Siri Reportedly Landing On Macs Later This Year Via OS X 10.12
Anyone that has used an iPhone or iPad in the past few years should be pretty familiar with the Siri digital assistant. Siri, which was initially introduced on the iPhone 4S back in 2011, has grown in its capabilities over the course of its 4-year lifespan and has recently been expanded to the Apple Watch and Apple TV platforms.
But according to a new report from a man well-connected with the inner workings of Apple, Mark Gurman, Siri will finally make its way to the Mac platform later this year with the introduction of OS X 10.12. The only thing surprising about this revelation is why it has taken Apple so long to come to this decision, as implementing the feature seems like it would be trivial at best for the folks in Cupertino.
According to Gurman, Apple has experimented with Siri on OS X for the past three years, but only recently was able to agree on a streamlined interface and clear usage models on Macs. “Siri for the Mac will live in the Mac’s Menu Bar,” Gurman reports. “Similar to the Spotlight magnifying glass icon for search and notifications icon for Notification Center, a Siri icon in the top right corner of the menu bar will activate the voice control feature.
“Siri on the Mac will have its own pane in System Preferences and users are said to also have the option to choose a keyboard shortcut for activating the service.”
If you’re not a fan of Siri, you’ll have the option to disable it right from the start when your complete the initial setup of OS X 10.12. It’s also reported that the always-on “Hey Siri” command will work when a Mac is plugged into a wall, which is the usage model for older devices like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Users of the newer iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus however, can invoke the command whether their device is plugged in or not.
OS X 10.12, which is codenamed Fuji, will likely be announced this June at WWDC, enter a wide public beta during the summer, and see a commercial release during the Fall of 2016.
