Apple building Amazon Echo competitor, says report - CNET

As if family squabbles weren't enough, just wait till all those "voice-activated smart home speakers" start trying to out-shout each other in your kitchen or living room.

That's right, we not only have an Amazon Echo rival from Google, but, if a report from The Information tus out to be true, we may be seeing (and hearing) one from Apple too.

The device will be powered by everyone's favorite iPhone seductress, Siri, and will, among other things, be able to tu on or off any appliance that's compatible with Apple's Homekit platform, the Information says. But the gadget may not appear for a while. It's more of a long-term project, says the report.

Meanwhile, Apple will be opening up Siri to outside developers so the voice assistant can become a part of third-party apps, the report adds. That could happen as soon as June, at Apple's aual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple declined to comment.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to pick up all these echoes of the Echo, along with Amazon's device itself (powered by its Alexa app), and see who gets the upper hand in a witty-repartee contest. "OK, Google, Siri, Alexa: Who's the fairest voice-activated smart home speaker of them all? The snarkiest wins; the rest of you get recycled. Bwahahahaa..."