With the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Apple led the charge to make new personal digital products accessible, popular, and now all but necessary. But the electronics giant may now be playing catch-up to Amazon in the connected-home market, as the e-tailer’s Echo device and its various spinoffs become more affordable and functional. Now comes news that Apple is looking to build a connected-home speaker/assistant of its own to go head-to-head with Echo. [More]