A Look at Apple's Assistant Interface for the New iPhone

Apple has been rumored to be working on advanced speech recognition technology for some time.

After Apple's acquisition of Siri, TechCrunch reported in May that negotiations were ongoing with Nuance to integrate their speech recognition technology into iOS. Earlier this week, 9to5mac detailed much of what is expected to be the major new feature in the next generation iPhone to be release on October 4th. The story was met with some skepticism in our forums, but we were especially confident in the report as we had privately heard the exact same story from our sources.

The Siri/Nuance-based voice recognition Assistant will be the major new feature in the next generation iPhone and will be an iPhone 4S/5 exclusive feature. As detailed, the Assistant will allow users to speak to their iPhones in order to schedule appointments, send text messages, retrieve information and much more. Voice recognition happens on the fly and reportedly with great accuracy.

assistant
Assistant interface, artist rendition

We've created this artist rendition (above) of what the Assistant interface looks like based on sources with knowledge of the feature. After a long press on the home button, the screen fades and slides up, just like with the multitasking interface. Revealed is a silver icon with an animated orbiting purple flare which indicates a ready state. From what we've been told, this image is a close representation of the actual Assistant interface.

From there, the user may be taken to a conversation view that somewhat mimics Siri's original interface, but in Apple's own styling.

Based on this knowledge, we contracted Jan-Michael Cart to put together a video representation of the Assistant workflow. Cart had been responsible for a number of iOS concept videos in the past, but we wanted to mock up what the actual Assistant interface looked like. Due to the short turnaround, we know that not all elements in the video represent actual look/feel of the Assistant interface, but should show off the general workflow.


After receiving spoken commands, the Assistant shows you back the recognized text and then takes the next step. This could involve sending a text message (with confirmation) or pulling data from Wolfram Alpha. The feature is said to be one of the major differentiators for the next generation iPhone.

Apple is hosting a media event on October 4th, where they will introduce the next iPhone and these new features.

Top Rated Comments

robbieduncan Avatar
150 months ago
Have they solved the problem of feeling like a complete idiot when you use these sort of interfaces?
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theperipheral Avatar
150 months ago
Hopefully this will be for the iphone 4 as well.. Otherwise we will all have to continue texting while driving.

I don't see a problem with texting while driving. I do it almost every day, and I've never h
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
150 months ago
If you activate it by holding down the home button, how will you rearrange your apps?

by long pressing on the app icon as usual. :)

long press home button is already occupied by voice control.

arn
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrJohnnyN Avatar
150 months ago
Pretty cool! Tuesday cannot come fast enough!!
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
euphlyusUNO Avatar
150 months ago
This is the fundamental difference between the Android and the Apple camps.

Androidies think and talk in terms of features, hardware specs

Applelites think in terms of experience


Case In Point:

For those comparing WP7 Tell Me and Google Voice Actions with Apple Assistant:

WP7 and Tell Me are not "Assistants". They perform actions based on voice inputs. WP7 implementation does simpler things (invoking apps, calling a cell phone number). Voice Action packs in more capability (though I haven't worked with either of those, this is based purely on watching videos)

However, if iOS Assistant is anything close to what's described in the Video and something akin the App Siri, then, the Assistant won't simply be "voice commands". You can have conversations, do more things than just call or send text. The assistant will also be more accurate by the virtue of understanding the context of a conversation (you'll understand this if you've carefully observed Siri mobile apps).

Just recognizing voice accurately is not enough. There has to be a simple and logical flow, like a conversation. I'm hoping Apple will nail that (as they've done sometimes before)
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gugy Avatar
150 months ago
this thing looks cool
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...