Siri

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Siri is Apple's virtual personal assistant, available on iOS devices, the Apple Watch, and the Apple TV. When activated, Siri can respond to natural language requests to help Apple product owners find information, complete simple tasks, and get recommendations.

Siri was introduced in 2011, and since that time, Apple has expanded Siri's capabilities quite a bit. On the iPhone and Apple Watch, Siri can be used for a long list of tasks, such as making phone calls, sending messages, identifying songs, downloading apps, changing device settings, searching the web, finding movie and restaurant reviews, making dinner reservations, creating reminders and calendar events, calculating tips, and more.

On the Apple TV, Siri is used as a main method of input for finding specific TV and movie-related content, and Siri is also an integral aspect of HomeKit, Apple's home automation platform.

Siri is activated on the iPhone by holding down the Home button, the Apple Watch by holding down the Digital Crown, and the Apple TV (where available) by holding the Siri button on the included Siri Remote. Hands-free Siri is available by saying "Hey Siri" to an iOS device that is plugged in or an iOS device with an integrated motion coprocessor, such as the iPad Pro, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus.

Siri will be coming to the Mac as part of macOS Sierra in fall 2016, with the feature and the new operating system version currently in beta testing.

'Siri' How Tos

How to Use Siri in macOS Sierra

Wednesday September 21, 2016 7:28 am PDT by Husain Sumra
With macOS Sierra, Apple has finally brought its well-known personal assistant, Siri, to the Mac. Siri for Mac differs from iOS' version of Siri in several ways, taking advantage of the larger real estate of a Mac's display and the Finder file system. Users can also easily transfer or pin Siri's search results to the Notification Center or documents they're working on. To help you get started with Siri for Mac, we've put together a guide outlining what it's capable of. Activating Siri There are three ways to activate Siri in Sierra. Two of the methods are visually obvious while the third is not. The Dock icon sitting in between the Finder and Launchpad logos. The Menu Bar toggle in between the Spotlight search and Notification Center icons. The keyboard command. Hold the Command and Space buttons for approximately two seconds. Siri can be enabled two ways. While you're installing macOS Sierra, there'll be a prompt asking you whether you'd like to enable Siri. Additionally, Siri can be enabled and disabled in the Siri section of System Preferences. There are several other options for Siri in System Preferences, including language, voice, voice feedback, mic input and customized keyboard shortcuts.
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Tips for Getting Siri to Play Tracks in Apple Music

Tuesday August 4, 2015 2:16 pm PDT by Lory Gil
If you are signed up for the free, three-month trial of Apple Music, you probably know by now many of the cool features the streaming music service has to offer. But, did you know that Siri can make the experience even better? We've got a few tips for getting Siri to act as your digital deejay. To get the full use of Siri's compatibility with Apple Music, make sure you are subscribed and your iCloud Music Library is on. Play a Radio Station or Beats 1 Not only can Siri play a radio station like Electronic or Oldies, but now the personal assistant can also start playing live Beats 1 programming. Just ask her to "Play Beats 1." Play an Apple Music Playlist One of the things I love about Apple Music is the playlist feature in the For You section. If I've recently "liked" a particular song, A new playlist based on that will show up. If you know the name of an Apple Music created playlist, ask for it specifically. For example, "Play Souxie & The Banshees: Deep Cuts." What Song is Playing If Apple Music is playing a song you don't recognize, you can ask for more information. Just say, "What song is this?" to discover the artist and song title. Add an Album to Your Playlist If you like the song that is playing and want to hear the whole album, ask Siri to add the album to your playlist and it will begin playing after the current track is finished.
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How to Add Reminders and View Your Daily Schedule on Apple Watch

Friday June 12, 2015 2:02 pm PDT by Lory Gil
Apple Watch is the perfect device for quickly glancing at the things you need to do today or to fill you in on your plans for the weekend. It is also a useful device for quickly setting up a reminder without needing to pull out an iPhone. While much of the setup for Calendars is done on iPhone, you can use Apple Watch to respond to invites, add a quick event, and get alerts to remind you when to leave for your next appointment. Using the Calendar App The Calendar App on Apple Watch is tied to Apple's native Calendar app on iOS, which is also compatible with OS X. I sync my Calendar app with Google Calendar, but it is compatible with a number of services, like Exchange, Facebook, Yahoo, and remote servers via CalDAV. In order to use the Calendar app on Apple Watch, you must be using it in some form on iPhone.
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How to Use Siri on iPhone and iPad

Monday May 18, 2015 2:15 pm PDT by Lory Gil
Siri is a workhorse of a virtual assistant for iOS, but I rarely see anyone actually using the feature on the iPhone. Maybe it is because most people don't know all of the amazing things she (or he) can do. Siri's improved a lot over the past several years and there's now a long list of tasks she can accomplish, so if you haven't been using Siri it might be time to give it another look. Siri can schedule appointments, call your friends, read your text messages to you, play back your music, and much more. Apple recently updated Siri's webpage with more details on the different commands. Today, we've got a quick set up guide for using Siri, plus a list of features that Apple's virtual assistant can perform if you already know how to use it. Set up Siri Open the Settings app. Select General from the menu. Select Siri from the list of available options. Turn the toggle switch on. Optionally, turn on the toggle switch for "Hey Siri" to use the feature hands-free when it is connected to a power source. Select "My Info" to add your contact details to Siri's database. Once activated, to use Siri, simply hold the Home button on the iPhone (or iPad) until the microphone icon appears, or simply say, "Hey Siri" when your iPhone is connected to power. On the Apple Watch, you can hold the Digital Crown to bring up Siri, or just say "Hey Siri" immediately after raising your wrist or tapping the screen to wake up the watch. Siri can perform a variety of tasks to make your life easier. Below is a list of phrases that you can use to make the most of your virtual
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How to Use Siri on Apple Watch

Tuesday May 12, 2015 11:20 am PDT by Lory Gil
Anyone with an iPhone 4S or newer knows how to use Siri. Even if you've never used the "Hey Siri" feature on iOS 8, you can probably figure it out fairly easily. However, on a completely different device, like Apple Watch, accessing Siri may need a little bit of extra training. If you are having trouble getting Siri to activate, we've got a tutorial that may help shed some light on how to get her attention. Plus with one simple question, you can find out everything that your personal assistant can help you with on Apple Watch Using "Hey Siri" You can get Siri's attention by raising your wrist and speaking the words "Hey Siri" within range of Apple Watch. You can also ask follow up questions the same way. If you have experienced problems getting the Hey Siri feature to work, there are a couple of factors that may be keeping her from responding. First of all, if you navigated to the watch face by pressing the Digital Crown from another view, like the Home screen, Hey Siri won't work. It also doesn't work if you are in the Glances screen. Instead, you will have to lower your wrist until the Apple Watch screen goes to sleep. Then, wake Apple Watch by lifting your wrist again. Then, say "Hey Siri" to activate your personal assistant. You can use Hey Siri while you are viewing an app, in the Notifications screen, or on the Home screen. But if you are having trouble getting her attention, try the steps above. One other reason that you may be having trouble using Hey Siri is if the microphone is blocked. Apple Watch's microphone is on the side of the
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'Siri' Guides

Getting Started With HomeKit: A Beginner's Guide

Thursday January 28, 2016 11:21 am PST by Joe Rossignol
HomeKit is Apple's home automation platform for controlling smart home products with iOS apps and Siri voice commands. The platform was announced at WWDC 2014, and the first HomeKit-enabled products were released one year later. The software framework communicates directly with connected accessories within the home, securely encrypts all data and even works remotely over iCloud remote access with a third-generation Apple TV or later when you are away from
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'Siri' Articles

Apple Hires Carnegie Mellon Researcher to Lead AI Team

Monday October 17, 2016 11:02 am PDT by Juli Clover
Carnegie Mellon University professor Russ Salakhutdinov has been hired by Apple to lead a team focused on artificial intelligence, according to a tweet Salakhutdinov sent out this morning. He will continue to teach at Carnegie Mellon, but will also serve as "Director of AI Research" at Apple. In his tweet, Salakhutdinov says he is seeking additional research scientists with machine learning expertise to join his team. An included job posting asks that candidates have experience with Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Optimization, and/or Data Mining. Salakhutdinov specializes in statistical machine learning and has authored many papers on neural networks, deep kernel learning, reinforcement learning, and other related topics. His expertise may be used to improve services like Siri, which has been in the spotlight recently after journalist Walt Mossberg wrote a piece calling the personal assistant "limited," "unreliable," and "dumb." Siri is powered by a neural network and uses machine learning techniques to improve over time, as do other Apple features like Spotlight, QuickType, Photos, autocorrect, Maps, and more. Salakhutdinov's hiring comes as rumors suggest Apple is aiming to improve Siri as part of an effort to build the personal assistant into an Amazon Eco-like smart home product that would be able to do things like control smart home accessories. Apple is also on the verge of finishing an R&D research center in Yokohama, Japan, which will focus on "deep engineering" and developing Apple's artificial intelligence
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Walt Mossberg Calls Siri 'Too Limited and Unreliable' to Compete in 'Coming AI Wars'

Wednesday October 12, 2016 4:16 pm PDT by Juli Clover
The Verge's Walt Mossberg today wrote a critical article on Apple's Siri personal assistant, exploring the service's shortcomings, mistakes, and inability to answer some simple questions that competing products have no problem with. Entitled, "Why does Siri seem so dumb?", Mossberg's article, covers several questions Siri couldn't answer, ranging from queries about political candidates to the date of the World Series to the weather in Crete. In each instance, Siri failed to provide the desired information, while Google Now, Google's Siri competitor, was able to answer every single question correctly.In recent weeks, on multiple Apple devices, Siri has been unable to tell me the names of the major party candidates for president and vice president of the United States. Or when they were debating. Or when the Emmy awards show was due to be on. Or the date of the World Series. When I asked it "What is the weather on Crete?" it gave me the weather for Crete, Illinois, a small village which -- while I'm sure it's great -- isn't what most people mean when they ask for the weather on Crete, the famous Greek island.According to Mossberg, Apple has fixed many of the above Siri shortcomings thanks to his feedback, and has "stressed" to him that the company is "constantly improving Siri." Apple says it focuses more on tasks like placing phone calls, sending texts, and finding places rather than "long tail" questions, which aren't as popular with iPhone and iPad users. Mossberg speculates that such questions aren't popular anymore because people "just give up" on asking Siri these
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Apple's Services Teams to Start Working Together to Improve Siri, Maps, iCloud, and iTunes

Thursday October 6, 2016 5:57 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to unify its cloud services teams, including Siri, Apple Maps, iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple News, and parts of iTunes and Apple Music, at its existing Infinite Loop headquarters in Cupertino, California, according to Bloomberg. Moving the teams into a single campus should streamline growth of Apple services, as the current structure of having teams spread out throughout various office buildings in Cupertino and Sunnyvale contributed to software bugs and slowed product development, the report claims. The cloud services teams could be on the move again in the near future as Apple completes work on its new Campus 2 headquarters, where well over 13,000 employees are expected to work. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company will begin moving employees to the new campus in 2017. The report adds that Apple is also planning to shift its services to a single, Apple-made backend system, codenamed Pie. The infrastructure change will reportedly give Apple "more control" and "may speed up load times."Apple has begun moving over parts of Siri, the iTunes Store, and Apple News to the new platform, one of the people said. Apple plans to move other services, including Maps, to its new system over the next few years. Apple has also developed an internal photo storage system dubbed McQueen to gradually end its reliance on Google and Amazon servers, the people said.In March, it was reported that Apple is working on an in-house cloud storage system called "McQueen" to reduce its dependence on services like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, with
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Samsung Acquires Viv, the AI Assistant From the Creators of Siri

Wednesday October 5, 2016 4:43 pm PDT by Husain Sumra
Samsung has acquired Viv, the AI assistant co-founded by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham, who created Siri, which was acquired by Apple in 2010, reports TechCrunch. The trio left Apple in 2012 and founded Viv. Viv will continue to operate as an independent company. Viv has enhanced contextual understanding thanks to "dynamic program generation," which means that Viv can understand the intent of a user's queries and self-code responses on the fly. Viv can understand context and stack multiple queries on top of each other. For instance, at TechCrunch's Disrupt NY event last year, Kittlaus was able to ask Viv whether it was raining in Seattle a couple days prior, following up with whether it'll be warmer than 70-degrees near Golden Gate Bridge after 5pm the day after tomorrow. Kittlaus tells TechCrunch that the reason it sold to Samsung was ubiquity. The company ships 500 million devices a year, he explained, which gives Viv a large distribution network. On the other hand, the acquisition gives Samsung its own AI assistant that can go toe-to-toe with Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Samsung says that while the acquisition was done by its mobile team, the company sees the benefits to multiple product categories. "From our perspective and from the client’s perspective, the interest and the power of this really comes from taking advantage of the Samsung scale overall, as well as the richness of the touch points we have with consumers." Viv's technology may eventually work its way into Samsung's non-mobile devices, like washing machines,
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Apple 'Pressing Ahead' Into Prototype Testing for Echo-Like Smart Home Device Powered by Siri

Friday September 23, 2016 6:00 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Apple is said to be "stepping up plans" for its connected smart home device powered by Siri, which would rival the technology that Amazon has made popular in its Alexa-enabled Echo speaker system (via Bloomberg). After two years of research and development, the Apple device is said to be in prototype testing, but because Apple hasn't officially finalized any plans it "could still scrap the project." Similar to Echo, the Siri device is said to be able to control smart home accessories like lights, locks, and curtains all through voice activation, and would most notably be the first new piece of Apple hardware introduced since the Apple Watch, and the iPad before that. To compete with Amazon -- and Google's own similar device called "Google Home" -- Apple will introduce "more advanced microphone and speaker technology," according to people close to the project. This could potentially include an ecosystem-wide upgrade to Siri's current functionality. Beyond the home device, Apple is researching new ways to improve Siri on iPhones and iPads, two people said. With an initiative code-named “Invisible Hand,” Apple hopes to give users the ability to fully control their devices through a Siri command system within three years, one of the people added. Currently, the voice assistant is able to respond to commands within its application, but Apple’s goal is for Siri to be able to control the entire system without having to open an app or reactivate Siri. For example, a user would be able to ask their iPhone to open a web page and then share it with a friend without the
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Uber, Lyft, WhatsApp Updates Bring First SiriKit and CallKit SDK Integrations to iOS 10 Users

Saturday September 17, 2016 3:46 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
With iOS 10, Apple opened Siri to third-party developers with a public API, allowing the personal assistant to summon third-party services and apps hands-free. Two of the first apps to make use of the new Siri SDK are WhatsApp Messenger and ride-hailing app Uber, both of which issued updates for their flagship apps this week. Uber users can now hail a ride with a "Hey, Siri" command, followed by "Book me an Uber" or other variants. Apple has also allowed the ride-hailing service to be integrated into Apple Maps under a new Ride tab, where users can choose from a list of available drivers in the area. As pointed out by MacRumors readers, Lyft has also been updated to support both functions. WhatsApp users meanwhile can now use Siri to dictate and send messages as well as initiate calls. WhatsApp also becomes one of the first third-party apps to make use of CallKit, Apple's new framework that enables VoIP calls to function in iOS 10 like FaceTime and regular cellular calls. VoIP service Viber also supports the feature. After updating the app, incoming WhatsApp calls appear in the lock screen showing the caller's profile picture and the typical call response buttons. In addition, WhatsApp contacts are now integrated into the native Contacts app in iOS 10, and also appear in the Phone app's Favorites. The WhatsApp update includes a number of other enhancements, including the ability to forward multiple chats at once. To enable Siri integration for the apps, users should go to Settings -> Siri -> App Support and toggle the relevant switches to the on
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Siri Offers Witty Responses About September 7 Event

Monday August 29, 2016 11:50 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Ahead of Apple's "See You on the 7th" special event next Wednesday, September 7 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Siri is now offering up some traditionally witty responses to users that mention the tagline for the upcoming event. iPhone users can test Siri themselves by saying "see you on the seventh." Apple sent out media invites earlier today for the event, to be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. There, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other senior executives are expected to announce the iPhone 7 and possibly a second-generation Apple Watch. Less likely is a new MacBook Pro, expected later in the year, but a September announcement cannot be ruled out entirely. Apple will also likely provide an update on the prospective launch dates of iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, and tvOS 10.
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Siri Held Back by Lack of Advancements in Microphone Technology

Thursday August 25, 2016 3:11 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Services like Siri, Cortana, and Alexa are being held back by a lack of advancements in digital microphone technology, reports Bloomberg, citing the opinions of several analysts. While processors, camera sensors, and other vital iPhone components have evolved rapidly over the course of the last several years, the same can't be said for microphones. Digital microphones still have trouble focusing on filtering out background noise and clearly detecting faraway voices, impacting device listening capabilities. With artificial intelligence growing in popularity, however, Bloomberg says manufacturers are scrambling to improve microphone tech."No doubt, there is an arms race," says Peter Cooney, an analyst at SAR Insight & Consulting. The big tech companies are thinking a lot more about mics than they have for the past few years. Since the 2012 launch of the iPhone 5, "microphone performance has not really improved that much," says Marwan Boustany, an analyst with research firm IHS Markit.Apple and other companies who rely on microphones to deliver queries to smartphones and other devices are said to want technology improvements that will make them better able to distinguish voices from other sounds at longer distances. In a recent interview, Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi said that microphones have a big impact on Siri's ability to understand commands. "It's not just the silicon," he said. "It's how many microphones we put on the device, where we place the microphones. How we tune the hardware and those mics and the software stack that does the audio
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Apple's Machine Learning Has Cut Siri's Error Rate by a Factor of Two

Wednesday August 24, 2016 9:01 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Steven Levy has published an in-depth article about Apple's artificial intelligence and machine learning efforts, after meeting with senior executives Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, Phil Schiller, and two Siri scientists at the company's headquarters. Apple provided Levy with a closer look at how machine learning is deeply integrated into Apple software and services, led by Siri, which the article reveals has been powered by a neural-net based system since 2014. Apple said the backend change greatly improved the personal assistant's accuracy."This was one of those things where the jump was so significant that you do the test again to make sure that somebody didn’t drop a decimal place," says Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services.Alex Acero, who leads the Siri speech team at Apple, said Siri's error rate has been lowered by more than a factor of two in many cases.“The error rate has been cut by a factor of two in all the languages, more than a factor of two in many cases,” says Acero. “That’s mostly due to deep learning and the way we have optimized it — not just the algorithm itself but in the context of the whole end-to-end product.”Acero told Levy he was able to work directly with Apple's silicon design team and the engineers who write the firmware for iOS devices to maximize performance of the neural network, and Federighi added that Apple building both hardware and software gives it an "incredible advantage" in the space."It's not just the silicon," adds Federighi. "It's how many microphones we put on the device, where we place
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Barbra Streisand Called Tim Cook to Fix Siri's Mispronunciation of Her Name

Monday August 22, 2016 7:13 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
NPR posted an audio interview with singer Barbra Streisand over the weekend, focusing on Streisand's North American tour of her new album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. In the middle of the 8-minute interview Apple gets mentioned briefly, specifically regarding the way that voice assistant Siri has mispronounced Streisand's name over the last five years. Siri uses a hard 'z' sound when saying the second 's' in Streisand, so the singer took it upon herself to ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to get the company to correct the error in Siri's language. Cook was said to respond with an agreement to fix the issue in "the next update," supposedly referring to iOS 10. "She pronounces my name wrong. Streisand with a soft 's' like sand on the beach, I've been saying this for my whole career. And so what did I do? I called the head of Apple, Tim Cook, and he delightfully agreed to have Siri change the pronunciation of my name finally, with the next update on September 30th. So let's see if that happens, because I will be thrilled." It's unlikely Cook so readily divulged the release date of iOS 10, which is expected to launch earlier than the date mentioned by Streisand. The release for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus could be on September 16 or September 23, according to recent rumors, meaning iOS 10 would launch within a similar
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Siri Offers Humorous Responses to Questions About Hit Game Pokémon Go

Thursday August 11, 2016 1:31 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's virtual assistant Siri is known for offering up funny responses to a range of questions, and Apple's Siri team often puts time and effort into providing Siri with answers and comments on current events. This summer, augmented reality game Pokémon Go has become a worldwide phenomenon, and as discovered on Reddit and by 9to5Mac, Siri will now answer questions about the hit game. A question like "Siri, what's your favorite Pokémon?" receives answers like "That yellow species with an electrostatic tail of variable lengths is rather cute" or "Polymaths prefer Poliwags." Asking Siri if it likes Pokémon Go also results in humorous answers like "I like pocket monsters. Pocket assistants, too." Because Siri draws in information from sources like Wolfram Alpha, which has offered information about Pokémon since 2013, the personal assistant can also answer specific questions you ask about Pokémon. Data available includes Pokémon type, abilities, stats, evolutions, and more specific comparative questions about which Pokémon have the highest attack, fastest speed, and more. While fervor over Pokémon Go has died down somewhat in recent days due to controversial feature changes and decisions made by Niantic Labs, Pokémon Go set an App Store record for the most ever downloads during its first week of availability. It is considered the biggest mobile game in U.S. history and has been downloaded more than 100 million times. According to estimates, the game brings in more than $10 million in daily revenue across the iOS and Google Play app stores. To find other
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New Website Offers Comprehensive List of Siri Commands

Monday August 1, 2016 1:36 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Users looking to get the most out of Siri may want to check out Hey-Siri.io, a new website that launched in July. Hey-Siri.io features a comprehensive list of many of the different Siri commands that are available, giving iOS and Mac users a quick way to discover all of the different things Siri can do. Organized into categories like Apps & App Store, HomeKit, Notifications, Conversion, Messaging, Calendar, Translation, and more. Each section, which can be scrolled through on a single page, includes a range of different Siri commands relevant to each category. When using Siri, Apple includes a list of sample commands in a "Some things you can ask me" popup, but it only scrolls through a handful of messages and isn't as comprehensive or useful as the Hey-Siri.io website. Hundreds of commands are included on the site, including some of Siri's more humorous responses to questions like "Knock, Knock" or "Why did the chicken cross the road?" While Siri is only available on iOS devices at the current time, starting this fall, Siri will also be available on Macs through macOS Sierra. Hey-Siri.io includes both iOS and Mac commands, and switching between them can be done using the Settings button on the
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See What It's Like Using Siri on a Mac in macOS Sierra

Thursday June 16, 2016 4:34 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With macOS Sierra, the latest version of the Mac operating system, Siri is available on Macs for the first time. Siri on the Mac can perform many of the same functions available on iOS, like answering simple queries, looking up information, sending messages, opening apps, and more, plus there are Mac-specific functions. As can be seen in our hands-on video showing off Siri on the Mac, Siri is able to search through files to help you quickly locate content with commands like "Find me the documents I opened last week" or "Where are the files John sent me on Tuesday?" Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Siri is accessed through the menu bar, a dock icon, or a keyboard command, and the Siri results, displayed in individual windows, can be pinned to the Today section of the Notification Center or added to documents and files. Pinned results are kept updated, so it's a great way to keep tabs on a sports game or a particular Twitter search right in the Notification Center, and it can be used to do things like insert a map into an email invitation or search for an image to add to a document. macOS Sierra and Siri for Mac are are only available to developers right now, but Apple plans to offer a public beta in July. The operating system will be released for free to all Mac users in the fall. In case you missed them, make sure to check out our seven minute WWDC 2016 video, which features a quick rundown on all of the new iOS, macOS Sierra, tvOS, and watchOS features Apple introduced this week, our video highlighting iOS 10's overhauled Lock
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Apple Opens Siri to Third-Party Developers With iOS 10

Monday June 13, 2016 11:07 am PDT by Husain Sumra
At its WWDC keynote today, Apple announced that it would open Siri up to third-party developers with a public API, allowing users to use Apple's personal assistant AI to summon third-party services and apps hands free. Siri now supports a multitude of app types, including popular third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat. Like with iMessage, Siri can be used to send texts to contact by uttering voice commands like "WeChat Kevin and tell him I'll be late." Siri can also be used for payment apps, VoIP apps and ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft. The public API for Siri will be available for developers in the iOS 10 preview today, and will be available for users when iOS 10 launches in the
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Apple Announces Siri for macOS Sierra With Web and File Searches

Monday June 13, 2016 10:53 am PDT by Husain Sumra
At its WWDC keynote today, Apple confirmed that Siri would be coming to the Mac with macOS Sierra. Siri's icon will sit in the top menu bar next to the Notification Center toggle. Siri can handle context-sensitive searches for things such as files, allowing users to search for files they worked on in the last week or just the files an individual co-worker sent a user. Siri for Mac, which can also work while a user is in a full-screen app, can search the web. Siri's web searches can also be pinned to the Notification Center. Like Siri for iOS, Siri for Mac can also be used to bring up music, send text messages and open apps. Siri can also be used in conjunction with other new macOS Sierra features, like the updated Continuity and Apple Pay.
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Siri References OS X 'Finder' Ahead of WWDC 2016 [Update: Siri May Know 'Dark Mode' Too]

Sunday June 12, 2016 3:55 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Expectation that Apple is set to announce Siri for the Mac at WWDC 2016 has intensified over the weekend, thanks to an apparently unprompted reference to OS X leaked by none other than the personal assistant on iPhone. Asking Siri the oddly worded question, "Open settings in the window" simply opens the iOS Settings app. But the same question with the word 'Siri' included at the beginning of the sentence evokes the spoken response: "It doesn't look like you have an app named 'Finder'." Screenshot via AppleInsider 'Finder' appears to be a reference to the OS X file manager application, since no such app of that name exists for iOS. The discovery was revealed in a blog post by Brian Roemmele, and suggests that Apple's servers are already being modified behind the scenes to extend Siri's functionality to the Mac. Screenshots passed to MacRumors indicate that Siri will soon become a defining aspect of the Mac desktop, ready to answer many of the same queries and perform many of the same tasks it can on iOS devices – opening apps, conducting web searches, controlling HomeKit, sending text messages, reading emails, setting calendar events, and more. Additionally, Apple is also said to be preparing to release a Siri software development kit so that developers can make their apps and app content accessible through Siri voice commands, marking a much-awaited extension of the assistant's capabilities. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off tomorrow with a keynote event at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where Apple is expected to show off the latest version of
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Siri Offers Witty Responses to Users Asking About WWDC Announcements

Thursday June 9, 2016 8:20 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Ahead of Apple's WWDC 2016 keynote next Monday, June 13 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Siri is now offering up some traditionally witty responses to users that ask about potential announcements. iPhone users can test Siri themselves by asking "what to expect at WWDC?" or similar questions. All of Siri's responses are unsurprisingly vague, including one related to the popular HBO drama series Game of Thrones. Each response includes a link to Apple's WWDC website, which provides a schedule of events and other details about the weeklong developer conference at Moscone West in San Francisco. Siri previously revealed that WWDC 2016 would be held on June 13-17, prior to any official announcement, and offered similar "give us a hint" responses leading up to its September 2015 media event last year. As is usual, Apple is expected to unveil the latest versions of its iOS and OS X operating systems for iPhone and Mac respectively at WWDC
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Apple May Introduce Next-Gen Natural Language API in its Amazon Echo Competitor

Monday May 30, 2016 6:39 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Last week we reported that Apple is said to be readying an Amazon Echo competitor that could be used in the home for features like listening to music, asking for information and getting news headlines. The product is thought to include a camera with facial recognition capabilities and said to learn over time about its users, which interact with the device via an enhanced version of Siri. Meanwhile, Apple's virtual assistant is expected to be opened up to outside developers via a soon-to-be-released software development kit in order to facilitate this integration. Now, Tech Insider claims that a natural language outfit bought by Apple late last year could play a central part in the company's plans for the upcoming smart home device. In October 2015, Apple acquired VocalIQ, a UK-based startup that had spent the last 10 years researching natural language, belief tracking, decision making, and message generation, in an attempt to develop a next-generation natural language API. Speculation at the time suggested Apple hoped to use the technology in its car project, codenamed "Titan". However, according to a source familiar with VocalIQ's technology who spoke to Tech Insider, Apple is likely to introduce the API in its Echo competitor because of its ability to go beyond the "session-based" contextual responses touted by the likes of Viv. VocalIQ achieves this feat by retaining semantic context between conversations and permanently remembering the preferences of its users. Apparently the company had been testing VocalIQ against Siri, Google Now, and Cortana,
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Apple's Amazon Echo Competitor Could Feature Camera, Facial Recognition

Friday May 27, 2016 9:58 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's rumored product designed to compete with the Amazon Echo could come equipped with a camera and facial recognition capabilities, reports CNET. Citing sources with knowledge of Apple's plans, CNET says the device would be "self aware," able to detect the people in the room through facial recognition technology. Once the device determines who is in the room, that information could be used to pull up each person's preferences, "such as the music and lighting they like," allowing for a customized interactive experience for each member of the home. Facial recognition is something Apple has previously expressed interest in, both through patent filings and acquisitions. News of Apple's work on an Amazon Echo competitor first surfaced earlier this week, when The Information reported such a device was under development. The Amazon Echo is an in-home personal assistant device that features a built-in speaker and a robust artificial intelligence system, and a product from Apple would likely be similar, with AI capabilities based on Siri along with its own speaker and microphone. It is not clear what form Apple's in-home hub will take. While The Information's report suggested it was a standalone hardware product, a second report from VentureBeat has said Apple will built the Echo-like features into a next-generation Apple TV. Apple is laying the groundwork for a robust in-home AI-powered product through its work on Siri, and major Siri improvements could come in iOS 10. Apple is said to be preparing to release a Siri SDK, which would make the personal assistant
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Apple's Rumored Amazon Echo Competitor Could Be a Next-Generation Apple TV

Thursday May 26, 2016 11:46 am PDT by Juli Clover
Earlier this week, The Information said Apple was actively developing an in-home hub that would compete with the Amazon Echo and the Google Home, and now VentureBeat has shared new details on the product and its prospective features. Citing an unnamed source, VentureBeat says rather than developing a new product, Apple could add Echo-like features to a revamped version of the Apple TV. The Amazon Echo, for those unfamiliar, is an in-home personal assistant device with a built-in speaker and a robust AI system. The Echo is able to perform a wide range of functions, from giving weather reports and answering queries to controlling smart home devices. A future version of the Apple TV may gain a dedicated microphone and speaker, along with deeper Siri integration to allow it to function like the Echo. Processing queries and serving up results is said to require additional computing infrastructure, which Apple is working on. It is not clear what extra computing infrastructure is needed as the fourth-generation Apple TV includes the same A8 processor that was used in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, two devices more than capable of processing Siri inquiries.The company will build on its enhancements to the Apple TV announced last year, which brought the Siri virtual assistant to the set-top box. A new version of the Apple TV will solve problems with the existing box and remote control, a source familiar with the matter claims. "They want Apple TV to be just the hub of everything," the source told VentureBeat.Apple reportedly considered several options, ranging from a
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