Siri is Apple’s personal assistant technology that debuted in 2011 with the iPhone 4S. Apple purchased Siri in 2010. At the time, it was a dedicated app on the iPhone. When it became built into the iPhone, it could do basic things like play music and make phone calls.
Now, it can do things like integrate with third-party messaging apps. payments, ride-sharing service, calling app, set timers, get directions, add reminders, start TV shows on the Apple TV, make language translations, search for photos, open documents, interact with your smart home though HomeKit, and a lot more.
In iOS 12, it became integrated into more third-party apps through Shortcuts. Companies can build their own interactions for the service to work with.
Google unveiled a new feature within its iOS search app in August that reminds us a lot of Siri. Taking features from its Siri competitor Google Now, Google announced the search app would now allow folks to use natural voice commands to make searches. For example, a user can “ask for the weather in a natural way and it will provide results,” Google explained. Google noted during its announcement that the updated app would be available in a few days. But, two weeks later…nothing.
After the announcement, Google told reporters the app was submitted a week before the event. So, Google’s updated app has been going through Apple’s App Store approval for three weeks. We have to wonder: What is the hold up?
Codename One is an SDK launched by former Sun employees that allow developers to create a single native mobile app for multiple platforms (iOS/Android/Windows Phone, etc.) using Java and an optional GUI builder:
In other Apple Java news, a recent Apple job listing is looking for a Senior Java Engineer to join the Siri Server Platform team. Candidates should have experience in Java API design and will “lead and extend the core software infrastructure, algorithms, and APIs that let Siri move, understand, plan, learn, speak, and remember.” Like most huge Server Side Applications, Siri’s backend appears to be Java-based.
Those in China looking to get a head start on their Fall iPhone shopping are given the opportunity by sites like TaoBao, which, according to Reuters, (and the link we dug up) are already for sale.
Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhone has not even been released yet, but opportunistic sellers on China’s largest e-commerce platform, Taobao, are already accepting pre-orders, complete with mock-up pictures and purported technical specifications.
The hotly anticipated iPhone 5 is widely expected to be released sometime between August and October this year, although Apple itself has been tight-lipped about it. Sources have said the iPhone 5 would have a bigger screen than previous models, while Taiwanese media reported the phone’s voice recognition software, Siri, would have more powerful functions.
Buying Apple devices unseen shows what kind of confidence consumers have in the products that Apple makes. Would you put money down on Apple’s next iPhone without knowing anything about it? Expand Expanding Close
As noted by Phillip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune, Apple analyst Gene Munster published a note to clients today that contained the results of a Siri vs. Google search 1600-question showdown.
While it is not exactly a test of how well the companies’ various voice services stack up against one another (since Google Search queries were typed-in and not spoken), but it is a good indication of just how viable Siri is as an everyday mobile search product and alternative to Google. In the test, both Google and Siri were asked 800 questions in a quiet location. Another 800 questions were asked among the loud street traffic in Minneapolis. The results, according to Fortune: Expand Expanding Close
The Wall Street Journal reported that Google is accelerating its plans to launch a competitor to Siri. 9to5Google has the full story:
We have heard several reports in the past that Google was working on various evolutions of its Voice Actions platform for Android. Back in December we heard of “Project Majel”, which according to reports is the codename for a new voice-controlled assistant app similar to Siri. In March TechCrunch reported on a similar project dubbed Google Assistant. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Google is accelerating its plans to launch a competitor to Apple’s Siri…
Steve Wozniak traveled to upstate New York recently to visit a farm of rescued horses, and the local paper managed to snag a brief interview with the co-founder of Apple, where he discussed the criticism surrounding Siri.
Apple’s little personal assistant in iOS can handle questions, give recommendations, and delegate requests, but many wonder if it really lives up to expectations. The folks in Cupertino like to roll out commercials that show Siri capable of compiling individual preferences with personalized results, and even completing basic tasks like finding a nearby restaurant, but the software met very mixed reactions after it débuted on the iPhone 4S in October. Those who felt misled by Siri’s beta functionality depicted in ads eventually sought reimbursement by filing a class action lawsuit against the company earlier this year.
While in Patersonville, N.Y., Wozniak described his strong opinions on the voice-recognition application.
“A lot of people say Siri. I say poo-poo,” Wozniak said. “I was using it to make reservations long before Apple bought it.”
“I would say, ‘Siri, what are the five largest lakes in California?’ and it would come up, one, two, three, four, five. And I would ask ‘What are the prime numbers greater than 87?’ and they would come up all in a row. That was pretty incredible,” Wozniak said.
He said he told family and friends about Siri and how “This was the future: speaking things in normal ways, feeling like you’re talking to a human and how Siri was the greatest program,” Wozniak said.
“Then Apple bought Siri,” he said. He then paused, lifted his right hand and gave it a big thumbs down.
“‘What are the largest lakes in California?’ I’d get all these lakefront properties. And I’d say ‘What are the prime numbers greater than 87?’ And I’d get prime rib,” Wozniak said.
“I’m really disappointed, but it’s still a market for the future,” Wozniak said. “I think voice recognition for all the platforms is going to get better and better and better at putting together complete sentences and phrases. What did a human really mean? Like, if you said ‘Five, I mean six.’ It will understand a backup, the little faults in our speech that humans understand. It will understand that eventually.”
Wozniak iterated similar rumblings to a developer at FourSquare earlier this year. He even used the same lake/prime rib example. The reporter in this interview should have asked him, “Perhaps Siri knows you like prime rib?”
Despite Wozniak’s criticism of Siri, the quirky businessman seemed enthusiastic about Apple’s latest developments revealed at the Worldwide Developers Conference. He specifically said he is excited about Apple’s new computer lineup and app called “Passbook,” which essentially turns a user’s iPhone into a digital wallet.
“People are always going to be disappointed,” he added, when asked if Apple let down consumers at WWDC. “I really like the new MacBook.”
As iOS 6 officially unveiled yesterday, we noted a few of the features—such as Siri and FaceTime—would only be available on certain iOS devices. Ars Technica noticed the 3D flyover feature of Apple’s new Maps app would only be available to A5-powered iOS devices. In case you were wondering exactly which iOS 6 features will be compatible with your iOS device, Apple published a list (below) on its iOS 6 preview page that details all of the limitations for specific features:
-Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation will be available only on iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later. Cellular data charges may apply.
-Siri will be available only on iPhone 4S and iPad (3rd generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.
-Shared Photo Streams requires iOS 6 on iPhone 4 or later or iPad 2 or later, or a Mac computer with OS X Mountain Lion. An up-to-date browser is required for accessing shared photo streams on the web.
-FaceTime over a cellular network requires iPhone 4S or iPad (3rd generation) with cellular data capability. Carrier data charges may apply. FaceTime is not available in all countries.
-VIP list and VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes will be available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.
-Offline Reading List will be available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.
-Made for iPhone hearing aids require iPhone 4S.
-Find My Friends and Find My iPhone enable you to locate iOS devices only when they are on and connected to a registered Wi-Fi network or have an active data plan. Not available in all areas.
iOS 6 will likely feature everything we’ve reported thus far (above: Siri on iPad, a 3D Apple-based Maps application, and features from OS X Mountain Lion), but there has been one possible feature that we’ve been hearing whispers about, but not full, concrete details like we heard for other features. Apple is working on a new in-house application for iOS called “Organize,” but we’re not sure if Organize will be announced with iOS 6 at WWDC, or if it is a future App Store app from Apple, a future iOS enhancement, or something scrapped all together. The application is said to be a virtual pocket, and the app’s purpose is to be able to replicate a person’s pocket and store things such as coupons, travel information, credit card info and more. We speculate that Apple will be using the neat camera-based scanning software that we reported to be in development for the scanning in of business cards, receipts, and using that to provide virtual items that get used when shopping and travelling. We can’t help but think that this application will eventually tie into the rumored Apple wallet/NFC service at some point in the future.
“By making iPhone available on pre-paid plans through Cricket Wireless, we are making the best smartphone more accessible to an even broader market in the US,” Apple representative Natalie Harrison said.
Apple took a big step today in the United States by aligning with Cricket prepaid Wireless. While you can buy an iPhone off-contract (for significantly more than the above Cricket prices), and then go on AT&T, T-Mobile, or any GSM carriers’ network, this is the first time Apple has let the iPhone play in the prepaid market.
Cricket’s monthly fee for unlimited anything (data throttled after 2.3GB) is $55 per month, which is very low for all things considered. You can also quit at any time, take months off, or trade phones. However, you need to buy the iPhone at an “unsubsidized rate.” But is it really unsubsidized?
What is interesting is that Cricket offers the iPhone 4 for $399 and iPhone 4S for $499. Look at Apple’s prices for unlocked iPhone 4S (iPhone 4 costs $549):
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There is a $150 gap somewhere. Perhaps Cricket is subsidizing some of the cost by thinking buyers will eventually make up that $150 difference in service fees. Apple may also offer Cricket a discount as it buys large quantities of iPhones, because Apple is hoping to spread its customer base.
We are not sure how many prepaid customers will shell out $400 to $500 up front for an iPhone. However, there are probably some jailbreaker/unlockers or otherwise who would like to take a Cricket iPhone and use it off-network (or without a network).
Sprint, which carries the iPhone, and owns two big prepaid networks in Virgin and Boost Mobile, will likely have an iPhone prepaid offering in the coming months too.
Some more noteworthy comments from Apple’s CEO Tim Cook coming out of tonight’s interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D10 in California. We just heard Cook’s thoughts on deeper Facebook integration and Apple TV sales, and a few moments ago he hinted improvements to Siri will arrive “over the coming months.” He also noted that there is “a lot that Siri can do,” and he said they are doubling down on the tech with “a lot of people working on it.”
“I think you are going to be really pleased with where we take Siri.”
Customers love it. It’s one of the most popular features of the 4S. But there’s more that it can do, and we have a lot of people working on it. And I think you’ll be really pleased with some of the things coming over the coming months. The breadth of it. We have a lot that Siri can do… That’s what I’m talking about. People have dreamed of this for years, and it’s here. Yes it could be broader, but Siri as a feature has moved into the mainstream. So I think you’re going to be really happy with where it’s going. We’re doubling down on it.
The Verge recently went hands on with Samsung’s new flagship Galaxy S III launched earlier this month and during its review put the device’s new Vlingo-powered “S-Voice” feature up against Siri on the iPhone 4S. Other than the striking resemblance to Siri’s UI and canned responses, the first thing we notice is Siri appears to be much quicker than S-Voice running on the Galaxy S III.
When asked “Who is the president of France”, Siri quickly asks to search the web, while S-Voice takes a little longer but comes up with the correct answer. However, in most scenarios, both Siri and S-Voice request to search the web for the majority of the same queries. You’ll also notice S-Voice has no problem keeping up with Siri when scheduling appointments, but both have some of the same issues understanding The Verge’s commands.
S Voice consistently chews up my words when I try asking it questions, although it works better when instructed to schedule an appointment or set an alarm. It can also be used as an unlocking mechanism once you pre-record a pass phrase. That adds to the face unlocking option that’s native to Android 4.0 in being frustratingly unwieldy and planted firmly within gimmick territory — more than once I was stuck repeating “hello” without any recognition from the phone.
While we don’t have all of the info on S-Voice, we know it is using voice recognition technology from Vlingo, the same as the previous Voice Commander feature for the Galaxy S II. Last December Nuance acquired Vlingo. It’s no secret Apple is currently using Nuance to power speech in Siri, and Siri co-founder Norman Winarsky told us in October that Siri originally used Vlingo, but that Nuance has by far the most “IP in speech synthesis technologies”. However, he also noted Apple could likely easily replace Nuance if something better was available. Expand Expanding Close
Oh, Siri. Apple’s little voice-activated personal assistant in iOS can handle questions, give recommendations, and delegate requests, but does it really live up to expectations?
The folks in Cupertino like to roll out advertisements that show Siri capable of compiling individual preferences with personalized results, and even completing basic tasks like finding a nearby restaurant, but the software met very mixed reactions after it Beta-débuted on the iPhone 4S in October. Those who felt misled by Siri’s functionality depicted in commercials eventually sought reimbursement by filing a class action lawsuit against Apple earlier this year.
Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky wrote about how chief executive Tim Cook is changing Apple in an interesting piece this morning, but he also touched upon the contention surrounding Siri. He noted Apple’s future relies on the quality of its products, which holds true for any company, but then he pointed to the iOS-maker’s knowledge navigator:
“Those looking for deficiencies have found them in Siri, a less-than-perfect product that Apple released with the rare beta label in late 2011, a signal that the service shouldn’t be viewed as fully baked. Siri’s response time has been slow, meaning the servers and software powering it are inadequate. ‘People are embarrassed by Siri,’ says one former insider. ‘Steve would have lost his mind over Siri.'”
It is interesting that an unnamed insider claimed Jobs would “lose his mind” over Siri, especially because it is well-known the late CEO worked with former Siri founder and subsequent Apple Engineering Director Dag Kittlaus on the project. Kittlaus admitted last March at Network World that Jobs felt they “cracked it” in regards to Siri, which alludes to the chief’s satisfaction with the voice assistant and contrasts with the insider’s opinion.
Rumors of Apple’s “iTV” set have spiraled ever since former CEO Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he finally “cracked the television.” Since then, many analysts and publications reported on the iTV—sometimes very inaccurately—claiming it will feature Siri and a Facetime camera for video calls built-in to a larger panel that looks like Apple’s current Thunderbolt displays (at least that’s the consensus). Analysts said Apple will announce the TV set later this year, but one analyst points out why this is not likely.
Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves released (viaFortune) a note to clients on Monday making some very good points. First off, he said the iTV does not make much sense if Apple cannot get content providers in line to stream content to the TV. This type of situation is one of the reasons that the Google TV out of Mountain View has not been off to a great start, because content providers are not in line to stream content for those who want to ditch cable. Moreover, those who tried to get access to online streaming of content from websites like NBC and ABC were quickly blocked. So, then comes the realization: why would Apple release a TV set if they do not have the right content providers? If it is going to use Internet streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, why not just stick with the current Apple TV solution?
Then comes the second point regarding Apple’s famous retail stores, which rank among the top retail spaces in the world. As Hargreaves pointed out, a TV would be a terrible use of space, compared to Apple’s smaller offerings like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. If Apple’s TV were in fact to be the rumored 46-inches, it would likely generate less than a mere 1/200th of the gross profit per cubic that the iPhone drives in retail. If money could generate from content, or from in-store sales, what would be the point?
Of course, Apple could have something very different up its sleeve, but the totally revamped Apple TV just does not seem likely this year. What seems more in-line is the rumored 7.85-inch “iPad Mini” that Apple is said to release later this year, and even then, I am skeptical.
It would appear that Wolfram, the company behind the Siri search engine, is bringing its original product, Mathematica, to the iPad. In response to a comment on Reddit, when asked if there was an iPad version of Wolfram for iPad in the works, Stephen Wolfram said, “stay tuned.”
What Is Mathematica?
Almost any workflow involves computing results, and that’s what Mathematica does—from building a hedge fund trading website or publishing interactive engineering textbooks to developing embedded image recognition algorithms or teaching calculus.
Mathematica is renowned as the world’s ultimate application for computations. But it’s much more—it’s the only development platform fully integrating computation into complete workflows, moving you seamlessly from initial ideas all the way to deployed individual or enterprise solutions.
Mathematica is huge in science/engineering education and application—a few of the many areas where the iPad is making huge inroads in personal computing.
A Foxconn executive allegedly claimed that his company is “making preparations” for an Apple television, but development and manufacturing has not begun. English-language daily newspaper China Daily(via How To Arena) quoted, well, summarized Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou on Friday:
Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc’s rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin.
iTV reportedly features an aluminum construction, Siri, and FaceTime video calling […]
Foxconn’s recent 50-50 joint venture factory with Sharp in Japan is one of the preparations made for the new device, Gou added.
The report refers to the device as “iTV,” which is a common name circulating for the Apple television set. Despite no official confirmation from Apple, rumors persist that the product is edging closer and could feature a host of appealing characteristics, such as the ones mentioned in the excerpt above.
Continuing a longstring of recent exclusives that quote un-named sources, CultofMac today claims that someone who saw the Apple HDTV says it looks like a bigger Cinema Display with an iSight camera and Siri, according to the post.
Samsung announced the Galaxy S III today at the Unpacked event in London. Apple’s biggest competitor in the smartphone space, and the only other manufacture making any significant profit, showed off the upgraded 4.8-inch 720P SuperAMOLED display device that now weighs 133 grams among other minor spec improvements.
A few of the features shown off were S-Voice, which is like Siri, Scan and Match for Music (iTunes Match), and Airplay-like “AllShare Cast” for streaming content to your HDTV through the AppleTV-like AllShare Cast Dongle. Samsung also named its iPod nano-like music player “Pebble,” which bears a resemblance to the iOS Kickstarter watch that goes by the same name.
One cool new thing is a face recognition photo app. It lets you instantly send pictures to your friends that it recognizes in your pictures. The S III also has a pop-up player, which is sort of an app version of picture-in-picture that allows you to watch a movie while you switch around to other applications.
“You can converge a toaster and refrigerator, but these things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user”- Tim Cook on Windows 8 and touch-friendly PCs at Q2 earnings.
Disregarding Cook’s statement for a second, here is an iMac touch concept sent by 9to5Mac reader and 3D animation student Joakim Ulseth. The mockup shows how he thought a redesigned iMac could incorporate a touchscreen and iOS-like features. The overall concept is based on an Apple patent published in 2010 that detailed an iMac with adjustable “Flex base.” This is what Ulseth imagined would be inside the next-gen device:
Apple iMac Touch with Flex Base running both OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS5– ”Power at your fingertips”
Specs:
Retina-Display: The 27-inch iMac Touch features 4096-by-2304 HD resolution. The resulting pixel density — 174 pixels per inch — makes text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size. Siri: The intelligent assistant that helps you get things done. Ivy Bridge: Intels new Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 processors. Thunderbolt: Two Thunderbolt ports for high speed data transfer.
Since the introduction of Nuance speech technology in OS X Lion, which provides several new voice options in system preferences for the System Voice, many have compared the voice of Nuance-powered Siri on iPhone 4S to the improved text-to-speech included as free downloads within Lion. As noted by Reddit user Moosehadley, what you might not have realized is the downloadable “Samantha” voice for Lion is the same as Siri’s in the United States. Here is how to download it:
Open System Preferences> Speech> Text to Speech>System Voice> Customize> and select “Samantha” from the list. Apple will ask you to confirm the 469MB install.
The last we heard, Apple was working with developers of Siri alternatives such as True Knowledge, the developers behind “Evi,” to iron out similarities between the app and the iPhone 4S‘s flagship feature. Apple is quick to warn developers who are submitting Siri-like apps not to mimic native features of the OS. Apple wants an app’s features to remain “distinctly different from the iOS behaviors and interfaces to avoid causing user confusion.” Developer Sparkling Apps reached out to let us know Apple rejected its latest app submission called “Voice Answer,” with Apple telling the developer the Wolfram Alpha-powered alternative is “too similar to Siri.”
Apple is not flat-out rejecting all Siri alternatives/competitors. Sparkling Apps already has an app called “Voice Ask” on the App Store that sits in the top charts of the Reference category. Evi remains on the App Store as well. However, the Voice Ask app employs the same True Knowledge database as Evi. While Apple did not offer a specific reason for why the app was rejected, it is possible that Apple is more inclined to reject Siri-like apps using Siri’s Wolfram Alpha knowledge base. Unsurprisingly, the developers decided to release Voice Answer as an Android-only app on Google Play. So why would you want a third-party Siri alternative anyway? There are a few features an app like Voice Answer, if Apple were to allow it, would provide that Siri does not.
First off, the app would run on all devices with iOS 4.2 and up. It also provides spoken answers, optional keyboard input, and configurable items stored in the app’s memory. According to the developer, Voice Answer’s “speech recognition works better than that of Siri, especially with foreign accents,” and the app includes a chatbot called “Eve” that you can teach answers. While most of these features are also baked into Evi, it is unclear exactly why Apple is working with some developers to coexist peacefully with Siri, and then flat-out rejecting others without discussion. It is clear that iOS users are interested in these apps. With the 99-cent-Evi sitting around 200,000 downloads shortly after release, and Siri currently limited to only the iPhone 4S, there is definitely a market for voice-powered assistants if Apple allows it. However, Apple’s reasoning is vague for allowing some Siri competitors and rejecting others. An excerpt from Apple’s rejection to Sparkling Apps and screenshots of the unreleased Voice Answer iOS app are below. Unfortunately, if you want to try the app, you will have to on an Android device for the time being:
Apple said today at the new iPad unveiling that the device runs iOS 5.1, which is an unreleased version of its mobile operating system featuring Siri in Japanese, several camera app tweaks, and other little nice-to-haves. Interesting, this update also “addresses bugs affecting battery life.” Other features include new podcast controls for playback speed on iPad, the redesigned camera app on iPads, the always-visible camera shortcut on the lock screen, updated AT&T network indicator, Genius Mixes and Genius playlist for iTunes Match subscribers and more. We are guessing iCloud users will appreciate that they can finally remove photos from their Photo Stream directly on the device without having to go to iCloud.com on their computer.
Depending on your location, the update might not have hit iTunes, but you can always download the right firmware for your device using direct links here. Of course, you can also bring your device up to date over-the-air by hitting Software Update under the General section of the Settings app.
Handset maker Motorola Mobility may have found itself in an uneasy place as both Microsoft and Apple are attempting to block its $12.billion sale to Google, but the company’s marketing department is as vigorous as ever. With this week’s spotlight on the latest mobile developments showcased at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, the Razr-maker published three provocative clips on its YouTube channel.
The videos pit the iPhone 4S-exclusive Siri feature against Android Voice Actions running on three different handsets: The Atrix 2, Photon 4G and Electrify. In each instance, Siri runs notably slower (and therefore less useful) than Android Voice Actions on Motorola’s devices.
Both Android Voice Actions and Siri need a network connection to upload audio samples of spoken queries. The cloud does the rest–speech recognition, parsing your query and beaming down the results.
True Knowledge, the brains behind a popular Siri alternative for iOS devices, received a note from Apple that the company will shoot down the popular 99-cent download from its mobile bazaar. According toTechCrunch, True Knowledge had a call from an Apple representative on Friday evening who informed them the company was “going to pull Evi from the App Store,” citing similarities with Siri.
However, pundits point out that Evi, which couples Nuance-licensed speech recognition engine with its own core semantic search technology dubbed the “True Knowledge Answer Engine,” may pose a threat to the otherwise stellar iPhone 4S sales due to folks running Evi on iPhone 4 being uncompelled to upgrade to an iPhone 4S.
If Apple’s real motivation is similarities and not competition, then perhaps the company should take a closer look at Japan carrier NTT DoCoMo’s new project that is a Siri alternative for non-iPhones.
Evi landed last month as a Siri alternative for owners of iOS devices. The program costs 99-cents and has already raked in 200,000 downloads, proving there is a practical market for search assistants on mobile devices. It is also available on the Android Market, so the App Store removal will not affect its availability on the rival Android platform. Siri owes much of its success to Apple’s top-notch marketing and an advanced artificial intelligence engine Apple scored by acquiring SRI. Shortly upon the iPhone 4S introduction last October, Siri spanned various projects aiming to port her to older iOS devices. She has also inspired similar programs on both Android and Windows Phone platforms.
Despite what True Knowledge told TechCrunch, the app remains in the App Store, and according to sources familiar with the matter[translation: Apple off the record], Apple is attempting to work with the developers on bumping out those similarities, rather than just pulling the product. It’s apparently standard practice these days for Apple to flag something that could be confusing to end users and then try to work with developers to alter the appearance and / or functionality of the app, and we’re told that’s taking place with True Knowledge right now.
