Siri is not ready to take over the smart home yet

As I explained in my recent critical take on the Apple TV box, I was nevertheless curious about the next generation of the device. It was presented a few days ago on Apple’s big product event and pretty much reached up to my expectations, without exceeding them.

From my perspective, the new Apple TV is not a milestone or a big deal, but there is one aspect that I am excited about: the voice control capabilities powered by Siri.

Unfortunately, based on the information from the press release and early reviews, Apple falls short of actually adding a smart personal assistant to the Apple TV box. Instead, Siri’s focus lies on voice search for TV shows and movies across an initially very limited number of content providers (= apps). So at least for now, Apple TV users won’t be able to rely on the device as a full-fledged smart assistant that greets them in the morning with a friendly “Hello Martin, how do you feel? What can I do for you today?”. Although apparently asking about the weather will work. It’s also a bit sad to learn that initially, the Apple TV version with Siri will only be available in 8 countries. Continue Reading