Siri

Siri now has so many capabilities that it’s hard to keep track of all the things it can do. You can ask Siri itself, of course, and it will show you a bunch of examples – but those are just a sampling. A new website is aiming to provide a comprehensive list of all the questions and commands Siri can process …

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At this year’s WWDC 2016, Apple introduced the only feature I really cared about seeing making its move onto macOS: Siri. The voice assistant had finally found its way onto the next obvious platform. While I was excited to see it available, I wasn’t ecstatic to see it would take a keyboard shortcut or icon click to launch it. That requirement made it feel like a step back in a world where nearly all of Apple’s devices had begun moving to hands-free Siri activation. Thanks to a tip on Reddit, however, that is no longer the case if you’re willing to do a little work upfront…

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Apple is bringing some clever intelligence for Siri with iOS 10, in addition to the publicly-announced features like third-party app integration. Thanks to a reader tip, we’ve discovered a clever enhancement for Siri on iPhones and iPads running iOS 10. When using ‘Hey Siri’ voice activation in a room with multiple nearby devices, only one device will respond. For example, with iOS 10 installed, an iPhone 6s is smart enough to stop listening for voice input if an iPad Pro is also listening.

Although both devices initially wake up, once one starts recognizing voice input, it appears to send a message to other nearby devices to cancel out the operation. This means that only one device keeps listening and prevents the naive havoc that happened on iOS 9, where all devices would try to answer the ‘Hey Siri’ question causing a confusing cacophony of sound from every nearby iPhone and iPad. You can see an example of this behavior in the video after the jump …

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Siri unlocks a new dimension of functionality in iOS 10, allowing third-party apps to integrate inline into the Siri voice assistant experience. Any developer integration expands utility of Siri dramatically but it’s important to note the limitations of the system Apple announced.

For iOS 10.0, the Siri API will only work with six kinds of application: ride booking (think Uber), messaging, Photo Search (find photos and videos in a particular app), payments (‘Send $100 to John with SquareCash’), VoIP Calling (e.g: Skype) and Workouts (for starting health and fitness activities) …

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macOS Sierra includes Siri, bringing voice-activated assistant to the Mac for the first time. You can search for files and folders, as well as the typical queries you would expect from Siri.

Whilst multitasking in other applications, you could also use Siri to activate music.

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It’s Monday, June 13th and Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is about to kick off with the company’s opening keynote and press event at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET.

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Siri is widely expected to make up a big part of Monday’s WWDC keynote (alongside iOS 10, macOS 10.12 and more) but it seems like it is already inadvertently tipping the hat on what is going to be announce. Brian Roemelle found that by asking the voice assistant about “windows” on his phone, Siri would start referencing the “Finder” app in its responses.

Obviously, iOS doesn’t have a Finder app but OS X does. It seems like Siri is unintentionally leaking the unveiling of Siri for Mac ahead of schedule, or perhaps even a brand new Finder app for iOS 10 …

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What will Apple unveil at its event this Monday, June 13 to kick off WWDC 2016? Below we roundup the latest reports along with some of our own information on what Apple is currently planning for the keynote.

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If you have the new Apple TV, you can now use Siri or the Search app to find movies and TV shows from four more channels: Bravo, E!, SyFy, and USA. Apple TV only gained apps for Brave, E!, and SyFy two weeks ago so Apple’s turnaround time for adding universal search support is notably fast.

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A survey by Creative Strategies found that while almost all American iPhone users have at least tried Siri, only 3% have ever used it in public. The firm expresses surprise at the apparent reason for this.

With public usage as low as 3% for iPhone users, it seems users are still uncomfortable talking to their devices. Even more fascinating is this happens in the US where consumers are accustomed to talking loudly on phones in public.

Highest usage of Siri was, unsurprisingly, in the car, where it hit 62%. Use at home averaged 39% across all the voice assistants surveyed, falling to just 1.3% at work where both the embarrassment factor and a desire not to disturb others likely combine …

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Apple’s WWDC 2016 will be light on new hardware announcements this year, but that will give the company plenty of stage time to show off big new releases on the software side. Siri for Mac, a Siri SDK for developers, an Apple Music and iTunes refresh, Touch ID features, and possibly a first look at new Macs, Apple has a lot of interesting in-development projects it could show off for Macs and OS X 10.12 at WWDC 2016. Below we roundup the rumored features for the next release of Apple’s Mac operating system and explore some of the possible new hardware we might see at the event later this month.

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When Siri originally launched on the iPhone a little over four years ago, we postulated that it would be a world-changing event. A personal assistant in our pockets that could handle real-world requests felt like the future. When it launched onto the Apple Watch, it was described as potentially being the quickest and most fun way to interact with the wearable. Then when it came to  the Apple TV, it became the fastest way to disseminate the content you want to watch across multiple apps.

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When the original developers of Siri jumped ship to develop a competing intelligent assistant called Viv, they dismissed Apple’s implementation of their intelligent assistant as just ‘a clever AI chatbot.’ We’ve since heard that Apple plans to offer a Siri SDK that will allow it to call on the capabilities of third-party apps (something I called for last year) – but it seems like the company is also seeking to go even beyond Viv’s capabilities.

Apple last year acquired British intelligent assistant developer VocalIQ – a tool specifically geared to truly conversational queries – and a source who spoke to Business Insider gave some insight into just how intelligent Siri could become when infused with this tech …

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Amazon was first with its Echo Wi-Fi speaker — a dedicated, standalone hub for its Alexa virtual assistant software — and now word has it Apple is working on a similar product for Siri. The several reports this week detailing Apple’s plans followed Google’s unveiling of its competitive Home hardware and Assistant platform at its Google I/O developer conference earlier this month. But what exactly will Apple’s competitor look like? And how will its reported plans for a Siri SDK play into its approach?

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Earlier this week it was reported that Apple may announce a Siri SDK and Amazon Echo-like Siri speaker at WWDC next month. The software development kit would allow developers to integrate apps with the voice assistant, and a Siri speaker would compete with Amazon’s Alexa and the upcoming Google Home. Adding to the rumors, a new report suggests this product may not be available until sometime next year, but could feature cameras with facial recognition features that stand out from Amazon’s and Google’s products.

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As we approach Apple’s WWDC 2016 developer conference scheduled for June 13-17, there are more than a few reported in-development features and fixes that are likely candidates for stage time. An Apple Music revamp, Apple Pay updates, improvements for the App Store, and new features for HomeKit, Siri, and Apple News are just a few possibilities for Apple’s event next month. Below we roundup those features and much more as we take a look at the most likely new iPhone and iPad features in the works for iOS 10:

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Last year, I wrote a Feature Request asking that Apple give third-party apps access to Siri, and generally work at beefing-up both the intelligence and the capabilities of its intelligent assistant. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an opinion piece pointing to the fact that Viv is exactly what Siri should have been by now.

This week, a report suggests that I may finally be getting my wish. Apple is said to be not only planning to offer a Siri SDK to all developers, but also building an Amazon Echo/Google Home type box that will embed Siri more deeply in the home through integration with HomeKit. We will, says the report, find out more at WWDC.

If true, the implications could be profound – perhaps even meaning that we’ve hit ‘peak app’ …

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