Siri

Apple is working on a big change to how its Siri voice assistant works. While you currently have to say “Hey Siri” to activate the assistant hands-free, that may not be the case for much longer. Bloomberg reports today that Apple engineers are working to drop the “Hey” part of the phrase, so you’d only have to say “Siri” followed by a command to activate the assistant…

Apple this week released the first beta of iOS 16.2 for developers, which comes with overall improvements and some new features. The company also released tvOS 16.2 beta, and the update brings an important feature to Apple TV — multi-user voice recognition when using Siri.

Following the announcement of new iPad models this week, Apple also introduced a new generation of Apple TV 4K with the A15 Bionic chip and HDR10+ support. In addition, the company also revealed a new Siri interface coming with tvOS 16.1 for all supported Apple TV models. Read on as we show you what the new interface looks like.

Dictating on the iPhone is, I would confidently estimate, something I do more than typing. Siri is also the main way I control my HomeKit devices.

Any time I’ve mentioned either of these things, there are always comments from people saying how terrible their experience is with both, so I thought I’d share a few things I think make a difference.

If you’ve just updated to iOS 16, now is a particularly good time to give dictation another go, as you can now easily mix-and-match speaking and typing …

Siri has always known how to start phone calls and FaceTime sessions. Starting in iOS 16, Siri will finally be able to end those calls too. Here’s how to use the new Siri Call Hangup feature.

A new study digging into how Amazon uses Alexa voice recordings from its customers has concluded that the company and third parties leverage the audio to deliver targeted ads directly on Echo smart speakers as well as the web. That’s in contrast to Apple not using Siri recordings for ads and sharing voice data being turned off by default on devices like HomePod and iPhone since 2019. However, Amazon contends the new research is based on “inaccurate inferences or speculation.”

Apple is getting in on April Fools’ Day subtly with a hidden Siri easter egg. While we’ve seen clever responses to questions for Apple’s virtual assistant on April 1 in the past, this year the Siri trivia game is aiming to check “how gullible” we all are.

Colin Hughes, a quadriplegic Apple user who often shares his experience of accessibility features on Apple devices, has reported that Apple has quietly added a valuable new Mac Voice Control feature.

Although it isn’t shown in the release notes, it appears to have been added in macOS Monterey 12.3 …

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman has been teasing a March Apple event for a few weeks now. As people were expecting invites from the Cupertino company dropping today, it looks like we may have to wait a bit more, according to Siri.

After Siri got two new voices for American users with iOS 14.5, Apple today is bringing another option to its personal assistant with iOS 15.4 beta 4. The company says the new voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, although it didn’t offer further details.

Back in 2019, Apple introduced a new option that let users opt out of sharing their Siri recordings with Apple due to privacy concerns. While this option is still available in iOS 15, it seems that the option wasn’t working as expected. The company has now fixed that bug with iOS 15.4.

I’ve owned a HomePod since the original $349 speaker arrived in Apple Stores four years ago. However, a lot has changed since 2018, including the demise of that smart speaker in favor of the more affordable HomePod mini.

No matter which HomePod you have, it’s easy to forget what all it can do since it’s primarily controlled by voice. You’re likely to learn something new by periodically checking what HomePod can do with voice control.

Siri was introduced to the world a decade ago, and contextual awareness was one of its early strengths. That’s why it can be surprising that missing the context of a request is still common ten years later.

A few nights ago, I was a few ocean wave crashes away from falling asleep when a thought populated my mind. I desperately wanted to capture the idea without breaking the dark with my iPhone screen. Easy, I have a HomePod mini in the bedroom, so I’ll just use Siri! That’s when I realized the HomePod still has a handy voice feature left to learn.

A summary of the way that various tech giants last year sought to address the needs of people with disabilities shows that Apple’s accessibility record is better than that of most companies – but did make things worse in one respect.

The piece summarizes the accessibility wins and losses of Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Twitter …

At WWDC this summer, Apple announced that it would be expanding Siri’s availability to third-party devices for the first time. Today, Ecobee is announcing that it is rolling out support for Siri integration for its popular SmartThermostat with voice control. Head below for the full details on how this works.

Ten years ago today, Apple announced its brand-new personal assistant Siri. At the time, it was able to show you the weather, add an appointment to the calendar, and more. Now, you can celebrate Siri’s birthday by saying “Happy Birthday” to the personal assistant.

Update: Automated tools like UserWay are highly controversial among disabled web users.

Susan Bennett revealed back in 2013 that she only found out by chance that she had become the original voice of Siri. She’s now taking advantage of her accidental fame to promote a new approach to web usability.

Bennett stars in an amusing Siri-based ad for an AI-based approach to making websites accessible to people with disabilities, such as those using screen readers …

Apple announced a major upgrade to Siri this year with iOS 15, which is now able to process on-device requests without an internet connection. However, it seems that Apple’s virtual assistant has also lost some functionality, as users have been complaining about Siri no longer being able to send emails or check call history.