There is a profusion of built-in iOS apps, but I think there are some that need an overhaul more than others. The next iteration of iOS is expected to ship with a general redesign system-wide, but let’s take a look deeper in to each app’s core functionality. A fresh and “flat” look will be great, but I think some of Apple’s apps are simply not as useful as they could be. (more…)
Highly-connected Apple pundit Mark Gurman has provided further details about the forthcoming iOS 7 update this morning, this time reporting that Apple could be using the software to further integrate Maps and Siri into vehicles.
According to people familiar with the plans, Apple is working with car makers on updated versions of car center consoles that could attach to iOS devices like the iPhone. Specifically, an iPhone could be plugged into a car and an optimized, redesigned version of Apple Maps will appear on the car’s built-in display instead of a proprietary GPS system found in many cars.
Apple released a feature called Siri Eyes Free last year, allowing drivers to operate the voice assistant feature with the iPhone screen turned off. But, according to Gurman, Apple wants to go one step further and integrate Siri and other iOS-based features directly into cars. (more…)
In the digital age that we live in, it has become increasingly commonplace for large corporations — Apple, Google, and the likes — to track everything about us. What we’re doing, and when we’re doing it. What we’re buying, and when we’re buying it. Who we’re friends with, and who they’re friends with. What we like, and what we dislike. Maintaining privacy in the online realm can be extremely challenging.
Having said all that, it’s unsurprising that Apple has officially claimed that it keeps the personalized data that you provide to Siri on record for up to two years. In other words, Siri doesn’t forget. While it’s unknown exactly what information Apple keeps on file, one can imagine that it might involve anything from your previous searches and commands to your personal contacts and messages. While the data is kept anonymous, it’s still a sobering situation. (more…)
While there are times when Siri can be a legitimately useful feature, the voice assistant can become frustrating when it fails to recognize your voice properly. Usually when this happens, Siri will display a speech bubble that shows what it thinks you tried to say; but, in most cases, it’s terribly wrong.
Fortunately, a lesser-known trick has surfaced that most iOS users probably didn’t know about. Simply tap the speech bubble with the incorrect text, and you can actually backspace and type in what you meant to say. Of course, this kind of defeats the purpose of the voice assistant feature in the first place.
Nevertheless, this is a very minor quick tip that should be valuable to at least some heavy Siri users that deal with the frustration of improper voice recognition. Siri does learn your voice with time, and it’s still advertised as a beta service, so we’ll cut her some slack for at least a little longer.
As someone who commutes on a daily basis, I have to admit that I am absolutely jealous of the new “Siri Eyes Free” feature that is now available on the Chevrolet Sonic. Just watch the new TV ad for the feature above.
While I drive a brand new Honda Civic with its own voice guidance feature, it’s not nearly as advanced or sophisticated as what Siri can achieve. Oh, and if you drive a new Honda Accord, you’ll be getting this feature soon too. Like? Dislike?
If you prefer to dictate your messages or other text input using your voice on your Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you will want to take advantage of the Raise to Speak function that is part of Siri. It is incredibly easy to enable and use.
First, navigate to Siri under the General menu in Settings and toggle on Raise to Speak. Once activated, simply tap on any text field within iOS and proceed to hold your iPhone or other device up to your head. Then just talk away, as Siri dictation will do the rest.
With the Raise to Speak option enabled, you can also quickly access Siri from the home screen by swiftly moving the iOS device to your ear. Of course, voice dictation or pulling up Siri traditionally requires tapping the Siri button on the keyboard or holding down the home button respectively.
The Chevy Spark and Sonic are the first vehicles to be equipped with Apple’s new “Siri Eyes Free” feature, which the company unveiled when it first previewed the iOS 6 software update last year. Existing owners of the 2013 models of the aforementioned vehicles will be able to upgrade their MyLink radios with Siri Eyes Free support in March. Siri Eyes Free allows you to perform several Siri functions through your car’s built-in entertainment system.
Siri Eyes Free seems to be exclusive to higher-end vehicles, as Honda recently confirmed that it will include support for the feature on the 2013 Honda Accord and certain Audi models. I was hoping that the feature would make its way to the 2013 Honda Civic, as the driver of such vehicle, but it appears unlikely that entry-level or compact sedans will be compatible. After all, that wouldn’t fit the traditional Apple mantra.
It would be logical to assume that, at some point, the Siri voice assistant is going to make its way to Mac. And that could happen soon, in fact, as Apple has recently posted a new job listing for a Siri UI engineer that is familiar with Unix operating systems like OS X.
Siri is currently limited to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, yet this job listing makes no reference to iOS whatsoever. Apple has continued to bridge the gap between iOS and OS X over the past few years, so it would make sense for Siri to come to Mac at some point.
On a related note, the first developer preview of OS X 10.9 could be released this month. Apple has sped up the release cycle of OS X to be an annual occurrence, with Lion and Mountain Lion dropping in July for two consecutive years. The first preview of Mountain Lion came out last February.
Update: Our own Megaorange has confirmed in the comments that if you specify the year as “2013,” Siri will indeed predict the 49ers to win.
Tomorrow’s the Super Bowl, but Siri’s still living in 2012. When prompted with the question of who is going to win tomorrow’s big game, Siri cleverly responds by saying she doesn’t “have the line of this one, but the Patriots have the better record.” For those of you that don’t remember, last year’s big contenders were the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.
What’s even funnier though is the image below her response showing the results of the game. Siri not only is predicting last year’s game on the night before this year’s Super Bowl, but her prediction was also wrong as the results she provides show. The Patriots ended up losing 21 to 17. (more…)
Today appears to be the day of lengthy editorials on various iOS topics. First, we spotlighted a lengthy article on TechCrunch about the history of jailbreaking. Next up, Huffington Post has published a detail piece about Siri. I recommend giving the full article a read, but you’ll need to pull up a chair and get comfortable; it’s going to take a while before you finish reading the entire text. Alternatively, we have published some of the more interesting excerpts from the article just ahead. (more…)