Apple's iOS 8 update released last month has created major problems for users who connect their iPhone to their car's stereo system via Bluetooth, but there are indications that a fix may be on the way with the upcoming iOS 8.1 update.
Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant Siri becomes even more powerful with iOS 8, including an entirely hands-free mode that allows users to ask questions and accomplish tasks by simply first saying the words "Hey, Siri."
A report on Monday claims Apple is bolstering its Siri research team in Cambridge, Mass., bringing in new blood and expanding into a larger office as the company weens off Nuance-based technology.
Actress Jen Taylor, who voiced the the Cortana AI character in Halo games as well as providing the voice of Microsoft's identically named Siri-like assistant for Windows Mobile, actually uses an iPhone.
A new television spot from Microsoft's Windows Phone division again puts Siri on the iPhone 5s up against Cortana on an HTC One M8, though the video slants more toward a hardware comparison than Microsoft's previous Siri-focued efforts.
As it looks to rebound after years of slumping performance, old-guard Silicon Valley firm Hewlett-Packard reportedly held talks with relative newcomers Apple and Google in recent months to create a new type of "Enterprise Siri" system that would allow its corporate customers to search their document and data troves using their voice.
A group of former Siri engineers have begun work on a next-generation digital assistant that they say will outsmart any of the current offerings, but some of the goals they claim to be working on have already been reached by Apple's own voice-driven personal assistant.
While Apple's Siri has been an iOS staple since 2011, the tech has yet to make the jump to OS X. An exhaustive new patent filing, however, details a very similar desktop version of the virtual assistant that can perform dictation, high-level system commands and even act as a "third hand" for Mac users.
The comprehension abilities of Apple's voice-driven personal assistant Siri continue to get better, but new testing shows that using Google Now for searching on Android has surpassed it in terms of accuracy when answering queries.
A Beijing court has affirmed the validity of a voice recognition patent — held by China's Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. — that Apple is accused of infringing with Siri, clearing the way for the resolution of a long-pending intellectual property case that could see the personal digital assistant muted in China.
A report on Monday claims Apple is putting together a team of A-list speech recognition researchers, including high-ranking employees from Nuance, to create an in-house Siri engine based on neural networking.
Nuance Communications, the voice recognition company whose technology helps to power Apple's Siri personal assistant, is said to be exploring a sale of the company, with Apple rival Samsung allegedly a potential suitor.
Online travel behemoth Priceline has struck a deal that will see it pay $2.6 billion for OpenTable, a provider of online reservation technology for restaurants that underpins Siri's table booking functionality.
Apple's upcoming iOS 8 update will give users better control over their mobile devices, with new customizable settings that address longstanding issues with old text messages, privacy concerns related to camera access, and the convenience of voice-activated Siri controls.
Just days after officially announcing Cortana, a Siri-like personal digital assistant for Windows Phone, Microsoft has revealed a substantial and wide-ranging artificial intelligence program it hopes will leapfrog similar offerings from Apple and Google.
An Apple acquisition from 2013 may have quietly flown under the radar, as it was revealed this week that the Siri development team has added personnel from Novauris Technologies.
Software behemoth Microsoft on Wednesday showed off the latest update to its Windows Phone mobile operating system, refining several areas and officially unveiling Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri.
Apple has targeted both a Chinese government agency and a Shanghai-based company in a new patent lawsuit related to the ownership of Siri, the voice-driven personal assistant found on iPhone and iPad.
After two years of legal maneuvering, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken on Friday dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit alleging that Apple's iPhone 4S advertisements had misrepresented the capabilities of the company's Siri personal digital assistant.
New voice options included in iOS 7.1's latest developer preview make Siri's responses smoother and more lifelike for users in the U.K., Australia, and Japan.
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Sam Oliver
Neil Hughes
Mikey Campbell
Daniel Eran Dilger
AppleInsider Staff
Shane Cole
