Apple is reportedly making minor tweaks to its smart virtual voice assistant, Siri to integrate into its much anticipated smart speaker — HomePod.
The tweaks will make Siri more like Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa and Google Assistant, reports TechCrunch.
Moreover, the changes will be made specifically for users to command when they don’t have a display in front of them. This will also help Apple achieve its goal of using the best potential interface in every scenario.
To recall, Apple was expected to launch it's HomePod smart speaker in December 2017. The combination of premium speaker and Siri is now expected to come to market early in 2018.
The company said that while it wanted everyone to experience the HomePod, "we need a little more time before it's ready for our customers."
Apple’s smart speaker was in development since 2014, but scrapped the whole idea, only to re-engineer the device in several times since then. In the meantime, the smart speaker market has been captured by rivals like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others.
Amazon’s Echo is the most popular choice with over 15 million units sold.
The Echo with its Alexa assistant can report; latest weather forecast, stock prices, sports scores, news headlines, activate smart appliances inside a smart house, order you a pizza, order you a ride, and much more. Besides the Amazon Echo, other competitors include the Google Home series with Google Assistant, the Microsoft Invoke with Cortana, and upcoming smart speakers from Sony (using Google Assistant) and Samsung (featuring Bixby).
