Siri Home Concept

When rumors of the new Apple TV started ramping up, and with the existence of Apple's own HomeKit API, this was something I wanted and hoped for: An always on Siri for the home. Not just for asking the weather and setting reminders, but for smart home controls as well. As a smart home product user and enthusiast, that intrigued me the most. To me, (and a few others), it made sense to be on the Apple TV. I tweeted about this desire in 2014:

Here are a few reasons:

  • Always connected to power.
  • Typically in a central location so it is more likely to hear commands.
  • Could be large enough to house the neccessary componants to serve as a hub to other smart home accessories so Siri could control your lights, etc.

Some potential challenges:

  • Multiple users: since there are usually multiple iPhone users in a home, Siri Home couldn't be the same Siri on my phone
  • If there are multiple input devices throughout a house and multiple users, then Siri Home would need to listen, process and respond on different devices simultaneously.
  • Could be large enough to house the necessary components to serve as a hub to other smart home accessories so Siri could control your lights, etc.

While the new Apple TV did launch with Siri, it's a paired down version focused on the TV experience and only works when the TV is also on. Any hope I had for it's functionality expanding in an update were dashed when I saw there wasn't even a microphone on the box itself, only on the remote.

I can still hope for the Apple TV 5.