Apple’s Elusive Siri Speaker Has Entered Production

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Here’s something to look forward to in 2017. Apple’s highly anticipated Siri-controlled speaker has finally entered overseas production, Bloomberg reports, and will be gracing nightstands and mantels by year’s end.

Apple’s smart speaker, which is being manufactured by the same Taiwanese company that builds its AirPods, will face stiff competition in Amazon’s Echo and Google Home. However, it has a couple of advantages. First and foremost, it will produce stellar sound and feature “virtual surround sound technology” that mimics the effect of a multi-speaker array. Bloomberg cites people familiar with the speaker who say that it will leverage advanced acoustics technology to produce louder and crisper sound compared to its rivals. The Siri speaker may even include “sensors that measure a room’s acoustics and automatically adjust audio levels during use”, the report states. It hasn’t been confirmed yet whether it will feature Beats technology, as alleged earlier this year by Apple leaker Sonny Dickinson.

The other major selling point is that the speaker will be deeply integrated with the HomeKit product lineup, allowing it to function as a hub to control other smart home appliances such as lights, locks, and thermostats. This will give HomeKit users a convenient, Siri-augmented way to control their smart gadgets. It will also entrench users further within Cupertino’s growing ecosystem and may encourage them to turn to Apple services like Apple Music.

In addition, Bloomberg reports that the smart speaker will likely support third party services, meaning you might be able to hail an Uber ride with it or send text messages by issuing voice commands to it. Veteran KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also indicated earlier this month that the speaker will feature integrations with iOS, Mac, and AirPlay.

The long-awaited, standalone Siri device may debut as early as June 5 during Apple’s WWDC keynote, though it will likely be a couple months before it is ready to ship.

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