Siri

Siri: Why it May be Another FaceTime

Oliver Haslam ∙ October 18, 2011

We talked about Siri, Apple's new voice-controlled digital assistant, for months before it actually arrived. We didn't even get confirmation that it existed until a week before its release, yet it feels like we've been hyping it up forever. For good reason, too.

When before have we been able to talk to a piece of technology in that all-so-awesome Star Trek kind of way? The way we've been dreaming about ever since someone in a lycra suit, (three sizes too small for them of course) first asked a question of a disembodied voice. Star Trek characters often had seemingly real conversations with their computers, and we were oh so jealous.

Until now...

Long List of Siri Dictation Commands for Your iPhone 4S

Alex Heath ∙ October 17, 2011

The most talked about aspect of the iPhone 4S has to be Siri. Apple's newest AI technology has been making splashes in the press since its announcement two weeks ago. People are even trying to port it to the iPhone 4.

Siri can recognize and interpret tons of voice commands. We've all had fun seeing Siri's attitude in action, but did you know that the dictation aspect of Siri is incredibly advanced, too?

How to Tweet and Update Facebook Using Siri

Oliver Haslam ∙ October 17, 2011

Apple's unique selling point for the iPhone 4S is Siri, a digital assistant that knows what you mean and how to answer your questions.

For all Siri's polish and ability to take real language and turn it into emails and text messages, there is one glaring omission from its repertoire, and that's the ability to tweet or update your Facebook status.

With Twitter now very much built into the fabric of iOS, it has been a surprise to many that Apple didn't give Siri any hooks into the world of 140 characters and less. But fear not, for those of us that are addicted to Twitter can now send messages using Siri, and it's super easy to set up...

Apple Wanted Siri to Have a “Light Attitude”

Guest Author ∙ October 16, 2011

A recent report by the Wall Street Journal focuses on Norman Winarsky, one of the co-founders of Siri. According to Winarsky, Siri came from an artificial intelligence project at SRI, a R&D group.

When Apple was starting to integrate Siri, they wanted it "friendly and humble—but also with an edge." This way of thinking is made evident by the fact that Siri does have many personality traits. To attest to this, someone started a blog called "Sh#! That Siri Says," where users can send in their own humorous responses from Siri....

Siri’s Port to the iPhone 4 Improved

Guest Author ∙ October 15, 2011

Yesterday, Siri was successfully ported to the iPhone 4 and shown on video. Today, the same person who made that video has uploaded another one, which shows more improvement.

In the first video, Siri was lagging, and looked like it could barely run on the iPhone 4. This is because the GPU was disabled for Siri, putting all the pressure on the A4 processor. As you can see in this video, Siri now works the way it should on the iPhone 4 performance-wise...

Initial Thoughts After Using the iPhone 4S

Alex Heath ∙ October 15, 2011

I've been using the iPhone 4S heavily for about 24 hours now. After finally getting the phone activated on AT&T yesterday afternoon, I've had a chance to use the device pretty extensively.

The iPhone 4S has three main selling points: a faster processor, better camera, and Siri. Here are my initial thoughts and impressions of Apple's newest smartphone...

Three Awesome Siri Tips for Your iPhone 4S

Oliver Haslam ∙ October 15, 2011

We've all spent a day or two with our iPhone 4S handsets, and we've been merrily chatting away with Siri, our new best friend. During those chats we've discovered one or two useful little tips that you may not be aware of that can make everyone's use or Siri a little more fun.

Siri, for those who've been hiding in a cupboard or shipwrecked on a desert island, is Apple's latest innovation to come to the iPhone. The idea is to give users their very own digital assistant, which really boils down to voice-activated commands. It is, of course, a little more interesting than that, and the way users can talk to their iPhones in real-world language is, at times, a sight to behold.

Let's get onto the tips...

Fix: Siri Can’t Connect to the Network

Sébastien Page ∙ October 15, 2011

Twelve hours and countless reboots and resets later, I'm glad to announce that Siri is finally working again for me. Since last night, all Siri was able to tell me was "Sorry, I'm having trouble connecting to the network," or "Sorry, I'm not able to connect to the network right now." Quite disappointing for a $400 piece of hardware.

At first, I thought it was a server issue, which I hoped would be fixed by the time I got up today. But when I realized that other users were able to access Siri just fine, it was clear that the problem came from my device. Here is what I did to fix it...

Siri Assistant Successfully Ported to an iPhone 4

Cody Lee ∙ October 14, 2011

Well that didn't take long. Hot on the heels of iH8sn0w's announcement earlier today that Siri wasn't restricted to the A5 processor, we now have concrete evidence that the feature has been successfully ported to the iPhone 4.

Apple's popular personal assistant debuted on the iPhone 4S exclusively last week, and everyone has been raving about its potential. Now it appears that iPhone 4S owners won't be the only ones getting in on the fun...

Siri Isn’t Technically Limited to the iPhone 4S

Cody Lee ∙ October 14, 2011

Why Apple has limited its new Siri personal assistant feature to the iPhone 4S is anyone's guess. At first it was believed that a lot of the backend of Siri took place on the handset, so it needed the A5's extra power. But that didn't prove to be the case.

It was also thought that the service required 1GB of RAM. But it was later revealed that Apple's new smartphone only contains 512MB, so that can't be it, either. So then why in the world is Siri limited to the iPhone 4S? Well, maybe it's not...

Siri Isn’t as Awesome For Users Outside of the US

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

The stand-out iPhone 4S feature has to be Siri, Apple's take on the virtual assistant. There's something to be said for asking your iPhone questions or issuing commands, and having it go off and do the work.

Unfortunately, it appears that not everyone can experience the full magic of Siri, with some aspects of the digital AI not available for those of us outside the United States...

Chit Chatting With Siri [Video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 14, 2011

I've always thought that Siri looked good, just not as great as Apple would want you to believe. I was a skeptic. I was a skeptic until about an hour ago when I first tried Siri for myself.

It's not perfect, but it's definitely better than any other voice recognition/control/A.I. you've ever used. It integrates commendably with the iPhone 4S, and best of all, it just works...most of the time.

Siri will, without a doubt, change the way we communicate with our devices going forward; it's like the missing link that we've needed all along.

Check inside and see what it's like to have small talk with Siri...