Siri

Apple today released tvOS 9.1 for the new Apple TV. Betas have included Siri support for controlling Apple Music, which Apple first said would be available for customers by early next year. Update: tvOS 9.1 does indeed add Siri support for Apple Music to all users. Apple’s Remote app also works with the new Apple TV for the first time. That means text input from iPhones and iPads will make setup much easier (and on par with older Apple TVs). watchOS 2.1 lets Apple Watch’s built-in Remote app work with new Apple TVs as a D-pad too.

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Apple today released iOS 9.2 for iPhones and iPads after several versions of testing. The point update so far has included improvements to Safari including an improved Safari View Controller for viewing websites within apps and easily dismissing them afterwards, the addition of Arabic language support with the Siri voice assistant for the first time, and more.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is continuing his public support for equality with a video raising awareness for the Cerebral Palsy foundation.  The campaign ‘Just Say Hi’ encourages people to communicate and interact with people with disabilities in the same way as any other person; hence the ‘just say hi’ moniker.

In the clip, Cook uses Siri to ask how to start a conversation with someone who has a disability. Following the campaign, Siri replies: ‘It’s easy. Just say “hi”.’ You can try this on your iPhone or iPad as well. Siri will repeat the same thing.

Watch the video after the break …

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The iPhone is an amazing device. It fits in a pocket, yet it’s an incredibly powerful computer that connects us to the world, entertains us wherever we go, and captures quality photos and videos.

However, some of the iPhone’s tricks are hidden until you connect it to specific accessories. Did you know, for example, that you can save energy on your Christmas lights using your iPhone? Or improve the quality of your sleep with an iPhone-connected sensor? Or turn your car into a giant Siri-controlled entertainment and communications system? These accessories range in price from affordable to expensive, making them perfect gifts for iPhone users who want to unlock new capabilities. Read on to discover these hidden features, as well as the accessories you should grab or put on your wish list to unlock them…

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Apple today has shared yet another new iPhone 6s ad focusing on the device’s always-lisnteing “Hey Siri” feature. Earlier this week, Apple debuted two new advertisements for the iPhone 6s, one focused on the device’s improved performance and another on “Hey Siri.” This ad stars highly acclaimed director Jon Favreau and showcases the iPhone 6s being used on a film set.

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Leapfrogging the one-device HomeKit “smart plugs” previously released by iHome, ConnectSense has debuted the Smart Outlet with Apple HomeKit ($80), which combines two Siri-controlled wall power outlets with a 2.4-Amp USB port. Using Wi-Fi, the Smart Outlet lets you separately monitor and control each of the three-prong outlets, while the side-mounted USB port has enough power to refuel any iPad — including the iPad Pro — or iPhone at full speed.

Designed with a subtle light bar running across the top, bottom, and front, the Smart Outlet easily replaces a single three-prong outlet, plugging in and covering the existing wall plate with no need for special wiring. ConnectSense notes that Apple’s HomeKit provides end-to-end security for its monitoring and control features, enabling you to safely use Siri or a free app for iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to turn off lights or activate connected devices from afar. When paired with other accessories, HomeKit also enables you to create “scenes,” simultaneously turning off your lights, locking your door, closing your garage door, and setting your thermostat. A gallery is below…

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The idea of a smart home is a long running meme in technological circles. Apple has made the biggest stride recently with HomeKit and there is now a significant ecosystem of lights, switches, and other accessories to buy for your home. That being said, smart home accessories are still novelties and quite pricey: they aren’t must-have purchases. However, this makes them great gifts for the holiday season — uncommon presents that are fun to play with and have some long-lasting usefulness. We’ve rounded up our favorite HomeKit accessories below …

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The average Apple Watch owner interacts with their Watch 60-80 times a day, but most of that usage doesn’t involve anything more than looking at the watch face, checking the time and information displayed in the complications. The least common thing people do on the Watch is read emails.

These are among the findings of two very different studies noted by Fortune. Wristly’s latest update provides a whole raft of data about what people do with their watches, based on a large panel of 1450 owners, but relying on users to estimate their usage. A Stockholm University study took the exact opposite approach, studying a mere dozen owners, but analysing video from wearable cameras to measure what people actually did rather than what they reported … 
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There’s a new software update awaiting Apple TV developers today. tvOS 9.1 beta 3 is now available for registered developers testing apps against the upcoming software update to Apple TV. The initial iOS 9.1 beta for developers was released a couple weeks ago, but no visual changes have surfaced yet aside from Siri support for Apple Music, which Apple promises will be available early next year for all Apple TV 4th-gen owners.
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Just a week after the last version, Apple has released iOS 9.2 beta 4 to testers for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The first iOS 9.2 beta appeared alongside Xcode 7.2 beta in late October. We’ll dive into the latest beta and update with any changes we discover.
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Apple recently confirmed that the Apple TV will get Siri support for Apple Music from the beginning of next year, and iDownloadBlog‘s Jeff Benjamin found that it’s already present in the beta of tvOS 9.1.

You can now direct the remote assistant to play any song or album directly from Apple Music, even if the song or album isn’t in your library. Siri can even search for songs on Apple Music, play Play Beats 1 radio, and more.

Benjamin demo’d the functionality in a video (below) … 
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Last week, Apple seeded the first beta of the upcoming iOS 9.2 release to developers, and we’ve discovered that the new update will add support for Arabic in Siri. Apple previously built in the fundamental elements of understanding Arabic to iOS by adding Arabic support to the Keyboard Dictation and QuickType features in iOS 8 last year. Apple adding Arabic support to Siri follows up on Apple expanding its retail presence to the United Arab Emirates by opening up a pair of flagship stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

A local YouTube video shows off examples of Siri in Arabic:

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While Siri voice search is a core feature of the new Apple TV, right now it’s limited to only eight countries: UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Japan. In other regions, the Siri Remote is simply called the Apple TV Remote (not to be confused with the old Apple TV Remote) and pressing the mic button just opens the Search app.

This is despite the fact Siri on iPhone is actually available in 30 countries, so it wasn’t clear why Apple had pinpointed only a subset of those. It turns out, according to a chat with Apple by MacPrime, that there are some clever optimizations Apple makes with Apple TV Siri to improve speech recognition.

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If you’re curious to see how Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana compares to Siri, you may be able to take it for a test-drive. Microsoft says that it has completed internal testing of Cortana for iOS and is now seeking beta testers.

Cortana is with you on your Windows 10 PC, tablet, and phone—helping you whenever and wherever you need it. But we also know that there’s a choice of mobile devices out there, so we want help from our Windows Insiders to make sure she’s a great personal assistant on iOS too. We’re looking for a limited number of people to get their hands on an early version of the […] Cortana for iOS beta … 

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Apple’s famed obsession with secrecy in its product development process is hampering its work in the field of artificial intelligence, say academics working in the field. Bloomberg reports that AI experts believe that lack of two-way sharing of information slows development.

“Apple is off the scale in terms of secrecy,” says Richard Zemel, a professor in the computer science department at the University of Toronto. “They’re completely out of the loop.”

Apple Maps was cited as an example of what can go wrong when AI teams within Apple are cut off from other work being done in the field – and even from researchers in other teams within Apple. Worse, it is claimed, the approach makes it impossible for Apple to recruit the brightest people in the field …

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Apple has confirmed our report that the Apple TV is available in its retail stores from this morning, with Best Buy, MacMall and Target also having limited stock available for pickup starting today.

Apple has sent an email to some customers promoting the 4th-generation Apple TV as ‘the future of television,’ highlighting apps, Siri remote and the new user interface. Apple’s email contains links to both the online store and retail store-finder.

If you’re planning to pick one up, you’ll need to choose between the two models available … 
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While early reviews of the new Apple TV are somewhat muted, Apple isn’t finished yet. It has confirmed to Buzzfeed that the new device will add Siri support for Apple Music from the beginning of next year.

This means that using the Apple TV remote control, people will be able to say, “Play ‘Hotline Bling’” or “Play the newest Taylor Swift album,” and Siri will take it from there.

Reviewers have praised Siri’s universal search feature, which allows system-wide searching for video content, and the box will now be capable of carrying out similar searches for music. The move should be good news for Apple as well as for its customers … 
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Pandora co-creator Tom Conrad discovered that Siri won’t open the pod door answer questions about the music charts if you don’t subscribe to Apple Music. When Conrad asked Siri for the most popular song in the US today, she remained tight-lipped.

Sorry, Tom, I can’t look up the music charts for you. You don’t seem to be subscribed to Apple Music …

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Update (1/11 2:00pm): With the release of tvOS 9.2, Apple has officially added support for Bluetooth Keyboards on Apple TV. You’ll find our top-picks below.

The new Apple TV is now available for pre-orders with the first units set to ship on Friday. Apple has introduced a number of features to its new streaming device, including an App Store, a fresh remote with Siri built-in, universal search and support for MFi gaming controllers. However, the fourth generation Apple TV is pretty light on included accessories. It doesn’t even come with an HDMI cable.

Head below for all the must-have controllers, add-ons and accessories to take full advantage of Apple’s latest release.

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Apple today has shared three new advertisements for iPhone 6s to its YouTube channel. These new ads come just days after the company debuted seven new ads for Apple Watch. Today’s new iPhone 6s ads are called “The Camera,” “Crush,” and “Flip a Coin,” each highlighting a specific feature of the device.

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