Apple hints its Echo killer could have a touchscreen

In an interview with India's Gadgets360, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, dropped the first hints for its long-rumored smart assistant speaker that'll reportedly be powered by Siri. SEE ALSO: Apple's Siri-based, Alexa-killing speaker hub could be coming soon Despite refusing to talk about the Echo and Google Home, Schiller didn't shy away from talking about voice-based devices as a whole. While he says Apple is heavily invested in Siri, Schiller talked up both the advantages and disadvantages of having a display. Stating the obvious, Schiller described situations where a screen isn't necessary and voice controls are better -- like when you're driving and can't fiddle with your phone or dashboard, or when you want to control your music from across the room without getting up. "I think voice assistants are incredibly powerful, their intelligence is going to grow, they're gonna do more for us, but the role of the screen is gonna remain very important to all of this," Schiller said.