CultCast #282 - Will Apple's Siri smart speaker suck?

This week: 

• Apple’s secret Siri speaker may be announced at WWDC—we’ll tell you everything (we think) we know about it.  
• Why AirPods are the best product Apple’s made in years
• Why Microsoft’s MacBook clone is actually great for Apple fans
• We deconstruct and decode Tim Cook’s mysterious and quickly deleted accidental tweet, and you’ll be shocked at the truth!

  This episode supported by   Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney   This week’s Intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOwN5kpgWGc   Apple’s new Siri speaker could be revealed at WWDC http://www.cultofmac.com/478847/apples-new-siri-speaker-revealed-wwdc/

• Earlier this week, we heard the company is currently in the process of finalizing the design of its first standalone Siri device, which is expected to take on the Amazon Echo. Now we have an idea what it might look like and when it could be revealed.
• Apple's Siri-based smart speaker and home hub has an "over 50 percent chance" of being announced at WWDC, according to our homeboy Ming Chi Kuo.
• Kuo said Apple's smart home product will likely launch in the second half of 2017 and cost more than the Amazon Echo, $179. The device will supposedly support AirPlay with "excellent acoustics performance" from one woofer and seven tweeters. Kuo said its performance will be similar to the iPhone 6/6s.
• Last week, leaker Sonny Dickson likewise said Apple's smart speaker could be announced as early as WWDC. He said the device will run a variation of iOS with unspecified Beats technology, in addition to a Mac Pro-like concave top with built-in controls and speaker meshing covering the majority of its surface.
• A report from The Information said Apple's smart home speaker would be able to control appliances, locks, lights, and curtains through Siri voice commands. It added that some of the prototypes in testing have facial recognition sensors

  Apple places orders for its Amazon Echo rival http://www.cultofmac.com/479523/apple-places-orders-amazon-echo-rival/

• Digitimes is reporting that Inventec, the Taiwan company that makes Apple’s popular AirPods, received Apple’s order for the the Siri Smart speaker,

  Siri could soon recognize your voice for added security http://www.cultofmac.com/475095/siri-could-soon-recognize-your-voice-for-added-security/

• Apple is busy working on innovative tech like the ability for Siri to recognize individual users’ voices, according to a recently-published patent application from Apple.

  AirPods get highest-ever satisfaction score for a first-year Apple product http://www.cultofmac.com/479201/airpods-customer-satisfaction/

• AirPods are the most beloved product Apple has launched in years, based on a new survey that found an astonishing percentage of AirPod owners are extremely satisfied.
• In a newly published study conducted by Creative Strategies and Experian, a total of 98 percent of AirPod owners said they are either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with Apple’s new wireless buds. Over 80 percent of customers said they are very satisfied.

  Microsoft’s answer to the MacBook suffers one big flaw http://www.cultofmac.com/479397/microsofts-answer-macbook-one-big-flaw/

• Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop, with its sleek design and a super-sharp display, might look like a worthy competitor to the MacBook
• Starting at $999, the Surface Laptop ships with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a battery that lasts up to 14.5 hours in between charges.
• Windows 10 S only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store!  But uou can upgrade to Windows Pro for $50.

  Twitter flips out over mysterious Tim Cook tweet http://www.cultofmac.com/479663/tim-cook-deletes-mystery-tweet/

• Apple CEO Tim Cook set Twitter ablaze with speculation today — and all it took was a simple smiley face emoji.
• Cook sent out a tweet with just a smiley face emoji this morning. No other context was provided, and the tweet got deleted shortly later, leading Apple fans on Twitter to wonder what the most powerful man in tech was really trying to say.