Apple could be working on disbanding Siri from iOS, macOS, watchOS and now iPadOS, and introducing a separate voice operating system for release at WWDC 2020.
According to Mangrove Capital Partners, Apple’s “voice community” will be revealed by next year,” with the research firm adding that Apple would help to spawn a “new generation of technology companies in every category.”
Their Voice in Tech report suggests technology companies and consumers will take a bigger shift towards voice-based computing in the coming years, using more artificial intelligence, machine learning, and tools such as Siri to power their everyday lives.
By disbanding Siri from iOS and other operating systems, Apple would be able to develop a uniform Siri across every device and introduce new features that would help it compete with Google and Amazon.
Data from Mangrove suggests that companies have invested more than US$768 million in voice startups this year alone (so far, with more than five months to go!) significantly above the US$581 million invested in 2018 and the US$298 million in 2017.
The report also discusses the general public’s concern over voice technology and passive listening, with both Google and Amazon employees actively listening to consumers voice recordings.
What’s worse, some of those voice recordings have leaked this year.
Apple, on the other hand, recently acquired Silk Labs, which offers on-device artificial intelligence by processing the request on your iPhone or iPad, without having to send your voice clips to cloud servers for identification.
This is a safer and more favorable method of voice recognition and will no doubt be a selling point should Apple introduce SiriOS in 2020.
Apple has been “less effective at building an ecosystem around voice” in the past, according to the report, but that SiriOS would allow the company to catch up.
Remember that Apple released its little-talked-about HomePod last year, which has struggled to catch on in comparison to Amazon Echo and Google Home, both of which have sold millions of units.
“The voice community expects Apple to release a SiriOS for its developer community at WWDC 2020 which would accelerate innovation and adoption,” according to the new report.
Of course, we should take this rumor with a pinch of salt, as Apple never confirms plans before unveiling them.
iPadOS, for example, was kept a secret until the day of WWDC 2019 when the company itself leaked the memo accidentally, demonstrating the firm’s often water-tight operations.
What are your thoughts? Are you looking forward to SiriOS, or do you think it’s a bad idea for Apple? Let us know on Twitter using @AppleMagazine and check back soon for more news.
