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iOS 5 with Nuance Speech Recognition Enabled in Carrier Testing

Tuesday September 6, 2011 4:35 pm PDT by Arnold Kim

Voice input in Android

According to 9to5Mac, Apple has seeded certain mobile carriers with a "near-final" build of iOS 5. Most notably, these builds are different from the developer seeds we have seen so far, with the enabling of Nuance's Speech to Text as a system-wide service:

According to a source testing the feature, it works almost identically (video above) to the Android operating system’s speech-to-text feature. It’s also very polished, quick, and accurate said the source – which is obvious for being an Apple product but also is indicative of the product being nearly complete.

We'd previously reported on the microphone button that appears next to the spacebar hidden in the depths of iOS 5. This presumably allows users to dictate rather than type. Android has a similar system already implemented, as seen in the video above.


Reports of Apple's ongoing negotiations with Nuance date as far back as May, with some claiming it was still coming in iOS 5. iOS 5 is due for public release "this fall".

If all true, Apple must be planning on launching their Nuance dictation system alongside the public release of iOS 5. Apple is widely expected to hold a media event sometime this month.
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ghettochris
9 months ago
It would be sweet if the phone could listen and respond, so you could say "iphone where are you" when you lose it under clothes or whatever, and it would respond "over here"
Rating: 40 Positives / 2 Negatives
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T-Will
9 months ago

It would be sweet if the phone could listen and respond, so you could say "iphone where are you" when you lose it under clothes or whatever, and it would respond "over here"


This comment wins the thread. :D
Rating: 17 Positives / 2 Negatives
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dank414
9 months ago

It would be sweet if the phone could listen and respond, so you could say "iphone where are you" when you lose it under clothes or whatever, and it would respond "over here"


Or "At a bar." would be useful as well.
Rating: 15 Positives / 1 Negatives
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crisss1205
9 months ago
What I want to know is how does this work? Is it going to require a internet connection like Android or will it be all device/local based?
Rating: 10 Positives / 0 Negatives
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bb426
9 months ago
I think this is going to be the (one of the) big advertisement hit(s) for the iPhone 5, which magnifies the thought of an external redesign. Maybe I'll finally start talking to my iPhone.

I already see the commercials...
Rating: 10 Positives / 1 Negatives
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JDawg76
9 months ago
You talk into the phone, fills in the text, and hit send. The other person gets the text, they talk into their phone, fills the text, and they hit send. Why not cut out the middle man and CALL THEM!!!!!:rolleyes: ha ha
Rating: 8 Positives / 0 Negatives
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cameronjpu
9 months ago
A feature that will excite me is the ability to have the iPhone speak the name of the person calling me, rather than just hearing the ringtone in my headphones. I use the headphones almost exclusively, and my phone is often in my pocket. The phone can speak the contact names to me when i try to call them, why can't it speak that same name, badly pronounced though it may be, to help me know who is calling without having to pull the phone out of my pocket while driving or biking?
Rating: 10 Positives / 2 Negatives
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jaseone
9 months ago

Surely such a big feature would be one they want to beta test in the beta builds, right?

I don't buy it.


The beta builds are solely to test API level features so developers can ensure their apps work in the new version they are not for developers to test iOS features.
Rating: 8 Positives / 0 Negatives
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DavidLeblond
9 months ago
Also: If this does come true, it'll most probably be iPhone 5 only. Again, they would have put it in the beta otherwise.
Rating: 9 Positives / 2 Negatives
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DESNOS
9 months ago
Voice recognition is usually impractical. Before you downvote me, consider how often you type things into your phone that you may not want everyone around you to hear for privacy reasons. There is no such thing as private voice recognition. At home it may work, and even then, some things you don't even want your family to hear. Once you consider all the cases in which it wouldn't be such a great feature, it seems that it's unlikely anyone will get used to using it, and as such, stick to the current touchscreen controls.
Rating: 8 Positives / 2 Negatives

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