Siri

Update: The feature is also rolling out in Australia, with ABC, SBS, and Seven Network as sources.

Earlier this month, Apple started testing a new capability for Siri that would play daily podcasts when asked about the news. At first, the feature was limited to users running the iOS 11.2.5 beta in the United States, but Apple today has expanded it to non-beta users and users in the UK…

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Apple has taught Siri more about sport ahead of the Australian Open starting this weekend. iPhone, iPad , Apple Watch and Mac users can now ask questions to Siri like ‘Hey Siri, how is Roger Federer doing’ or ‘Hey Siri, who is ahead in the Pebble Beach tournament’.

You can also ask for player biographies and more information relating to the sporting events coming up and historical records. Details below on exactly what Siri knows about in golf and tennis …

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In what is certainly a feature created with the HomePod in mind, Apple has enhanced Siri in iOS 11.2.5 beta with the ability to instantly stream a news podcast when asked about the news. The feature defaults to a daily news recap podcast by The Washington Post and lets you switch to Fox News, NPR, or CNN shows upon request.

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In the wake of the HomePod delay, I’ve found myself tinkering more and more with Amazon Alexa-enabled smart speakers like the Sonos One and Echo Dot. The main appeal of HomePod for me is HomeKit control, managing Apple Reminders and Cultured Code Things tasks and entries, and controlling Apple Music and Apple Podcasts playback.

I’ve found that most HomeKit accessories also work with Amazon Alexa, so voice-enabled smart home control is relatively easy to do with Alexa. Adding new entries to lists in Reminders is something else I frequently do with Siri, and luckily it’s possible to make this work with Alexa too.

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A new patent unearthed today shows how Apple is working to make improvements Siri and its core capabilities. Apple originally filed for the patent in 2016, but it was just made public today

Essentially, this patent covers how Siri could detect when a user is whispering and subsequently “whisper” all of its replies…..

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Siri is steadily getting better with new features and improvements, but one place where the voice assistant could still learn a thing or two is how it pronounces city names. Siri tries its best to pronounce the names of cities based on their spelling, but this often leads to a comically bad mispronunciation that makes Siri sound like a complete out-of-towner.

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The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) — of which Apple is a member — today has shared a new document outlining AI Policy Principles for the tech industry, the government, and public-private partnerships, as well as projecting how valuable AI could become in the near future.

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Apple has published a fascinating new entry in its Machine Learning Journal this month that explains how the voice-activated ‘Hey Siri’ detector works in detail. While many of these entries tend to be too in depth for the average reader (i.e. me), October’s entry from the Siri team includes several interesting (and understandable!) tidbits about what happens behind-the-scenes when you use ‘Hey Siri’ on your iPhone and Apple Watch.

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It looks like Siri and Google are friends again and Bing is in the rear view mirror. In a major shift, Apple is changing its search results provider for Siri and Spotlight on iOS and macOS from Microsoft’s Bing to the vastly more popular Google.

The change has started to roll out today and should be in effect for all users by the end of the day. For users, this means Siri and Spotlight will now provide the same search results as Safari by default (and in a lot of cases show better search results).

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Things by Cultured Code has long been my go-to task management app of choice, and today the app suite is getting a big update thanks to iOS 11 and watchOS 4. Things 3.2 works with Siri for the first time (no more Reminders workaround!) and there’s powerful drag and drop support on the iPad.

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An Apple job ad notes that some people treat Siri as a therapist or counsellor, and it wants to help the intelligent assistant do a better job of helping people.

People have serious conversations with Siri. People talk to Siri about all kinds of things, including when they’re having a stressful day or have something serious on their mind. They turn to Siri in emergencies or when they want guidance on living a healthier life. Does improving Siri in these areas pique your interest? Come work as part of the Siri Domains team and make a difference.

If you’re thinking of applying, you’ll need an unusual combination of skills …

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A new analyst note today from Barclays covers Apple’s efforts and potential in the connected home market. While the firm expects Apple will be a major connected home player, it believes Apple will struggle to create more revenue from this part of its business.

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[Update: A discovery by iHelp BR earlier this month also suggests that the sleep/wake button may have custom functions in native iOS apps. The line of code found was “lockButtonAppropriateForShutter”. With the larger sleep/wake button we’ve seen in many iPhone 8/Edition renders, it’s possible we could see two buttons housed within the new sleep/wake button.]

The latest discovery by developer Guilherme Rambo indicates the iPhone 8/Edition could use the sleep/wake button to invoke Siri in place of the Home button.

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Apple is among a handful of companies who have just been honored with Emmy awards. Yes, you read that right. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the awards in a press release today, highlighting the “Sciences” aspect of its name. TechCrunch was first to note the inclusion of companies like Apple, DJI, Microsoft, and others.

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Apple’s AI expert, Tom Gruber, delivered a TED talk back in April extolling the benefits that AI may provide for us in the years to come. The video of the onstage presentation has now been released and gives us a better glimpse into the future Gruber imagines. His presentation focuses on what he calls “humanistic AI”, the belief that when machines get smarter, so will we.

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If you have a Barclays bank account, you can now make payments simply by instructing Siri to do it.

The feature, added to the latest version of the company’s iOS app, uses the Siri integration for payment apps Apple introduced with iOS 10. PayPal took advantage of this last November, but banks have been slow to do so …

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Update: Here is Apple’s The Rock x Siri Dominate the Day full commercial:

https://youtu.be/ufBLI6bB9sg

Update: Despite initially touting it as a “movie, ‘Johnson now says his partnership with Apple is a “crazy fun” commercial.

Haha it's a crazy fun commercial we'll drop tomorrow. Dominate your day brother 👊🏾

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 23, 2017

Seemingly out of nowhere, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has announced on his personal Twitter account that he will soon be starring in a movie created in partnership with Apple. Co-starring alongside The Rock is none other than Siri, Apple’s artificial intelligent assistant.

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Apple today has been granted a handful of new patents, some of which are more notable than others. Such patents include one for an iPhone “smart dock” with Siri built-in, a new 911 calling method, and more.

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App analytics company Verto reports that while Siri remains the most popular intelligent assistant, fewer people are using it.

The company measures usage and popularity of voice-based IAs based on six different criteria, and says that five out of the six numbers are down year-on-year …

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Apple’s HomePod is scheduled to arrive this December for $349 in the US, Australia and the UK. Are you planning to pick one up? And will you switch from an Amazon Echo or Google Home in the process?

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