Rumor: Apple Maps and Siri coming to the Mac with OS X 10.9 next year

OS X 10.9, the next major revision to Apple’s desktop operating system, will contain Siri and Apple Maps, the two headline capabilities currently exclusively available on newer iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. According to a new report this morning, early builds of OS X 10.9 that were previously spotted in web logs include Siri and Maps integration. Both features are purportedly in the early testing stages so it has yet to be determined if they will be ready for prime time when OS X 10.9 ships some time next year…

Mark Gurman, reporting for 9to5Mac, talked to “reliable sources”:

These sources say that early builds of OS X 10.9 integrate Apple’s Siri voice command software much like Apple’s newest iPad models running iOS 6.

In addition to that, Apple plans to integrate its so-far criticized and controversial mapping service into OS X as a framework for developers, according to people familiar with early testing.

The teen blogging phenom goes on to assert that developers will be able to embed maps into their Mac App Store programs. Programmers currently can embed Apple Maps in iOS programs via the iOS MapKit framework.

The recently seeded iOS 6.1 Beta features an updated MapsKit framework allowing devs to programmatically search for map-based addresses and points of interest in their apps using an Apple Maps backend.

The author has not been able to confirm with his sources whether OS X 10.9 contains a full-blown Apple Maps app for desktops. Development of OS X 10.9 allegedly began simultaneously with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Apple previously indicated intent to push forward with a more aggressive OS X release schedule that would see annual major revisions to its operating system powering Mac notebooks and desktops.

As you know, the current OS X Mountain Lion borrows heavily from iOS, bringing to the Mac popular iOS features such as Notification Center, AirPlay, Dictation, Game Center, Reminders, Notes and iCloud document syncing, to name a few.

There’s no reason not to continue with the deployment of the remaining iOS features on the Mac platform, beginning with Siri and Apple Maps as the most prominent software enhancements from past two iOS revisions.

Hopefully, Apple will work out the kinks before unleashing Maps and Siri on the Mac. Also, how about iBooks for Mac?

Today’s rumor hints at ongoing work on unifying both desktop and mobile builds of Apple’s software with feature parity, possibly towards combining iOS and OS X into one giant monster of an operating system.

Do Siri and Apple Maps make sense on the Mac?