Just saw this on social media:
Voice control?
Sure. When it works (which is most of the time). Via Siri or the Google Assistant.
I can say “Hey Google play WFUV on my Naim Cube,” and it will turn on my QB 2 and play the radio station. You do need the Google Assistant app, a Google Nest product or something else that responds to voice commands.
I’ve participated in (sometimes started) a number of threads about it.
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Despite trying several times, I’ve given up - it’s too technical for my little brain to make it work 
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But this is functionality of the mobile operating system. Stating it as functionality of the Naim system… naughty.
No it isn’t. Our washing machine has WiFi and an app you can use to start or stop a programme. That doesn’t mean you can say “hey Siri start my washing machine” because that won’t work, there’s no integration with voice assistants.
It works with the atom because the integration is there to respond to the instruction from Siri and google.
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The technology to make voice control work is massive. Implementation will always require one of the industry giants. In most (all?) cases the voice activated device is simply receiving an instruction from Google (or Apple or Amazon . . .) via the Cloud. Just as my living room lamp turns on when I ask Google to turn it on.
There are some instances where the command can be issued to the device itself. Wireless headphones come to mind, because most already have built-in mikes. And I recently gifted a friend with a smart speaker with a built-in microphone. But even then the command is going up to the Cloud in order to be carried out.
The more significant issue is the range of commands that can be conveyed. As I stated in another thread I started yesterday, I don’t believe the Google Assistant would “understand” a voice command to play music from my server. Or from Tidal or Qobuz. Google did not build that in (as they did with You Tube Music and Spotify).
Interestingly, someone developed an Alexa Skill to play music from a JRiver server. I bought an Echo Pop just to test it out, and it works. But I doubt that it would be able to figure out, “Alexa, play Beethoven Symphony Number 3 from the 1960s Karajan cycle on my kitchen speaker.”
That makes sense and what I did assume but advertising voice control on a product is different than stating Siri/Alexa integration. Perhaps the developer in me that finds this odd but reads like first class VC implementation.
[EDIT] plus with many devices one can do VC via the remote without having to start up your phone.
There are libraries to run VC locally without cloud support but they are large and do not work nearly so well, sadly.
But you’re not going to see one attached to a consumer product.
Yup a consequence of the current drawbacks.
True. Some Wiim streamers have remotes. In my case, I have several Google Nest products, so I can call out a command from anywhere in my apartment. As a practical matter, without those, I wouldn’t be futzing with my phone or a remote.
(Edited)
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