Apple is working on an enhanced version of Siri in time for the launch of the iPhone 8, indicate supply-chain sources cited by Digitimes. The sources suggest that Apple will respond to increased competition in the field of intelligent assistants – in particular, Google Assistant and the expansion of Amazon’s Alexa to smartphones.

Google has launched Google Pixel smartphones with Google Assistant and is expected to promote the adoption of the Google Assistant by other smartphone vendors, noted the sources, adding that Xiaomi has already adopted the Google Assistant […] Huawei pioneered the latest development trend by showcasing its Huawei Mate 9 featuring Amazon’s Alexa voice services. Huawei, which currently ranks as the third largest smartphone vendor globally, is apparently trying to compete with Apple and Samsung for the number one title with the advanced feature, said the sources. LG reportedly is in talks with Amazon and Google for utilizing AI-based platforms developed by the two Internet service companies. In addition to using the Alexa on its smart household appliances, LG is also expected to integrate the Alexa into its new flagship smartphone, the LG G6, indicated the sources.

While the report says that ‘Apple’s next-generation iPhone devices are likely to come with enhanced Siri,’ it’s of course more likely that this refers to an iOS update rather than anything specific to the new phone.

Apple bought the machine learning company Turi back in August, a team it later expanded to work on a variety of projects, including Siri. The company has also started reining back a little on the secrecy of its AI work in order to attract the best researchers.

Competition within the intelligent assistant field has increased with the popularity of the Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers. We recently discussed how Apple might best respond to this, be it simply making Siri better or making its own speaker too.

Photo: CNET

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