This article has been indexed from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – Front Page
Sonos is today participating in an antitrust hearing on the smart home, where Sonos legal chief Eddie Lazarus had some commentary to share on the smart home market and the dominance of companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple.
Headed up by Amy Klobuchar, the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights is today hosting a hearing on “Protecting Competition and Innovation in Home Technologies.” Most of Sonos’ complaints relayed by Lazarus are focused on Amazon and Google, but he did have a few comments about Apple.
In particular, Sonos has taken issue with the way that Apple is implementing Siri support for third-party companies. Apple at WWDC announced that third-party companies are able to integrate Siri voice control into their HomeKit devices, but “Hey Siri” commands are relayed through a HomePod or HomePod mini, making an Apple device a requirement.
Take Apple’s announcement that it will now license Siri to third parties in the smart home. As reported in The Verge, Apple will only license Siri to companies that utilize the HomePod as a central hub to connect with Siri Thus, Apple is conditioning interoperability with Siri on companies placing a competitive Apple product alongside their own.
Lazarus also said that while Google, Apple, and other companies are working on interoperability through initiatives like Matter, he’s skeptical that this will lead to consumer choice or foster genuine interoperability between different smart home platforms. He also warns that because Apple and Google control the standard, they have control over the “pace of innovation.”
No doubt the dominant companie
[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.Read the original article: Sonos Complains About Apple’s Restrictions on Third-Party Siri Access in Antitrust Hearing