Now Apple is thought to be making an Amazon Echo-like speaker with Siri

Amazon Echo has been doing so well that not only Google wants to copy it but now Apple as well.

Amazon recently admitted that it’s having trouble keeping Echo in stock due to high demand. It also launched two additional versions of the Bluetooth-enabled speaker, indicating once more that Echo is a success for the retailer. It therefore isn’t hard to see why Google unveiled in May a similar device called Google Home. Like Echo, Home has a built-in assistant that can answer questions and help with daily tasks.

Eager to jump on board this new trend of always-listening speakers, Apple is supposedly now developing a competitor to Amazon Echo and Google Home. The company’s speaker will feature Siri, according to The Information. It will also be able to control smart home devices and work with third-party apps, as Apple is reportedly opening up Siri so that developers can finally leverage the voice assistant’s powers.

Although Apple has been working on this Siri speaker long before Echo ever arrived, expect the company to continue taking its time on this project. Apple will likely release a Siri software development kit first (maybe even in June during its annual WWDC conference). This SDK would let any developer use Apple’s voice assistant, whereas only a select few developers and companies, such as Yelp, now have access.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Apple’s Siri speaker will make waves since it is so late to the game. We can imagine the product being successful if it comes out of the gate being able to work with several apps, thus making it more useful than what’s currently offered by the competition.

Google gives its Nexus Player the axe

Good luck trying to find a Nexus Player after today.

Google has quietly stopped direct sales of its set-top box, meaning you’ll have to buy it from third-party retailers that still have some stock left. The Nexus Player can no longer be found on the Google Store, but Google issued a statement about it still being available on some retail sites.

The device, which is shaped like a hockey puck and manufactured by Asus, debuted in 2014 as the first set-top box running Android TV, but now it faces stiff competition from not only other boxes and televisions that come pre-loaded with Android TV (such as the Nvidia Shield and 2016 TVs from Sony and Sharp), but also Google’s own Chromecast, which is available in the form of a HDMI dongle and TVs with built-in Google Cast.

The Nexus Player was a little media streamer that simply introduced Android TV at a low price. It wasn’t powerful enough to run heavy apps or games, and so it certainly didn’t showcase Android TV. Keep in mind Android TV is still alive and well. We’re assuming Google is either getting ready to replace the device with a new one, or maybe it’ll let third-party manufacturers take the wheel.

Xiaomi, for instance, recently announced it is developing an Android TV media streamer that supports 4K content.

Will.i.am made these vinyl-inspired earbuds you can only buy from Apple

Ever want a pricey pair of Bluetooth earphones that are designed to look like vinyl records?

Well, now’s your chance… Musician Will.i.am has released a pair under his “i.am+” tech brand. They’re called EPs, and initial sales of the earphones are exclusive to Apple’s online store and physical retail stores. The buds feature a circular metal design rather than being made from plastic – because, as described on the i.am+ website, “tech doesn’t have to look like tech”.

That said, the new EPs do look like a necklace. When they’re not sitting in your ears, the circular buds magnetically come together to form a ring around your neck. As for specs, the EPs feature 14mm drivers, an aptX sound engine, and internal batteries that charge via a microUSB cable and last 6 hours per charge. They also support A2DP controls and an integrated remote with a mic.

Apple

For all that tech and fancy materials, all you need is $229.95. Will.i.am is apparently targeting only the rich with these headphones. But for that steep price, you do get a colour choice: gold-on-black, or black-on-black. Keep in mind these EPs follow the launch of Puls and Dial, two wearables that Will.i.am also released under his i.am+ brand. They failed to make any impact, however.

Also, Will.i.am is rumoured to be working on an original TV series with Apple, so it’s not too surprising to see the artist exclusively releasing his new earphones through the Cupertino-based company.

Apple

Netflix comes full circle, creates virtual video store

First Netflix replaced tedious trips to the video store by mailing DVDs directly to your home. Then they replaced tedious trips to the mailbox by streaming movies directly to your laptop. Now, Netflix engineers have completely closed the loop by creating a virtual video store you can step into without ever leaving your living room.

Created as part of the company’s most recent hack day (and thus, unlikely to ever see a real release), Netflix Zone is a blocky representation of your old school VHS emporium, except you peruse the stacks with an HTC Vive instead of driving to a Blockbuster in a nearby strip mall. Unfortunately there’s no esoteric “Staff Picks” section, but the organization in the virtual store does reflect the user’s Netflix recommendations and the whole place turns into a screening room when a user picks up a title for closer inspection. To play a title, you apparently pick it up off the shelf and just chuck it at a wall.

While the idea of re-living the video store experience is enticing, some of the other hack day projects are a little more practical. Take for instance a drag-and-drop homepage interface that allows you to pin categories to the top, a “Family Catch-Up” feature that reveals how far along in a series the other profiles in your account have watched, and a “QuietCast” feature that turns your phone into a wireless headphone adapter while streaming the video to your Chromecast. While, Netflix has been adding new and convenient features at a pretty fast pace recently, there’s no word yet on whether or not any of these will ever actually make it into the final product.

This sweat monitoring patch can tell how hard you’re working

A group of scientists at UC San Diego are responsible for creating a tiny flexible monitor that can stick right to your sternum. Its purpose? Tracking your sweat.

The Chem-Phys, detailed in journal Nature Communications, was created to track both heart rate and chemistry information that can be gleaned from your sweat. It’s comprised of three sensors on a two-inch polyester sheet: one to capture lactate from sweat, which studies have shown exemplifies a more intense workout, and two to mesaure heart rate. Wired to a Bluetooth chip powered by a lithium ion battery, the patch transmits the data to a computer.

The scientists affirm that the Chem-Phys is one of the first times both sweat and heart rate information has been gleaned simultaneously from test subjects, such as the three men on stationary bikes participating in an experiment funded by Samsung, but it’s not the first to track sweat. Ali Javey of UC Berkeley, also made a breakthrough back in January with a small flexible device that relies on a printed plastic sensor array that can also detect glucose, lactate, potassium, sodium and body temperature. Another lab in the University of Cincinnati in Ohio has been hard at work developing wearable sweat sensors as well.

There’s an abundance of work being done in the department of wearables. Unfortunately, you can’t purchase the Chem-Phys or any of the other sweat trackers currently being developed just yet, though that’s absolutely going to change in the future.

Source: Popular Science