Siri

Apple patents smart iDevice dock with always-listening Siri capability

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

An interesting Apple patent application has surfaced in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database on Thursday. Titled 'Smart dock for activating a voice recognition mode of a portable electronic device,' the filing basically describes a smart dock of sorts for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with a unique feature giving Apple's Siri digital personal assistant a permanent place in your home, with a cool always-on functionality.

Unlike Motorola's Moto X handset with on-device Google Now feature always in the listening mode and responding to the 'OK Google' phrase, Apple's patent relies on a hardware dock providing the listening functionality, with users being able to set a custom audio prompt that will trigger Siri...

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Honda details Siri Eyes Free integration for 2013-2014 Accord and Acura models

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 9, 2017

Along with many fellow car vendors, Honda back in January 2013 promised to roll out certain Accord and Acura models with integrated support for Apple’s Eyes Free.

In a blog post today, the Japanese car maker announced that Siri Eyes Free integration is available on the 2013-2014 Honda Accord and 2013 Acura RDX and ILX vehicles as a dealer-installed accessory.

As you know, Siri Eyes Free is a voice-activated system which allows drivers to interact with Siri on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad using their voice, without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel. It also helps minimize distractions by keeping an iOS device's screen from lighting up.

With Siri Eyes Free, you can send, receive and read messages, set reminders and alarms, check the weather, stock quotes, sports scores, showtimes and other info and even use turn-by-turn navigation, all through the power of Siri's spoken commands...

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GM announces Siri ‘Eyes Free’ coming to 2014 Camaro, Malibu and more

Cody Lee ∙ October 15, 2013

General Motors has issued a press release this week, announcing that Siri 'Eyes Free' mode will be coming to several new vehicles in 2014, including the Chevy Camaro, Volt, Malibu, SS, Cruze and Equinox.

The feature, which in GM models works via the Chevrolet MyLink service, connects to compatible iPhones to give users one-touch, in-car access to Siri, allowing them to perform various tasks hands-free...

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Meet voice actress Susan Bennett, the original voice of Siri

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The mystique of Siri, Apple's "personal assistant" for iOS, has been the mysterious female voice. Able to speak directions to your favorite pizza parlor as well as carry on witty banter with celebrities, finding the voice behind your iPhone has become the holy grail for love-struck geeks everywhere. Now comes a middle-aged Atlanta mom who claims she's the original voice behind Siri, providing a peak behind the world of talking machines.

Susan Bennett, a mom from Sandy Springs, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, never wanted the spotlight. Her voice has been used to give life to machines ranging from the an ATM to a voice announcing directions inside the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport. Now she is speaking out about her role as the most famous unknown voice heard by millions of people...

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Apple’s ever-growing cash horde pegged at one-tenth of all US corporate dollars

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Some people collects rocks, other people collect stamps. Apple, however, likes cash. Turns out the iPhone maker, all by itself, controls ten percent of all corporate cash in the United States.

Just how much is that? New data shows Apple's bank account of $147 billion represents ten percent of the $1.48 trillion held by non-banking U.S. companies.

Here's another factoid to make you even more uneasy about that measly savings account of yours: all together, Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Pfizer - not exactly nickel and dime operations - account for another fifteen percent of all U.S. corporate cash...

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Apple Maps and Siri woes again make headlines

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Just when you thought the dust has settled over Apple's digital personal assistant, Siri, and the company's Google Maps replacement software in iOS, latest reports once again pan the two services over gross inaccuracies.

Worse, these stories paint Apple Maps and Siri in a not-so-favorable light - and very publicly, too.

The first report comes from Alaska and warns about people looking for directions to the Fairbanks International Airport, only to be instructed to drive onto an airport taxiway, which is located directly across the runway where airplanes take off and land....

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New in iOS 7: use Siri to access app settings

Cody Lee ∙ September 23, 2013

Apple has not only made Siri more intelligent and capable in iOS 7, but it's also stopped referring to it as being in 'beta.' We've noted a number of the digital assistant's improvements over the past few months, but here's a cool little trick that was just pointed out to us...

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Apple patent describes location-based speech recognition

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 19, 2013

Now that Apple is pushing a number of differing iPhones to a wider range of countries, it might be wise if Siri understood languages spoken outside of North America and Europe. To help fine-tune the regional differences in language, Apple has filed for a patent on integrating geolocation with speech recognition.

The filing, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last Thursday, seeks to use location clues to enhance Siri, as well as speech to text services available with the newly-introduced iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c...

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Siri pans Google Glass

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 26, 2013

Once again, Apple has tweaked its digital personal assistant Siri to give the "right" answers when asked about a competitor's product.

This time around, Apple has re-calibrated her to give amusing responses to the "Okay Glass" prompt Google Glass owners use to issue commands to their Android-driven eyewear.

Though playful, Siri's responses disparage Google Glass, with one response calling Google's head-worn accessory "half empty" and telling users they've "got the wrong assistant". We have all the responses and a nice video right after the break...

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Apple may be working to supplant Siri’s Nuance speech recognition with in-house tech

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 26, 2013

Although Apple's Siri uses Nuance's speech recognition technology, the digital assistant may be getting a new voice soon. Although Nuance continues to power Siri's speech recognition, a number of former Nuance employees reportedly are now part of Apple's in-house efforts to develop a new speech recognition technology to power Siri, reducing its technological dependency on third-parties.

For instance, a number of former employees of VoiceSignal Technologies, a speech software firmed acquired by Nuance, now appear in leading roles developing Siri as an in-house application for Apple, according to a Friday report...

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