Bloomberg: Apple moving forward with smart speaker to rival Echo

Back in May, reports surfaced that Apple was working on a device that would rival Amazon's Echo speakers. In fact, those rumors indicated that Tim Cook & Co. had been working on the gadget before Amazon announced its speakers with the Alexa virtual assistant on board. Now Bloomberg reports that Apple's upcoming device is moving from the R&D phase and into proper testing. Similar to the Echo line, Apple's smart-home unit will pack in Siri and control connected appliances, lights and more via voice cues. Google announced its version back at I/O in May, a smart speaker called Home. The company scheduled an event for October 4th, so perhaps we'll hear more about the device in addition to the anticipated new Nexus phones.