Siri Hacked to Run on an iPod Touch and iPhone 4

sirihello
Apple's new Siri voice recognition system is only officially available to new iPhone 4S users. Predictably, over the past few weeks, there have been various attempts to port Siri to previous generation hardware. The early versions of these hacks, however, simply got the user interface working on the iPhone 4, but were unable to actually use the voice recognition due to authentication issues in connecting to Apple's servers.

Tonight, developers @stroughtonsmith and @chpwn have been able to bypass this hurdle and have been able to get Siri working on previous generation hardware. This video shows it on an iPod Touch:


The video shows just a couple of simple question/answers but seems to run at a good speed. There had been some speculation that Siri might require the A5 processor in the iPhone 4S, but based on these early findings, it seems not.

The developers have said that there will be "no public release soon" and not to ask. A public release also seems unlikely due to the legal issues in repackaging Apple's code and distributing it.

We've since spoken to @stroughtonsmith who told us that despite it working on the iPod Touch, it doesn't work entirely well due to the relatively poor performance of the microphone. "You have to be loud and close to it", he said. However, it does perform quite well on the iPhone 4 and works "just as fast as the 4S".

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...

Top Rated Comments

arn Avatar
171 months ago
Siri should have been included in the 5.0 update for the iPhone 4.

But of course, Apple wants us to buy the latest and greatest.

Apple being Apple again.
Gather around youngins. Let me tell you a story about the days before Apple in the phone industry.

You bought a smartphone. The exact version of the software that came with that phone, was the only version of the software you would ever see. Bugs and all.

arn
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
realitycheck69 Avatar
171 months ago
Apple: making a free app cost $199 and calling it magical
Score: 70 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
171 months ago
Apple: making a free app cost $199 and calling it magical

To be fair, it wasn't free to develop.

arn
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
r.j.s Avatar
171 months ago
Gather around youngins. Let me tell you about the days before Apple in the phone industry.

You bought a smartphone. The exact version of the software that came with that phone, was the only version of the software you would ever see. Bugs and all.

arn

Some android manufacturers do that still.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nfl46 Avatar
171 months ago
One less reason for people with iPhone 4's to upgrade to the iPhone 4S. I guess its true, Siri was just used to market the iPhone 4S. So typical of Apple.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
171 months ago
Maybe in a week MacRumors will post that the 4S and iPad 2 were jailbroken.

[/sarcasm]
If you're suggesting this has been done before today. It hasn't. None of the previous versions did the voice recognition part.

arn
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)