Apple highlights Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 18 with "Designed for everyone" video series

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple has posted a series of seven videos to YouTube showing how real people make use of Mac, iOS and Apple Watch accessibility features from Switch Control to Siri to VoiceOver. Each tells the story of specific individual in about two minutes.

Daniel Eran Dilger 9 years ago 1

Apple's Siri home speaker said to complement voice controls with physical touch panel

Whether it has a dynamic screen or simple buttons, Apple's anticipated Siri home speaker will likely offer physical controls with some kind of dedicated touch panel, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities revealed on Saturday.

Neil Hughes 9 years ago 29

Apple invention details deep Siri integration with Messages

Apple in a patent application published Thursday details a method of integrating an intelligent virtual assistant — Siri — into a messaging environment, allowing users to participate in text-based exchanges with the AI, while opening up automation and helper tools to traditional Messages conversations with friends.

Mikey Campbell 9 years ago 26

Amazon announces premium touchscreen $230 Echo Show, allowing Alexa to 'show you things'

Amazon's voice-driven personal assistant Alexa is going visual, via the online retailer's new high-end Echo Show, a $230 tabletop personal assistant featuring a 7-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, and dual 2-inch stereo speakers.

Neil Hughes 9 years ago 152

Amazon could unveil touch screen Echo device on Tuesday, report says

Looking to stay ahead of competitors in the smart home appliance game, online retail giant Amazon is expected to announce a new touch-screen version of its popular voice-first Echo device as early as Tuesday, a report said.

Mikey Campbell 9 years ago 18

Microsoft & Harman Kardon take aim at Apple, Amazon & Google with 'Invoke' smartspeaker

Microsoft and Harman Kardon on Monday officially revealed the Invoke, a device that will take on the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple's rumored Siri-based device in the smartspeaker market.

Roger Fingas 9 years ago 37

Apple's Phil Schiller makes argument for screens on voice assistant devices like Amazon Echo

Amidst rumors of a Siri home speaker, Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller in an interview published this week offered his thoughts on dedicated voice assistants like Amazon's Echo, saying the lack of an onboard screen is a hindrance in many situations.

Mikey Campbell 9 years ago 44

With Apple rumored to launch Siri home speaker, Amazon preps flagship touchscreen Echo

As rumors continue to heat up regarding a Siri-driven personal home assistant with high-end audio, Amazon is preparing to expand its own Alexa lineup, with a new leak revealing a touchscreen flagship Echo with camera.

Neil Hughes 9 years ago 30

Inventec allegedly tapped for Apple's rumored standalone Siri speaker product

Long-time Apple supplier Inventec has been selected by Apple to churn out Apple's rumored Siri speaker, if supply chain reports out of China are to be believed.

Mike Wuerthele 9 years ago 19

Apple's Siri-based Echo competitor to carry premium price, feature high-end audio with 1 woofer & 7 tweeters

Apple's anticipated personal assistant accessory is expected to be a powerful and capable device, boasting "excellent" acoustics and computing power similar to recent iPhone models, positioning it for the high-end market with pricing higher than Amazon's Echo. And there's apparently a good chance it could be announced next month.

Neil Hughes 9 years ago 112

Apple's Siri-based Echo competitor rumored to borrow design cues from Mac Pro, could arrive at WWDC

More details on Apple's anticipated standalone Siri speaker have emerged, suggesting the device could look similar in some ways to the company's cylindrical Mac Pro desktop, and could be released as soon as WWDC in June.

Neil Hughes 9 years ago 86

Apple 'finalizing' design of Amazon Echo rival based on Siri

Apple is said to be "currently finalizing" designs for its long-rumored Amazon Echo competitor, featuring support for Siri and AirPlay and boasting Beats technology, a well-known leak source claimed on Thursday.

Roger Fingas 9 years ago 104

Amazon Echo Look and iOS app judges your wardrobe choices with machine learning

On Wednesday, Amazon expanded its Alexa family of devices with the Echo Look — a voice recognition device with a camera tailored to snapping a shot of your outfit, rating it, and giving you alternate choices in conjunction with an iOS app.

Mike Wuerthele 9 years ago 31

Apple AI guru Tom Gruber speaks of artificial intelligence's 'inevitability' at TED

Speaking at the TED conference, Siri co-founder and Apple AI expert Tom Gruber declared that artificial intelligence should be used less to replace humans, and more to enhance aspects of humanity that are unreliable or fail with time, like memory.

Mike Wuerthele 9 years ago 43

Actress says credit for Siri's personality belongs to Apple programmers, not voice work

The attitude displayed by Apple's Siri assistant can really be attributed to programmers, not voice work, according to the actress responsible for Siri's U.S. female voice, Susan Bennett.

Roger Fingas 9 years ago 20

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