OFweek smart home network mobile Internet era, the Internet giants are the standard for mobile phones. Since Jobs redefined the mobile phone and entered the era of mobile Internet, making a mobile phone seems to be the most promising thing.
The U.S. giants have their own mobile phones one by one. Google had, Microsoft had it, Amazon had it... China is even more lively, either directly launching its own brand of mobile phone or investing in a mobile phone company. In addition to BAT, there is a long list. Xiaomi, Leshi, 360... In the smart age, what will be the standard of Internet giants?
I have written many articles and I have mentioned in many public speeches that this standard is - smart speakers.
I should be the first person in China to put forward the concept that "smart speakers will become the standard for giants."
The first giant equipped with smart speakers is Amazon. Amazon's smart speakers are called Echo.
Smart home is an important application of artificial intelligence. Amazon's Echo smart speaker has become the entrance of smart home in the United States. People can use Echo to control home appliances, purchase goods, and inquire information.
Since its official release in November 2014, Amazon’s Echo smart speakers have been more than two and a half years old. In more than two years, it has grown from the very beginning of the "newborn" who may die at any time to one of the hottest smart home products on the market today.
According to statistics, Echo sold more than 6.5 million units in 2016, and 1.7 million units in 2015, and it is expected to exceed 10 million units in 2017.
At the Google I/O conference in May 2016, Google released a device called Google Home. Google Home is arguably a direct competitor to Amazon Echo in terms of its features and uses.
In China, Jingdong United Technologies launched a product similar to Echo. Together with Samsung, Intel, etc., these can all be seen as a tribute and challenge to Amazon Echo.
In this field, there is still a heavyweight player, and it is also one of the most important players.
This player is Apple. This player, we are always looking forward to it.
Just last night, I also updated such a microblog and circle of friends:
"One tomorrow morning, Apple will hold an annual developer conference (WWDC). It is reasonable to say that this is Apple's update of iOS, macOS and other operating systems, but I am more looking forward to Apple's ability to release a hardware product - The Siri smart speaker, which is similar to Amazon Echo and Google Home audio, acts as a smart home control center."
It came finally. The apple finally came.
The much-anticipated built-in Siri smart home speaker HomePod finally appeared as a "dwarf" appearance.
In order to match the voice control function, HomePod is equipped with 6 microphone arrays, 4 inch subwoofer, bottom with 7 speaker array, built-in Apple A8 processor.
In terms of functionality, users can use “Hey Siri†to wake up HomePod and get hotspots such as weather, news, and traffic. They can also use voice commands to control other HomeKit smart home products connected to HomePod. Of course, you can use it like other smart speakers. Search query content.
According to official information, HomePod is priced at US$349. It was officially launched in December this year, with the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia taking the lead.
Why do you say that Apple should not miss this feast? The reason that bears the brunt of this is that music is originally Apple's DNA.
Time flies back 20 years ago, Apple is a dying giant. Many people think that it is just another company that has been eliminated by the trend of the times. Jobs, once squeezed away, returned to the helm. "How can we promote Mac sales?" The company's middle and senior levels are beginning to think about such issues.
Software engineers think of music. At that time, Napster was setting off a wave of digital music, and its arrival completely changed the way young people received music. Apple decided to develop a new Mac dedicated digital music management software to keep up with the new trend.
So they bought a program called SoundJam MP from a small company and dug up their lead programmer Jeff Robin. Finally, the SoundJam MP was converted to iTunes.
As a result, the iPod was released in 2001 and iTunes was launched in 2003.
iPod+iTunes has a special meaning for Apple. In the season when Apple is about to "rot," it is the iPod+iTunes mode that has saved its lives. iPod has brought the lives of portable CDs and tape players to Sony, and iTunes has brought the life of traditional tapes and CDs to physical sales. iPod+iTunes Then put forward a brand new trend of music consumption: portable + fashion + fidelity + large capacity + online sale.
It was iPod+iTunes that established a deeply entrenched image of Apple, and the music industry was the first industry that Apple subverted. Since then, music has become Apple's important DNA.
Since it is a smart speaker, how can the intelligence and music of the apple disappear?
A few years ago, I divided several eras according to the dimension of UI (human-computer interaction):
The first era: Click era (click era)
This era can also be called the mouse keyboard era. In the early years, the alternative definition of worms was "people who couldn't help but want to click when they saw the underline." This definition of worms is the best footnote in the Click era.
The second era: Touch era (touch era)
The sign of the beginning of the Touch era is the iPhone released by Joe Joe in 2007. The appearance of the touch screen greatly improves the user interaction experience and is easy to use. Therefore, many portable devices now use touch as their preferred interaction mode.
The Third Age: The Voice Age (Sound Times)
In this era, thanks to Apple, it was Apple who opened the voice interaction with Siri. From a technical point of view, the speech core technology has been continuously improved and has reached the requirements for large-scale applications. At the same time, with the widespread use of smart terminals and wireless networks, people's demand for voice interactions continues to grow.
In short, the world is created by lazy people, and the evolution of human-computer interaction can also be considered as an evolution process where people are becoming lazier. As the saying goes, "You can't move your hands" is this truth. The biggest advantage of voice is that it is the most natural human interaction.
The greatest significance of the era of speech lies in the fact that it has truly freed its hands. Especially in cars and homes, it is of special significance. After liberating his hands, the interaction between mankind and the world was realized for the first time anywhere, anytime.
How could Apple, who opened the prelude to the Voice era with Siri, be absent from the feast of smart speakers that currently appear to be the best entry for this era?
Last night, I went to ask an industry veteran: Amazon, Google, and Apple's three giants have all put their smart speakers together. Which do you prefer?
Seniors A: Never underestimate the fruit family.