Siri

Has Apple Watch Series 2 gained a second mic to improve Siri reception?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 9, 2016

In case you missed this little yet important detail in an avalanche of web reports about the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple's second-generation wearable packs in a few handful improvements, among which is what appears to be a second microphone opening. As the original Apple Watch had a single tiny microphone hole, it couldn't suppress background noise.

In turn, the “Hey Siri” function on the original watch behaves somewhat erratically, struggling to recognize the command in noisy environments.

Wait, does that mean that the Apple Watch Series 2 should respond to the “Hey Siri” hot phrase more reliably than before? It's complicated...

“Hey Siri, call Sébastien on Skype”

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

Apple's made a rare move of publishing multiple blog posts to whet our appetite for Siri's upcoming third-party integration on iOS 10. We already detailed how Siri will work with popular messaging/payments apps and allow you to search photos inside third-party apps like Pinterest, just by using your voice.

Now, we take a closer look at how Apple's personal digital assistant can interact with VoIP apps like Skype, Vonage and others.

Apple previews photo-search capabilities coming to iOS 10 via Siri app integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

iOS 10 marks the first time Apple has allowed other people's apps to integrate with Siri. The following app categories are permitted to take advantage of the new SiriKit in iOS 10: ride hailing, messaging, photo search, mobile payments, VoIP and workout apps.

The company already detailed Siri integration in popular messaging and payments apps and now a new blog post shows you how Siri can find photos inside apps like Pinterest, Vogue and more.

App Store Review Guidelines updated with details on subscriptions, SiriKit and iMessage

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

In addition to beefing up App Store quality control by removing poorly maintained apps and those with 50+ characters in their name starting September 7, Apple also updated the official App Store Review Guidelines with details on app subscriptions, SiriKit and downloadable iMessage content. “As you plan and develop your apps for the upcoming releases of iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS and tvOS, make sure to read these updated guidelines,” writes Apple.

Apple shares examples of Siri’s third-party app integration on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

Following first hands-on demonstrations of Siri's app integration that select developers gave to The Wall Street Journal's Nathan Olivarez-Giles last week, Apple on Thursday published an article of its own to share more details regarding Siri integrations for payments, messaging apps and more.

As a quick backgrounder, Siri on iOS 10 will work with your apps thanks to Apple's new SiriKit framework which was designed to help developers integrate Siri functionality into their own apps.

First hands-on demo of Siri’s app integration doesn’t disappoint

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2017

Capabilities of SiriKit, a new iOS 10 framework that lets third-party apps work with Siri, were on full display in the first hands-on demonstration given to Nathan Olivarez-Giles of the Wall Street Journal. In addition to extending Siri’s support for messaging, photo search and phone calls to more apps, SiriKit also adds support for new services, including ride booking and personal payments.

Nathan was pretty impressed with the usefulness of Siri's app integration on iOS 10, calling it a “long-overdue” enhancement that will make Apple's personal digital assistant “more useful in everyday life” than it's ever been.

“Hey Siri, see you on the seventh!”

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 29, 2016

Siri giving witty responses ahead of major Apple events has become something of a tradition for Apple and part of the festivities by its eager fans. The just-announced September 7 iPhone 7 press conference is no exception. Thanks to a silent backend update, Siri now serves up a variety of amusing responses when asked about the iPhone 7 event.

Best thing you check them out for yourself.

A fascinating look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

Respected journalist Steven Levy has scored another nice exclusive with a new write-up over at Backchannel, a Wired Media Group property, giving us a rare inside look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple.

The article contains a lot of gems, with company executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller and Siri leads Tom Gruber and Alex Acero providing a bunch of previously unknown facts about Apple's AI efforts, including this one: machine learning has enabled Apple to cut Siri's error rate by a factor or two.

Siri to pronounce Barbra Streisand’s name correctly with “next update on September 30”

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 22, 2016

Will iOS 10 hit on September 30? We don't know, but that's what well-known singer, actress, songwriter and filmmaker Barbra Streisand seems to have alluded in an interview with NPR, saying she picked up the phone and called Tim Cook after becoming frustrated with how Siri pronounced her name.

The CEO of Apple reportedly promised a fix for Siri to pronounce the actress's name correctly with the next update on September 30.

This tweak makes Siri less impatient so you can take your time speaking

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 19, 2016

A lot of times while using Siri, you might have to repeat yourself or start over while you're talking because if you speak too slowly, or pause while you're talking, you'll get the "I didn't quite get that" message.

As frustrating as this can be, especially in louder environments, a new free jailbreak tweak called SiriKeepListening now available in Cydia helps remedy this problem.

Apple TV universal search gains support for Australian ‘Stan’ streaming service

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2016

After adding support for searching shows from Viacom-owned Comedy Central and music networks MTV and VH1 on the fourth-generation Apple TV a month ago, Apple has recently added Australia's Stan streaming service to the list of providers that support tvOS's universal search feature, as first discovered by MacRumors. Now customers in Australia can find content on Stan by pressing the Siri button on their Siri Remote.

Apple acquires AI startup Turi for a reported $200 million

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Apple has acquired machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi, reports GeekWire. Citing sources close to the deal, the outlet says the purchase price was somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million, and the team will stay on and continue its work.

Turi, formerly Dato, builds platforms for developing intelligent applications using machine learning technology. Its products are used by a number of Fortune 500 companies for fraud detection, recommendation engines, lead scoring and other predictive capabilities.