Is the Siri API Apple’s response to the Amazon Echo?
Short answer: no.
Apple announced at WWDC 2016 that it opened up Siri to third party app developers. Some were speculating that announcements at WWDC would be Apple’s response to Amazon Echo and Google Home. It wasn’t — yet. It was more like a carmaker announcing that its cars now had doors that open.
Instead, what Apple put out — SiriKit — was catchup. Last May, Google had announced third party integrations with Google Now that could be called up through a the Voice Interaction API on Android devices. These additional “Voice Actions” can be activated by after the user speaks the “OK Google” command or calls up Google Now.
What SiriKit now does is prime iOS app makers for creating a voice interface for their apps, similar to what the Google Voice Interaction API did last year. What’s more of a comparison is SiriKit to Alexa Skills Kit (ASK).
With ASK, third parties can design voice interaction with their services that occur through an Echo or Alexa Voice Service-enabled product. They’re kind of like apps but not — since they’re designed to exclusively be interacted with through voice rather than through touch or visually.
When and if Apple comes out with a primarily voice-only device, SiriKit may be the bridge that helps get from Siri to other third party bot-buildings, rather than app makers. Another approach would be to take AVS on directly and truly open up Siri to third party hardware. Then Apple will have created something that’s truly competitive.
