I see Amazon Echo and Google Home as research devices, where the way they work is just what's easy to stick microphones and hardware inside and not look like a

I see Amazon Echo and Google Home as research devices, where the way they work is just what's easy to stick microphones and hardware inside and not look like a student project. The fact that Amazon are building a significant ecosystem where devices are controlled by the Echo is a happy accident but one where the article alleges Apple are also failing. If voice control was significantly more capable it would make devices which are constrained in other input methods (e.g. the Apple Watch doesn't have a physical keyboard or the space for much on-screen input, legal restrictions on touchscreen use when driving) much more useful.