This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers hours before appearing on Business Insider. To be the first to know, please click here.
Apple reportedly agreed to acquire AI startup PullString, according to Axios. PullString specializes in helping brands and agencies build conversational voice apps for Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant voice platforms.
While Apple hasn’t formally announced the acquisition — and how it plans to integrate PullString’s tech — we believe PullString could help fuel Apple’s Siri efforts, helping the voice assistant catch up to the rest of the industry. Here’s how:
- PullString is entrenched in the voice app space, which Apple has yet to invade. Apple doesn’t have a voice-specific app ecosystem for Siri, like Amazon and Google do for their respective assistants. Instead, Siri currently taps Apple’s existing ecosystem of over 2 million iOS apps via Siri Shortcuts. Apple could leverage PullString’s know-how, along with its existing iOS developer community, to accelerate the launch of a robust voice app ecosystem exclusively for Siri. Opening Siri up to developers is crucial because Alexa's and the Assistant's platforms are currently the go-to for companies looking to craft voice apps.
- Existing Apple hardware could benefit from PullString’s tech. Apple has integrated Siri into the iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, AirPods, and HomePod. But Siri's limited capabilities — largely due to its lack of voice apps — across all of Apple’s hardware aren't helping to drive purchase decisions, like Alexa and the Assistant do for Amazon's and Google's smart speakers. In fact, most Apple users who own a smart speaker opt for Amazon’s Echo lineup or Google’s Home series. Additionally, early iPhone X adopters cited Siri as the device’s only weak spot (see chart, below). If Apple doesn't expand Siri's abilities and open it up to developers with the help of PullString, it will likely further impact sales of Apple's existing hardware.
- Future iterations of Apple’s Siri will need PullString’s tech to succeed in emerging domains. As Apple aims to expand its presence in the car and smart home — areas that primarily rely on voice for control — it will need to enhance Siri’s abilities to ensure its voice assistant is a top choice for device manufacturers.
The acquisition reflects Apple’s overarching efforts to shift away from an iPhone-centric company into one where growth is driven by services and technologies.PullString’s portfolio meshes well with Apple’s aspirations to expand its services, especially in regard to AI and Siri, as it aims to reduce its reliance on the iPhone.
iPhone revenue fell a striking 15% year-over-year (YoY) to $52 billion in Apple's fiscal Q1 2019 (ended December 29, 2018). Consequently, the iPhone's share of Apple's overall revenue declined 8 percentage points YoY to 62% during the quarter.
At the same time, if Apple opens up Siri’s voice app platform, it could have a massive impact on adoption of voice apps, in part due to the “Apple effect.” The Apple effect is the noticeable uptick in device and tech adoption whenever Apple launches a new iteration of existing technology — such as the Apple Watch in the smartwatch market.
Although voice app adoption has been relatively slow to begin with, Apple’s influence could be the catalyst that tips consumer adoption.
Subscribe to an All-Access pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:
|
Content like this delivered straight to your inbox daily |
|
|
Access to 250+ expertly researched reports plus all future reports |
|
|
Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry |
|
|
And more! |