Apple’s Siri Upgrade Could Shift Smart Speaker Preferences
few smart speakers have assistants with as much potential as Siri. A meaningful upgrade would make the HomePod my first choice.
It's been three years since Apple released a smart speaker, and competitors from Sonos, Bose, Denon, and Amazon are taking advantage of Apple's absence. Apple's contemporaries have made meaningful strides in fidelity, whole-home audio support, and expanded smart home integration. Also: Will your iPhone support Siri AI? The answer is complicated Still, HomePod's integration with Apple's device ecosystem, consisting of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and more, gives the company's smart speaker a significant edge over its contemporaries. Additionally, one other major advantage sets Apple apart from others: Siri. Siri has its limitations, but Apple is expected to announce meaningful gen AI upgrades to its voice assistant during this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). If a reborn Siri seems promising, here's how I'd like it to behave in HomePod. HomePod's primary functions are serving as a smart speaker and playing music, and generative AI upgrades to Siri could drastically improve music discovery, playback, and playlist creation. Imagine if you could ask Siri to create a Playlist Playground, Apple Music's AI-generated playlists, to fit the vibe of an upbeat evening with friends and family. You could also ask Siri to play songs and existing Apple Music playlists that fit a certain vibe or only feature a specific artist or genre. With more conversational capabilities, it could use more context to queue music outside of your library. Currently, Siri is limited to playing songs and playlists if you can describe their exact title, artist, or album. The kitchen counter is one of my favorite places to keep a smart speaker, as cooking an elaborate meal requires the right playlist. However, when I start cooking, I start thinking, and a competent, elaborate voice assistant could help me sort through the many tasks and upcoming errands that swirl around in my mind. For example, imagine you could ask Siri to help you compare flights and hotels in a city for an upcoming trip.
