Apple is working on an Amazon Echo-like device with a speaker and microphone that people can use to turn on music, get news headlines or set a timer. It adds Siri, which will naturally power the assistant, will be opened up to third-party developers through an SDK to be unveiled at the WWDC conference later in June this year.
While Siri supports some third-party services such as Yelp, Apple hasn’t yet released an SDK that any developer can use to create Siri-powered services.
Microsoft recently announced that is opening up Skype for Business by releasing the SDK available for download to developers that they can integrate now the messaging platform directly into their apps
Amazon rolled out an SDK last year for Alexa, the voice assistant powering its Echo speaker line, which has gradually turned into a hit and was recently updated to include cheaper hardware.
The report comes a week after Google unveiled a “conversational” assistant service that builds upon Google Now, and said it would support third-party services.
Facebook has dipped its toes into the market via M, an assistant (currently in beta) that combines AI-based and human services.
