Apple Purchases iPhone 'Personal Assistant' Company Siri [Updated x2]
Robert Scoble
reports that Apple has purchased
Siri, a company that has developed a free
personal assistant application for the iPhone and iPod touch. Selected as the
Most Innovative Web Technology in a contest at this year's SXSW festival, Siri offers automated personal assistant services by integrating a rapidly growing number of third-party services such as OpenTable, FlightStats, and Google Maps with voice-recognition technology from
Nuance Communications.
Scoble discovered evidence (PDF) of the deal through a notification given by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announcing an early termination of the standard waiting period for corporate mergers to allow the transaction to proceed. Mashable and ReadWriteWeb are also confirming that they have heard about the acquisition from their sources.
Update: Silicon Alley Insider reports that a Siri representative has confirmed Apple's acquisition of the company.
Update 2: The Wall Street Journal quotes a Siri board member and investor as calling Apple's offer a "no-brainer".
"The offer from Apple was of a scope and tenor that it was a no-brainer to accept it," said Shawn Carolan, a managing director at Menlo Ventures and a board member at Sirti [sic] since it raised a Series A round of venture capital in 2008.
Popular Stories
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself.
Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed.
Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles."
If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues.
We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!
iPhone 17 ...
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes.
The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps.
In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner.
In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
