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Few smart speakers have assistants with as much potential as Siri. A meaningful upgrade would make the HomePod my first choice.
It's been three years since Apple released a smart speaker, and competitors from Sonos, Bose, Denon, and Amazon are taking advantage of Apple's absence. Apple's contemporaries have made meaningful strides in fidelity, whole-home audio support, and expanded smart home integration.
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Still, HomePod's integration with Apple's device ecosystem, consisting of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and more, gives the company's smart speaker a significant edge over its contemporaries. Additionally, one other major advantage sets Apple apart from others: Siri.
Siri has its limitations, but Apple is expected to announce meaningful gen AI upgrades to its voice assistant during this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). If a reborn Siri seems promising, here's how I'd like it to behave in HomePod.
HomePod's primary functions are serving as a smart speaker and playing music, and generative AI upgrades to Siri could drastically improve music discovery, playback, and playlist creation. Imagine if you could ask Siri to create a Playlist Playground, Apple Music's AI-generated playlists, to fit the vibe of an upbeat evening with friends and family.
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