Rumors suggesting Siri will make its way into OS X have been circulating for years, but the personal assistant has yet to debut on the Mac. A new patent application published by the U.S. patent and Trademark Office and spotted by AppleInsider revives these rumors with the description of an intelligent assistant for the desktop that provides features far beyond the current dictation available in OS X.
The patent application, which was filed in February of this year and based on a provisional application from a year earlier, describes a system that in one iteration can sit in the dock, waiting for touch input or voice commands to activate a personal assistant in a manner similar to Siri in iOS. The assistant would then perform tasks based on input by the user. The same system can function as a third hand, allowing users to interact physically with a mouse and keyboard while simultaneously performing a secondary task using their voice.
Methods and systems related to interfaces for interacting with a digital assistant in a desktop environment are disclosed. In some embodiments, a digital assistant is invoked on a user device by a gesture following a predetermined motion pattern on a touch-sensitive surface of the user device. In some embodiments, a user device selectively invokes a dictation mode or a command mode to process a speech input depending on whether an input focus of the user device is within a text input area displayed on the user device. In some embodiments, a digital assistant performs various operations in response to one or more objects being dragged and dropped onto an iconic representation of the digital assistant displayed on a graphical user interface. In some embodiments, a digital assistant is invoked to cooperate with the user to complete a task that the user has already started on a user device.
Though Apple is bringing some aspects of iOS to OS X such as Reminders, Apple has yet to integrate Siri into its desktop platform. The feature was not mentioned when Apple unveiled OS X Yosemite, and there is no known evidence in the current beta version of Yosemite that suggests Apple may integrate its personal assistant into future versions of the desktop OS. Still, it is clear Apple is thinking about ways to bring Siri-like features to OS X.
Monday November 11, 2024 11:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today released firmware updates for both AirPods 4 models (version number 7B20) and the AirPods Pro 2 with both Lightning and USB-C charging cases (version number 7B21). All of these AirPods models were previously on firmware version 7B19.
It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in firmware versions 7B20 and 7B21, but we will update this story if we find...
Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, 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 incoming as well....
Tuesday November 12, 2024 2:56 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's camera module supplier for the upcoming iPhone SE 4 is set to begin mass production of the components in December, according to a new report coming out of Korea.
Economic newspaper Ajunews reports that LG Innotek will supply the front camera module for the budget-friendly fourth-generation device. Final tests are now said to be underway, with mass production of the module following...
Next year's iPhone 17 "Air" model may not be as thin as Apple planned, according to a rumor originating in Korea.
According to the news aggregator account "yeux1122" on Naver, citing industry sources, Apple has run into problems making the new iPhone 17 model sufficiently thin. The device's reduced thickness is apparently dependent on manufacturing a battery with a thinner substrate, but...
Black Friday is getting closer, and prices on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and Mac mini computers have started to drop as the shopping holiday nears. These deals include the latest models of the M4 MacBook Pro and iMac.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site...
Monday November 11, 2024 4:53 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the third betas of iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 to developers for testing today. While the third betas of each update are minor relative to the first two betas, there are still a handful of changes across the Photos app, TV app, and more.
A corresponding iOS 18.2 public beta with these changes will likely be released later this week, and Apple previously confirmed that the software...
Sunday November 10, 2024 12:13 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In its announcement video for the new Mac mini last month, Apple teased an "upcoming" version of Final Cut Pro for the Mac. Apple will likely announce the update during the annual Final Cut Pro Creative Summit, which begins this Wednesday. The conference is held in association with Apple, and attendees will be visiting Apple Park on the first day.
Apple already teased four new features...
Tuesday November 12, 2024 1:09 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is planning to launch an AI-powered smart home display as soon as March 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The display will measure in at approximately six inches, and while it is similar to an iPad, it is square rather than rectangular and it has thick bezels around the edges. There is a camera at the top front so that it can be used for FaceTime, plus there are internal speakers...