Siri

Siri is trolling us ahead of WWDC keynote with vague hints of dark mode in iOS 10

Go ahead, pull an iPhone out of your pocket right now, press and hold the Home button and tell Siri to please “turn on dark mode”.

Much to your surprise, instead of responding with a “I didn't quite get that”, “I don't understand” or some such, she'll inform you that “I'm not able to change that setting”.

As noted by AppleInsider, the wording is unusual given that iOS currently contains no reference to any kind of dark mode. Is Apple trolling us ahead of the keynote?

Why I think Spotlight and Siri should be one

Ever since the rumors of Siri making its way to the Mac began gaining credence, I started thinking about how I would like to use the feature on OS X, and what it would mean for Siri on iOS. As I was toying around with the idea of Siri on my Mac, something became apparent very quickly: Siri and Spotlight Search have a lot in common. So much so that maybe it would make sense to merge then into one feature at some point. Let me explain.

Mark Gurman shares more details about upcoming WWDC announcements, new iPhones, and more

While in between two jobs, reporter Mark Gurman appeared on the latest episode of The Jay & Farhad Show podcast, where he shared more details about what we might see at WWDC this year, including new iOS features and design tweaks. Gurman also revealed more information about this year and next year's iPhone models.

While most of Gurman details were already known or rumored for a while, he did also offer information about features we hadn't heard of until now.

Thank you, Siri: mobile voice assistant usage is rising at a rapid clip

After perusing a massive 238-slide deck that is Mary Meeker's new 2016 Internet Trends Report this morning, a slide has captured my attention that summarizes the trend toward voice searches and digital assistants. It says that in five years time at least half of all searches will be either through images or speech, which is fascinating.

What I find even more remarkable is the fact that Siri alone handled more than one billion requests per week through speech as of June 2015.

What to do when Siri doesn’t pronounce your name right

Siri is an amazing piece of software and Apple has tried so hard to make it capable of pronouncing everyone's names right, but there are just too many names in the world for Siri to be perfect and pronouncing all of them.

On the other hand, if you're sick of Siri not being able to pronounce your name correctly, there is a way to train her so she will pronounce it right going forward.

We'll show you how this is done in this quick tutorial.

How Apple’s advanced self-learning technologies could make Siri a lot smarter

The assistant wars are in full swing, with Google Assistant and Viv entering the fray and existing players such as Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, Hound and Google's Now all stepping up fight for consumers' hearts and minds.

Apple's rumored Amazon Echo competitor, which VentureBeat believes is a next-gen Apple TV, could blow all the assistants out of the water when it comes to deciphering complex natural language queries.

And powering it—VocalIQ, a sophisticate technology Apple acquired back in October 2015. Tech Insider provided an in-depth overview of how VocalIQ could make Siri a lot smarter than it is today. 

Apple’s Amazon Echo rival could detect users via built-in camera and facial recognition

Apple's rumored Amazon Echo rival, which we learned yesterday could actually be an upgraded Apple TV, will have a built-in camera and use facial recognition to detect users as they enter the room, said the people briefed on Apple's plans who spoke to CNET on condition of anonymity.

Upon recognizing a user, the device would pull up their preferences, such as the music and lighting they like, the sources said.

10 Siri for Mac features I hope to see in OS X 10.12

Siri is one of these features that feels like a broken promise. Not only it hasn't evolved that much over the years, but it's also not that much more reliable than it was when it was first introduced back in 2011.

If the rumor mill is any indication of what's to come, it appears that Siri might make its way to the Mac, and maybe get even smarter with the introduction of an SDK for developers.

So I sat down and started thinking about what specifically I would want Siri to be able to do on my Mac, beyond the smart assistant's existing capabilities. This is my wish-list. 

Apple’s rumored Amazon Echo competitor may be new Apple TV

Apple's rumored Amazon Echo competitor may come in the form of a new set-top box, reports VentureBeat. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the outlet says the iPhone maker is working on a new Apple TV with an improved version of Siri.

“They want Apple TV to be just the hub of everything,” the source told VentureBeat. Earlier this week, The Information reported that Apple is building a new device with a speaker and always-on microphone to rival products from Amazon and Google.

Apple developing Siri SDK and device to compete against Amazon Echo

Apple has big plans to step up its game in the field of intelligent assistants, reports The Information. Citing sources familiar with the plans, the outlet claims the company is preparing to introduce a Siri SDK for third party app developers at WWDC next month.

Additionally, the report says that Apple is also working on an Amazon Echo-like device with a speaker and always-on microphone that people can use to do things like turn on music, get news headlines or set a timer. Google unveiled a similar device last week.

Siri for Mac icon leaks ahead of WWDC

9to5Mac claimed back in January that Siri would be finally coming to the Mac via the forthcoming OS X 10.12 software update this fall. Today, MacRumors published a genuine looking image that purportedly shows a colorful Siri icon sitting in OS X's Dock, adding fuel to the Siri for Mac rumors.

Another screenshot appears to show a Siri icon sitting in the Mac's menu bar at the top. The publication says that these screenshots were sent to them by a source “who has provided us with reliable information about Apple's software plans in the past”.