Siri Speaker will take on Google, Amazon

Apple's Siri speaker may use sensors that detect a room's acoustics Besides using virtual surround sound, the speakers are said to be louder and clearer. Apple is likely to allowthird party services like WhatsApp, Uber to build products for the speaker. The iPhone-maker has started manufacturing a long-in-the-works Siri-controlled smart speaker, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple could debut the speaker as soon as its annual developer conference in June, but the device will not be ready to ship until later in the year, the people said. The device will differ from Amazon.com Inc.'s Echo and Alphabet Inc.'s Google Home speakers by offering virtual surround sound technology and deep integration with Apple's product lineup, sources said requesting anonymity.

SOUND OF MUSIC
Introducing a speaker would serve two main purposes: providing a hub to automate appliances and lights via Apple's HomeKit system, and establishing a bulwark inside the home to lock customers more tightly into Apple's network of services. That would help combat the competitive threat from Google's and Amazon's connected speakers: the Home and Echo mostly don't support services from Apple. “This will be a platform for developing Apple's services,” says Gene Munster, a co-founder of Loup Ventures and former Apple analyst. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has emphasized Apple's services businesses over the past 18 months as iPhone sales slowed. He expects service revenue to double by 2020 from last year's $24 billion. A speaker may help keep customers loyal to service products such as Apple Music, a subscription music streaming offering that costs $10 per month. The speakers are likely be tucked into Apple's “Other Products” category, which currently includes devices like the Apple Watch, Apple TV and AirPods. That set of products generated $11 billion in sales last year. Inventec Corp., the Taipei manufacturer that already makes the AirPod wireless headphones, will add the speaker to its Apple repertoire, the people said. Apple employees have been secretly testing the device in their homes for several months, they said. The Siri speaker reached an advanced prototype stage late last year, Bloomberg News reported at the time. An Inventec representative didn't respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours in Taiwan.