Siri

As Apple’s Finance department transitions into a new era under the watch of incoming CFO Luca Maestri, the team is seeking acquisition integration analysts. The new job position was posted earlier today on Apple’s job listings website. The listing is seeking an analyst who could examine companies acquired by Apple and assist in integrating that company’s resources into existing teams within Apple. The person will need to work on integration with the HR, Legal, IS&T, Real Estate, Operations, Finance, and Tax teams:

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Approximately two weeks following the previous seed, Apple has released iOS 7.1 beta 5 to developers. The new beta is currently available for those running earlier versions of 7.1 via Software Update in Settings.

Previous betas revealed some minor user-interface changes in the Phone application. Release notes for this new beta indicate some Siri improvements for international users. “This seed adds new natural-sounding Siri voices for English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin – China),” according to the release notes provided by a developer.

We’ll update this post as more details about the new beta come to light:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OZMu5u0yU]

Earlier this month we reported that a developer was seemingly able to get Apple’s upcoming iOS in the Car feature running through what we assumed was the iOS Simulator. Today, the same developer, Steven Troughton-Smith, has posted the video embedded above showing the feature actually up and running in a 800×480 Simulator window. Using the iPhone Simulator and iOS 7.0.3, the video shows the Maps app, a crude multitasking tray of sorts, and the ability to search by voice to navigate. No other apps are shown in the video, but it does appear that media controls of some kind are in the multitasking tray like in previous versions of iOS.

We noted before that the design had changed quite significantly since Apple first showed off the feature on stage at WWDC last year. The first set of screenshots posted showed a horizontal navigation bar, but the new video shows a design that’s much closer to what Apple showed on stage and what it is currently displaying on its website. Smith also made some notes of his own after playing with the simulator:
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Image: techbeat.com

An intriguing patent application by Apple to deliver mood-based advertising contains what could be read as a strong hint that the rumored iWatch will, as we’ve speculated in the past, major on sensor technology.

In addition to describing ways of assessing mood by such clues as likes in social media, type of applications used and music playing, the patent also lists physical characteristics that could be used:

Mood-associated physical characteristics can include heart rate; blood pressure; adrenaline level; perspiration rate; body temperature; vocal expression, e.g. voice level, voice pattern, voice stress, etc.; movement characteristics; facial expression; etc … 
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<a href="http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2012/11/google-vs-apple/">Apple HQ in Cupertino</a>

Apple has been on a roll this year in terms of acquisitions. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino firm acquired 15 companies this year, but only ten have been revealed. That list includes mapping companies such as Embark, chip makers like Passif, search specialists such as Cue and Topsy, and hardware companies such as PrimeSense. Because only 10 of the 15 Apple acquisitions of 2013 have been revealed, we have been digging and asking around to find the few remaining Apple pickups. Based on evidence and chatter from sources, Apple seemingly acquired mapping firm BroadMap in the first half of this year and Evernote-competitor Catch within the last few months…

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From 9to5Google:

Update: TechCrunch reports that this video is fake.

Update #2: TechCrunch now reports the video is real and commissioned by Yahoo!, but not a real product yet.

With Yahoo’s acquisition of SkyPhrase, a natural language processing startup this month questions immediately arose as to how Yahoo would incorporate the technology. Now, thanks to a video on Daily Motion discovered by Android Police, we may have our answer as Yahoo prepares a Siri voice-controlled personal assistant.

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Update: A source close to the company tells us the feature is “more than just simple mirroring” and indeed part of Honda’s implementation of iOS in the Car. Collaboration with Apple first started in 2011 and Honda initially announced Siri Eyes Free, but the new 2014 Civic will be the first of its vehicles to expand its collaboration with Apple to the new iOS in the Car features. We’re told Honda plans to announce new iOS integration features the first week of December and that the hardware will enable a full roll out of iOS in the Car for the 14 Civic when Apple is ready with the feature later this year. We’ve reached out to Honda for an official comment and we’ll update if we hear back.

Update 2: It’s official.

After announcing back in January that it would begin supporting the Siri Eyes Free feature as an option in some of its 2013 Accord and Acura models, Honda will become the first major car manufacturer to support iOS mirroring on December 4. That could mean drivers of its new 2014 Civic just unveiled yesterday will be able to control their iOS devices using the 7-inch multitouch display built into the dash of the car. Honda confirmed mirroring technology would be available in the Civic when it goes on sale next month on its Twitter account (pictured below). It also noted that the promised Siri Eyes Free updates will be available at the beginning of December.

Earlier this year Apple unveiled a new strategy to further integrate its mobile platform into vehicles with the introduction of iOS in the Car at WWDC in June. The new features will see Apple working with car manufacturers to allow users to place calls, have more control over Siri, and view maps, but it’s unclear exactly what mirroring technology Honda will be using using in its new Civic Coupe. iOS in the Car is expected to make an appearance in new vehicles in 2014, while Apple is already working with Audi, BMW, Chrysler, General Motors, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota to implement Siri Eyes Free.
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Apple appears to have recently started promoting some of its own stock iOS apps on the App Store for search terms that would have previously displayed results from third-party developers first. As noted by MacStories, when searching for terms such as “browser”, “web”, “SMS”, “Movies”, “cloud, “Siri”, “internet”, and others on the App Store, Apple is now promoting some of its own apps and services such as Safari, iTunes, Messages, iCloud, and Siri as the first results.

The result for Apple’s apps aren’t typical App Store listings but instead provide users with a brief description and link to either “Learn more” or open the app. Clicking Learn More takes users to Apple’s website in Safari for more information on the app, while some listings, such as iTunes, allow users to tap “Visit iTunes Store” and automatically launch the iOS iTunes app.
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All concept visuals: martinhajek.com

Having recently speculated on what Apple might have planned in the way of 4K displays, I thought I’d build on that to think about what it might have in store on the television front.

If you didn’t read my 4K piece, the tl;dr version is I think Apple will launch a 4K Thunderbolt Display in about a year’s time, once it has a new generation of MacBook Pro models able to drive one (or preferably two) at a decent frame-rate.

The question then is: what form might the long-rumored Apple Television take? After all, plug an upgraded Apple TV box into an Apple 4K display and you’d have an Apple Television right there. Why would we need anything more … ? 
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An Atlanta woman has come forward to CNN as the U.S. voice of Siri, the built-in “personal assistant” first introduced in the iPhone 4S. Susan Bennett says she first discovered that her voice was being used on Apple’s smartphones when a friend emailed her and asked if it was her voice on the iPhone commercial. She headed to the Apple website to discover that she had unknowingly provided the voice for the system with samples she recorded in July of 2005, a full six years before the phone’s launch.

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Apple seems to have acquired Cue, a former personal assistant application for the iPhone. TechCrunch says that the purchase price was in the realm of $40 million, and AppleInsider initially reported the rumor this morning. Cue’s service shut down yesterday, leading to the acquisition chatter. The company gave its “sincerest thanks” to users, but did not provide detail behind the closure…

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