Here's What Amazon Thinks About Apple's New Echo Rival

When Apple unveiled its Siri-powered HomePod speaker on Monday, it was widely seen as a response to similar devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. After all, all three gadgets have voice-activated assistants, all play music, and all can deliver news headlines, weather reports and control smart home devices. But Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices David Limp says there are big differences between Apple's HomePod and Amazon's Echo devices. "It's a little different philosophically than how we're looking at Echo," said Limp, who spoke with reporters at the Wired Business Conference on Wednesday. "We see [Echo devices] as endpoints for assistants; you'll want them in every room . . . If you think about putting a device in every room, times $350, it becomes an expensive purchase."