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Apple working on its own Amazon Echo rival

Apple is reportedly working on a Siri-driven home speaker to rival the Amazon Echo.

We recently saw Google unveiling its attempt to usurp Amazon in the fledgling smart speaker space, Google Home. Now it’s Apple’s turn.

According to The Information, Apple is hard at work on a home speaker that will accept vocal prompts using its Siri AI assistant software. In fact, the company is said to have been working on the product since way before the arrival of the Amazon Echo last year.

Apple’s speaker will reportedly be able to interact with those smart home appliances that support Apple’s HomeKit platform, and will be able to perform advanced bot-like tasks.

Indeed, Apple’s home speaker project is said to be part of a wider push to improve and expand Siri. This will apparently involve Apple opening Siri out to third-party apps, which would expand its potential usefulness significantly.

Related: Why Google Home and Assistant will kick Amazon and Apple to the curb

At present, only select third-party apps have access to Siri through special deals with Apple. What we’re talking about here is opening Siri out to every developer.

It’s claimed that Apple could announce a Siri SDK as soon as next month at WWDC 2016, when it’s also expected that the company will announced Siri for Mac. The Apple speaker, however, is described as a more long-term project, so don’t hold your breath on that count.

Next, check out our iPhone SE review video:

What would you look for in an Apple home speaker? Let us know in the comments.

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