Apple probably won’t compete with the Google Home and Amazon Echo

Tim Cook doesn’t like the idea of leaving the Home at home.
Tim Cook doesn’t like the idea of leaving the Home at home.
Image: AP Photo/Eric Risberg
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The Amazon Echo and Google Home are being touted as the next big thing in personal computing. But Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t convinced.

“People are constantly moving from home to work and to other things they may be doing. And so the advantage of having an assistant on your phone is that it’s with you all the time,” Cook explained on a call with investors today, after Apple announced its lackluster Q4 earnings.

He then said that, while there’s definitely a market for stationary devices, a smartphone’s portability makes integration of a personal assistant into a person’s life more seamless, and the market for that will ultimately be much larger.

Cook said Siri now gets more than 2 billion requests per week, and estimated that Apple has shipped more assistant-enable devices than any other manufacturer.