macOS Sierra, revealed during Apple's WWDC keynote on Monday, will be the first Mac operating system to include Siri. Although many people are familiar with how the virtual assistant works in iOS, there will be quite a few differences on desktops and laptops.
Apple on Monday announced a third-party SDK for its Siri virtual assistant, opening up voice control options for developers integration.
Apple during WWDC announced an updated Remote iOS app for the Apple TV, promising to carry over features from the Siri Remote to iPhones and iPads.
A curious response from Apple's Siri indicates the virtual assistant will soon support "dark mode" settings, suggesting forthcoming integration with OS X, or a highly anticipated introduction of dark mode functionality on iOS.
Just a few days before Apple is widely expected to unveil Siri for Mac, a prompt to the voice-driven personal assistant on iPhone is mentioning the OS X file management application, Finder.
While a variety of tech commentators have played up a dramatic "voice-first" rivalry ostensibly led by the Amazon Echo, a yet-unreleased Google Home and Microsoft's Cortana (and apparently miserably trailed by Apple's Siri), real data shows that's not actually the case.
Siri is expected to gain volumes of new skills if and when Apple releases a rumored software development kit, but it was the virtual assistant's existing abilities that recently proved critical in preserving the life of a baby girl.
A fresh survey published ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference suggests updates to Siri and the unlocking of the digital assistant's software development kit could be a key factor in future iPhone adoption, a topic of keen interest coming off Apple's first ever handset sales contraction.
Apple's Siri voice controls debuted on the new Apple TV last fall, and Microsoft's competing Cortana will follow suit, debuting in the living room on Xbox One consoles starting this summer.
The most likely main focus for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference will be major improvements to Siri, one analyst believes, led by expansion to the Mac and the introduction of new developer tools that will allow third-party apps to access the virtual assistant.
Assuming it makes it into Siri upgrades that may start as soon as next month's WWDC, technology Apple acquired from VocalIQ could greatly improve the assistant's accuracy and contextual awareness, one report claims.
Apple's rumored Amazon Echo competitor could reportedly include a camera for facial recognition, but may have to wait until 2017 to hit store shelves.
While Apple is indeed said to be working on competition for Amazon's Echo voice assistant, it should come in the form of an upgraded Apple TV instead of a separate speaker-like device, a report claimed on Thursday.
Five years after Siri launched with iPhone 4S, Apple is reportedly preparing to open its virtual assistant platform up to third-party developers through a dedicated SDK, and might dive deeper into AI services by embedding the technology into a speaker type device similar to Amazon's Echo.
The smart home battle between Apple, Google and others continues to heat up, with Google on Wednesday announcing Home, a new voice-activated hardware kit that brings the Google assistant service to any room in your house.
New images published on Wednesday appear to support rumors that Apple will finally bring Siri to the Mac in the next major version of OS X, premiering at WWDC 2016 in June.
Almost all of the talent Apple acquired from the original Siri team has reportedly left the company, with a pair of key departures having taken place in recent weeks.
After years of development, Siri co-creators and former Apple employees Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer are ready to demonstrate "Viv," an advanced virtual assistant that could reinvent the way consumers interact with their devices.
Fiat Chrysler on Friday issued a free software update to owners of some 2013-, 2014-, and 2015-model vehicles, giving them access to Apple's Siri Eyes Free, which enables voice commands to an iPhone by tapping a button on the steering wheel.
The newly launched August Smart Lock includes support for Apple's HomeKit, allowing users to lock, unlock and check the status of their door lock with voice commands using Siri.
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Roger Fingas
AppleInsider Staff
Neil Hughes
Daniel Eran Dilger
Quinten Plummer
Mikey Campbell
