Technology titan Apple, according to rumours is expected to be preparing its own variant of a smart-home device similar to Amazon’s Echo. This new device based on Apple’s voice assistant SIRI will be developed by Apple Inc according to a report in Bloomberg. According to the report, work on the device started in 2014 and is still in the prototype testing phase. Apple may or may not go ahead with the project, according to the sources. But if unveiled it will be one of the most significant hardware to be launched by the company since the launch of Apple Watch two years ago.
Interestingly, this device by Apple follows the success of Amazon Inc’s Echo which is a device made to control home appliances including electricals by using voice activation. Echo by Apple has been a surprise success as many companies which manufacture smart-home appliances have integrated this device. Even Alphabet Inc, part of Google has been reportedly working on its own ‘Google Home’ device. According to Bloomberg, Apple is trying to make its device different from Echo and Google Home, by introducing face recognition sensors which help the device to find who is in the room and what mood that person is in. Apple might have also considered to integrating time mapping in the device which enables it to notify users about certain time stamps.
The device is also expected to follow the regular Siri commands that are present in the mobile devices by Apple. The initial interest of Apple in this area of smart-home appliances was evident when it launched the HomeKit in the year 2014. HomeKit is a device which aids third-party smart-home accessories manufacturers to integrate Siri into them. There has been no official statement made by Apple Inc on this Echo-like device as of now.
