is set to take place on June 5 to June 9.

That's not too far off from some rough estimates shared by Bloomberg in September. According to the site, development on the device is in the prototyping stage and is far enough along that Apple engineers are testing it in their homes.

Comparatively, Apple CEO Tim Cook tested the iPad at home for six months before its launch, while Apple employees tested the fourth-generation Apple TV at home for about a year prior to when it went on sale.

Apple could potentially introduce the speaker at the Worldwide Developers Conference and then launch it later in the year, perhaps in the fall. A WWDC debut makes a lot of sense, especially if Apple plans to allow app integrations for the Siri functionality, something that the Echo and Home both offer.

Price

Pricing has not been mentioned in many of the rumors we've heard about the smart speaker, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the device will cost more than the Amazon Echo, which is priced at $179.