Speaker maker Soundmatters has just released an audio device you can talk to without looking like a crazy person. And even better, it’ll talk back with the voice of Apple’s digital assistant, Siri.
The aptly named Dash7+Siri has all the functions of the basic mini soundbar, but it also lets you issue commands directly to the speaker with the press of a button.
“How is that useful?” the product page says, echoing our own internal monologues. “Well, in the times your iPhone or iPad is out of reach, you can easily trigger Siri on the Dash7 and quickly control your device.”
It’s a cool idea, but we aren’t entirely sure how often we’d be closer to this speaker than our phones. And iPhone 6s or Apple Watch owners don’t even need to press any buttons at all ever because the digital assistant on those devices activates with vocal commands.
The Dash7 is an attractive speaker, however, and its new abilities give Apple an answer to devices like Amazon’s Echo. In addition to controlling your music, the Dash7 will also let you set reminders, make appointments, and send texts with your paired iPhone. It could be a powerful addition to your desk that lets you keep your phone on the charger or in your pocket.
So we get it now. It just took us a minute.
Evan Killham is a freelance writer who lives in Nebraska and isn’t interested in football, so he has plenty of time to play and think about video games. He has written for Bitmob and GamesBeat and sometimes, he even goes outside. But not too often because he’s heard there are bees out there. Occasionally, companies send free units for review. Evan subscribes to Cult of Mac’s Reviews Policy and also does not keep the items he receives for possible coverage.
