Siri

Business
September 23, 2016
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Hotel Technology Next Generation

The high-tech hotel of the future is already here

By on September 23, 2016 at 12:50 PM.

The high-tech hotel of the future is already here

If the Starwood hotel chain has its way, the hotel room of the future will be more of a customizable set of experiences that listens to you and stands ready to cater to your wishes — and that’s less of, well, just a room.

The company’s hotel brand Aloft in recent weeks started trialing voice-activated hotel rooms in its Boston Seaport and Santa Clara properties. The service, currently enabled in 10 rooms at each property, includes guests being greeted by a personalized welcome letter on the in-room TV when they check in.

They quickly learn that a branded iPad is ready to be set up with a “Hey Siri” to learn the sound of their voice so it can go on to control the guest’s room experience. More →

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Apps & Software
August 28, 2016
by
Siri Performance

This stagnant technology is what’s holding Siri back

By on August 28, 2016 at 2:24 PM.

This stagnant technology is what’s holding Siri back

Over the past few years, Siri’s functionality and reliability has improved by leaps and bounds. Not only is Siri’s feature-set more expansive than ever, but it operates much more quickly and does a much better job at understanding and processing language. To this point, Medium last week published a fascinating and detailed profile on how Apple’s advancements in the field of AI and machine learning have helped take Siri’s performance to the next level.

In fact, Siri Senior Director Alex Acero boasted that advancements in Siri’s underlying technology has cut down the error rate “by a factor of two in all the languages” and “more than a factor of two in many cases.”

More →

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Entertainment
August 28, 2016
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Barbra Streisand Siri Jimmy Fallon

Barbra Streisand tells Jimmy Fallon about her beef with Siri

By on August 28, 2016 at 9:00 AM.

Barbra Streisand tells Jimmy Fallon about her beef with Siri

We heard a few days ago that Barbra Streisand decided to pick up the phone and call none other than Tim Cook to demand a certain update in Siri. She wasn’t happy with the way Siri pronounces her name, and the Apple CEO obliged, letting her know that it’ll all be fixed come September 30th. Naturally, all tech blogs speculated that we’re going to get a new version of iOS on that date, likely the first iOS 10 release, though it would be a little late compared to Apple’s usual iOS rollout. But this isn’t about that at all. No, we’re just going to take a look at Streisand explaining the entire thing to Jimmy Fallon. More →

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Business
August 5, 2016
by
Apple AI, Siri

Report: Apple just bought an AI startup to make Siri better

By on August 5, 2016 at 4:30 PM.

Report: Apple just bought an AI startup to make Siri better

Apple doesn’t just invent things in its labs in Cupertino. The company also buys companies with impressive frequency — five so far this year. Actually, make that six, because Apple just picked up a significant Seattle-based artificial intelligence outfit, Turi.

The news comes in a report from GeekWire, which heard about the deal through sources. Neither Apple nor Turi is confirming right now, although Apple is famously tight-lipped about these kinds of deals. The acquisition is rumored to be worth more than $100 million.

More →

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Apps & Software
August 3, 2016
by
Siri Tricks 2016

New site gives iPhone users a massive list of Siri voice commands

By on August 3, 2016 at 4:07 PM.

New site gives iPhone users a massive list of Siri voice commands

When Siri was first introduced as a beta product alongside the launch of 2011’s iPhone 4S, people couldn’t wait to get their hands on Apple’s new virtual personal assistant and give it a try. Then… they actually gave it a try. Siri got off to a rocky start to say the least, with server issues that plagued early users and a limited feature set that often didn’t work as advertised. Despite the “beta” label, it seemed like no one was really prepared for how unreliable Siri was going to be, so many people were turned off and ditched Siri completely.

Of course, launching a half-baked software product and then fixing it over time is par for the course at Apple. What started as a frustrating mess has grown into one of Apple’s most useful software tools, but many people still don’t use Siri because of the bad taste that was left in their mouths the first time around.

Now, it’s time to give Siri another shot. More →

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Apps & Software
August 2, 2016
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Siri Emoji Names

You should absolutely listen to Siri describe every emoji on the iPhone

By on August 2, 2016 at 8:00 PM.

You should absolutely listen to Siri describe every emoji on the iPhone

What were you planning on doing this evening? Having fun? Interacting with real human beings? Cancel all that, because here’s a wonderfully comprehensive video of Siri describing every single emoji in words.

The folks at Motor1 discovered that if you receive a message containing emoji while using Apple’s CarPlay, Siri describes each individual emoji. So of course, the only logical thing to do was send a text containing every emoji in the book, set a camera to record, and enjoy.

More →

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Mobile
June 15, 2016
by
siri-iphone

Apple’s digital helper, Siri, needs help

By on June 15, 2016 at 9:00 PM.

Apple’s digital helper, Siri, needs help

In the face of stiff competition from Android, Apple continued its push to make the Siri digital assistant useful to a large chunk of its users at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week. But will it be enough?

Siri, Apple’s intelligent voice-activated digital assistant, has been around for a long time, since it was first introduced in 2011 with the iPhone 4s. But it’s still not widely used, according to a survey conducted by Fluent, an advertising technology company. Fluent engages in “performance marketing,” which requires an iPhone user, for example, to respond directly to an ad. More →

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Apps & Software
June 15, 2016
by
Siri APIs

Apple executives talk Siri limitations, iOS Messages app and much more in new interview

By on June 15, 2016 at 8:49 AM.

Apple executives talk Siri limitations, iOS Messages app and much more in new interview

In what may become something of a tradition, Apple executives Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi on the second day of WWDC sat down with Daring Fireball’s John Gruber for a wide-ranging interview about all things iOS and macOS. The full interview will soon be available on Gruber’s popular The Talk Show podcast but MacRumors managed to highlight some of the more noteworthy portions in the interim.

More →

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Apps & Software
June 13, 2016
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WWDC Keynote: Apple Vision

The day Apple became one

By on June 13, 2016 at 3:48 PM.

The day Apple became one

Apple is the only company that owns a full set of smartphones, laptops, desktops, and wearables all running its own software. (Hi Windows Phone, you don’t count.) There’s always been a lingering question about how and when all those platforms would come together to create the Ultimate Apple Experience™, a perfect Jobsian singularity.

That’s not happening quite yet, but after today’s keynote, we have a much better idea what that will look like.

More →

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Mobile
June 13, 2016
by
Siri iOS 10 Mac OS

WSJ: A smarter-than-ever Siri is coming to iPhone and the Mac

By on June 13, 2016 at 6:50 AM.

WSJ: A smarter-than-ever Siri is coming to iPhone and the Mac

Apple’s annual WWDC conference is about to get underway in California, with the iPhone maker expected to unveil major upgrades across operating systems. iOS 10 and Mac OS X 10.12 will be the most important announcements of the show, though Apple should also detail tvOS and watchOS advancements. Multiple reports claimed that Apple will focus on Siri at the show, with the digital voice-based virtual assistant expected to get smarter, but also to be available on the Mac. More →

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