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Apple reportedly testing having Siri transcribe voicemails, allowing you to read them

Apple is reportedly conducting internal testing on a service that allows Siri to transcribe your voicemail messages into text, so that you can read them rather than having to listen to them. Business Insider reports that the service is expected to be launched next year.

When someone using iCloud Voicemail is unable to take a call, Siri will answer instead of letting the call go to a standard digital audio recorder. 

iCloud Voicemail can relay information about where you are and why you can’t pick up the phone to certain people. But the coolest feature of the service is that Siri will transcribe any incoming voicemails, just like it does with anything else you say to it.

The piece says that a number of Apple employees are currently trialling the service to determine its reliability … 

If it passes testing, it’s believed Apple plans to include the service in iOS 10.

iOS 9 already offers a number of new Siri features, including providing limited access to third-party apps, and detecting when you get into your car to switch to driving mode. Siri is also getting a range of new commands to allow it to control HomeKit products, using Apple TV as a gateway device.

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Comments

  1. 89p13 - 9 years ago

    That would prove very valuable to me. Sitting in a meeting, where I can’t very well pick up my phone to take a call or listen to a voicemail – but be able to read the voicemail. That’s a real keeper of a feature!

    I hope that rumour proves to be true!

  2. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    Arriving in iOS10 to transcribe audio to text? Good grief could Siri advance anymore slowly?

  3. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 9 years ago

    Break out the Ebonics translator…

  4. lkrupp215 - 9 years ago

    I am an at&t subscriber and have an at&t app that I downloaded that already does just this. About 30 seconds after a voicemail arrives the app (VM Viewer) notifies me that a transcription has arrived. It works really well. I believe you must be a subscriber to at&t’s Unified Messaging service.

  5. jeamland - 9 years ago

    Google bought grand central, what, 7 years ago? I’ve had this functionality with google voice for many years…..

  6. Taste_of_Apple - 9 years ago

    This could be one of those small updates that leaves a big impact. While BI doesn’t go into it, the implications of such a service are more likely going to be felt by users in need of accessibility features. Those who have difficulty hearing would be greatly aided by such a service. If iCloud is what powers this system, perhaps the low limit of voicemail messages would be increased to allow for more voicemails to be saved. Google Voice has offered this feature to some extent for years, but it can be hilariously inaccurate. Apple likely wants to avoid this – though Siri is still admittedly a mixed bag for some. Plus, I no longer trust Google with my voicemails. I would trust Apple and I think a lot of folks would be very pleased if they can pull this off for iOS 10.

  7. mikhailt - 9 years ago

    I think what everyone is missing out is that Siri would be able to voice back your specific message to selected persons instead of the standard recording message. In the other words, I could quickly type “I will call back in a few minutes, in the bathroom atm” and Siri will voice it back as a recording to the incoming call. It’s not a simple transcription service for voicemail, it’s expanding Siri to be more of a powerful assistant for your calls.

  8. This site is now a convoluted mess. I’m outa here until you make it quickly browsable again. Really dumb theme choice.

  9. The @TrapCall app has had voicemail transcriptions for years now.

  10. PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

    My phone company actually does this the other way around: you can send a SMS to a landline and when you answer that phone a computer reads out the msg.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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