Hardware vs Software
Rumor has it that Apple is about to launch an Amazon Echo–like competitor at WWDC next month. Something that I never thought they’d do. I figured that Apple’s most likely course of action was to improve Siri. Unlike Amazon, Apple already has Siri distribution points all through our lives. In our phones, tablets, watches, Apple TVs and MacBooks. And yet the Echo seems to be running away with the household assistance market. Why?
This is a case of hardware features and design being more important than software. It’s popular for some in tech circles to say that software is more important than hardware. I disagree with that in general. I think it’s equally important but certainly not more important. Although, I’ll acknowledge that there are special cases where software can be more important than hardware. Apple and iOS would be one. But for every example of software outweighing hardware in importance, you could find an opposite example of hardware trumping software. Amazon’s Echo would be a prime example of this.
Amazon has some advantages over Siri due to its wide-open security platform and ever growing list of skills. But Siri has many advantages over Alexa with its deep integration into my personal info and ubiquitous presence no matter where I am. On the software front, it’s a draw. The Echo hasn’t beaten back Siri due to superior software. It’s all about the hardware.
Microphones
The Echo comes with seven microphones that allow it to hear you from across a crowded room or over music. The importance of this can’t be overstated. I find Siri to be best on my Apple Watch or Apple TV remote because I can move the microphone up to my mouth. However, if there are other people talking around me or music playing in the background, Siri’s failure rate goes way up.
Speakers
It also has a relatively strong speaker compared to most portable devices. You can ask it to play music and it’s OK. You’re never going to do that on a phone or tablet. I use Siri the most on my Apple Watch and Apple TV. And guess what? Siri has absolutely no vocal feedback on either of those two devices. The Apple Watch has a small speaker but it’s not used for some reason. My first thought was because Apple didn’t think we’d want vocal feedback while out in public. But the Apple TV doesn’t do it either in the privacy of your own living room. Why not?
Stationary Design
Then there’s the fact that it is designed to be in one spot. It’s literally tethered to the wall via the power cord. This means that no one can move it or take it out of the house. This allows occupants in the house to get conditioned to using it because they’ll know that 100% of the time the device is always listening. Your spouse can’t take it to the garage or accidentally leave it in their pocket and go to the store with it. Siri is pretty good on the Apple TV remote if you don’t mind hitting a button, but with eight people living in my house, do I know where that little thing is at all times? Not a chance.
Single vs Multi-Purpose
The Amazon Echo has a hardware advantage over the iPhone much like a high-end DSLR camera or a 60" television. You can take pictures or watch movies on your iPhone, but there are single-purpose devices which can offer a better experience. No amount of software can change that.
Smartphones have been conquering single-purpose devices for a few years now. Point-and-shoot cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs have all fallen by the wayside. But it was hardware advances in the smartphone that made that possible.
The Amazon Echo is the rise of a new single-purpose device. The question now is whether it is more like the television in that it has a big enough hardware advantage over the smartphone that it can’t be conquered or like the camcorder, destined to one day be assimilated by our magical pocket devices.
Amazon has some advantages over Siri due to its wide-open security platform and ever growing list of skills. But Siri has many advantages over Alexa with its deep integration into my personal info and ubiquitous presence no matter where I am. On the software front, it’s a draw. The Echo hasn’t beaten back Siri due to superior software. It’s all about the hardware.
Microphones
The Echo comes with seven microphones that allow it to hear you from across a crowded room or over music. The importance of this can’t be overstated. I find Siri to be best on my Apple Watch or Apple TV remote because I can move the microphone up to my mouth. However, if there are other people talking around me or music playing in the background, Siri’s failure rate goes way up.
Speakers
It also has a relatively strong speaker compared to most portable devices. You can ask it to play music and it’s OK. You’re never going to do that on a phone or tablet. I use Siri the most on my Apple Watch and Apple TV. And guess what? Siri has absolutely no vocal feedback on either of those two devices. The Apple Watch has a small speaker but it’s not used for some reason. My first thought was because Apple didn’t think we’d want vocal feedback while out in public. But the Apple TV doesn’t do it either in the privacy of your own living room. Why not?
Stationary Design
Then there’s the fact that it is designed to be in one spot. It’s literally tethered to the wall via the power cord. This means that no one can move it or take it out of the house. This allows occupants in the house to get conditioned to using it because they’ll know that 100% of the time the device is always listening. Your spouse can’t take it to the garage or accidentally leave it in their pocket and go to the store with it. Siri is pretty good on the Apple TV remote if you don’t mind hitting a button, but with eight people living in my house, do I know where that little thing is at all times? Not a chance.
Single vs Multi-Purpose
The Amazon Echo has a hardware advantage over the iPhone much like a high-end DSLR camera or a 60" television. You can take pictures or watch movies on your iPhone, but there are single-purpose devices which can offer a better experience. No amount of software can change that.
Smartphones have been conquering single-purpose devices for a few years now. Point-and-shoot cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs have all fallen by the wayside. But it was hardware advances in the smartphone that made that possible.
The Amazon Echo is the rise of a new single-purpose device. The question now is whether it is more like the television in that it has a big enough hardware advantage over the smartphone that it can’t be conquered or like the camcorder, destined to one day be assimilated by our magical pocket devices.
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