Siri

Introducing Moov multi-sport fitness tracker, your new personal trainer

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 27, 2014

Time to meet your new coach. Introducing the Moov, a new wearable device conceived by a three-person startup led by a former Apple engineer. Not only does it track your activities, it gives you personalized tips to improve your workout performance.

The brainchild of Nikola Hu, a smart engineer who used to work at Apple, and his colleagues, the Moov is packed with nine-axis sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer.

Thanks to the data gathered by these sensors and clever programming, the Moov can sense both motion and 3D form to improve your performance.

The biggest selling point of the Moov is its software which can provide real-time audio advice and feedback. It uses 3d motion reconstruction technology to analyze and distinguish between a bunch of activities like running, biking, swimming and weight lifting, to mention just a few.

And if you're into boxing, the Moov does that, too - it's even capable of measuring your power and form, giving you a report card at the end of each session detailing how many calories you burned, your progress against previous workouts and what not.

It gets even better: because each tracked activity is an app of its own, such a modular system allows developer to easily introduce support for new activities via firmware updates and new app releases...

Apple taking China’s patent office and Zhizhen Network Technology to court over Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

According to a report by China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, Apple is suing both the country's State Intellectual Property Office and Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology. The main point of contention: patent rights to Siri.

Now, eagled-eyed readers may remember that Zhizhen back in July of 2012 actually filed a case first against Apple as it felt Siri had infringed upon its patent for an instant messaging chat bot system called Xiaoi Bot.

Apple asked China's State Intellectual Property Office, which is in charge of patent rights protection in China, to invalidate Zhizhen's patent, but the request was declined. In turn, Apple is now suing both the patent office and Zhizhen...

Huawei video teases new devices by slamming iPhone and Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2014

Chinese handset vendor Huawei's video is teasing new smartphones, tablets and phablets coming. The clip has an iPhone owner conversing with Siri, Apple's digital personal assistant.

The narrator asks Siri about new things coming to Mobile World Congress this year, which runs February 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain. To this, Siri responds in a rather robotic, slow-talking voice that there will be “a new tablet with a beautiful slim design” with a “huge battery” that "gives you days of use," likely referring to new Huawei devices.

She also says: “One more thing: this device can even support the next generation LTE network.” Not sure about the 'even'. It's 2014 and LTE compatibility is hardly worth getting excited about in your talking points.

The video closes with the narrator asking, “Wow! What are they Fruit or Some Song?” Siri replies: “No. They are Huawei. It looks like Huawei is ready to amaze the world again”. I've included the video right after the break so give it a watch and meet us in comments...

Chevy’s new Equinox ad stars Siri Eyes Free and it’s funny

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2014

General Motors a few days ago started airing a new television commercial for its brand now 2014 vehicle, the Chevrolet Equinox. The car features integration with Siri Eyes Free, an Apple-made voice-activated system which debuted in 2012 allowing drivers to interact with Siri on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad using their voice, without taking their hands off the steering wheel.

Watch now how a perfectly normal conversation between a husband and wife goes wrong thanks to Siri...

‘Unique’ Istanbul Apple Store opening in April, Siri, R&D and more from Cook’s Turkey tour

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Yesterday, Turkish government officially confirmed that Apple CEO Tim Cook was meeting President Abdullah Gül at the Çankaya Presidential Compound in Ankara to discuss a potential $4.5 billion iPad deal and other major initiatives and incentives in the 74 million people country.

The official website of the Turkish government on Tuesday published details of the meeting. The two leaders have covered a wide range of topics, including the possibility of an Apple research and development center in Turkey and how iPads could help improve education in the country.

President Gül wanted to know whether Apple could add Turkish support to Siri and Cook was interested in a possibility of Turkey dropping its special luxury taxes that are being applied to iPhone and iPad sales in the country...

How to invoke Siri from the Pebble Smartwatch

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Great news for all of your Pebble Smartwatch owners: PebbleSiri and the Smartwatch+ jailbreak app has been updated to work with iOS 7. This means that you can now invoke Siri from your Pebble Smartwatch without touching your iPhone.

iPhone plugged into an outlet across the room, but want to set an alarm? No problem, just press the Siri button on your Pebble Smartwatch to invoke Siri and start dictating your commands. PebbleSiri is an absolute must have jailbreak tweak for Pebble Smartwatch owners, because it lessens the friction between the end user and Siri.

iOS 7.1 to bring Siri gender option for UK, Australian English, possibly other languages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As Apple gears up to unleash the fourth beta of the upcoming iOS 7.1 firmware update, possibly as early as tomorrow (carriers are already testing it), we've been tipped off about a nice improvement in the current iOS 7.1 Beta 3 release which has apparently escaped our and pretty much everyone else's attention.

Courtesy of the latest iOS 7.1 beta, male and female Siri voice with British English accent are now available on iOS 7.1 Beta 3 device. As the currently available non betas don't offer updated voices for Siri in the UK, this signals Apple is looking to enable Siri's gender option in more languages as the company continues to fine-tune its digital personal assistant...

Jawbone soups up Era headset with HD Voice, Siri and Google Now integration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

If you thought Bluetooth headsets were dead, think again. Jawbone makes some of the finest portable audio devices and wireless headsets and was among the first to release a Bluetooth headset for Apple's iPhone. On Thursday, the San Francisco-based company has streamlined its headset offering by announcing a second-generation Era.

It's 42 percent smaller, comes with its own charging case and looks good enough to be worn in public while offering interesting new voice features aimed at Apple's Siri and Google's Google Now voice assistants. Read on for more info and some nice press shots...

Assistant Unrestrictor: use Voice Control when Siri is unavailable

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 2, 2014

I don't use Siri nearly as much as I used to, so maybe I'm in the minority when I state that I rarely have problems with Siri not working; I simply don't use it enough to encounter any problems. But for those of you who use Siri day in and day out, you're more likely to experience the issues that Assistant Unrestrictor—a new jailbreak tweak available on Cydia's BigBoss repo—tries to solve.

Assistant Unrestrictor is a tweak that forces the old-school Voice Control to come into play in the instances where Siri is unavailable. For example, when Siri is down due to the lack of a network connection, Voice Control can step in and handle some of the light load. Obviously, Voice Control is nowhere near as robust as Siri, but for light duty, it's adequate in a pinch. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside to see how it works.

Siri may soon sort through your photos, new Apple invention reveals

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

With the ever-improving capabilities of smartphone cameras and so many great moments to capture on the go and share with your Instagram followers, browsing the hundreds - often times even thousands - of photographs in your iOS Camera Roll just to find that great shot of your significant other you've taken some time last year is starting to increasingly feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Sure, you can import iPhoto or Aperture albums or create your own ones right on your device. And yes, Apple's improved the photo management capabilities of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices by introducing new features in iOS 7, such as the ability to automatically group your photographs based on time taken and location.

A new patent now reveals that Apple could tap Siri to let you sort through your photos - and even tag them - just by using your voice...

Report finds that Siri’s accuracy continues to improve under iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Gene Munster—yes the iTV guy—is out with a new report today looking at the state of Siri's ability to accurately answer and respond to queries. The Piper Jaffray analyst regularly assesses the accuracy of Apple's digital assistant.

In his latest look, Munster found that Siri has continued to improve with the release of iOS 7, particularly in its ability to properly interpret questions being asked and its overall performance when accessed in noisier situations...

If Siri drove a car…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Forget Apple's iOS in the Car initiative, or Siri Eyes Free, or even big name car makers rolling out support for iOS mirroring and other hands-free features that tap Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices - here comes the ultimate Siri-driven feature (yeah, pun intended).

Introducing Steeri, the world's first driverless car app.

Put together by the Smart Department sketch comedy group, the video humorously depicts what Siri-powered driving might be like. The video is right after the jump so have a look and join us in comments...