Items tagged with Siri
One of the drawbacks to using Siri on iPad and iPhone devices is that the digital assistant dominates the display when invoking the AI feature. It does not work that way on Mac systems—Siri appears in a smaller window so that you can see everything else on the screen. Well, with the introduction of iPadOS, Apple could port the same functionality over to its iPad lineup, it was so inclined. Not only is having Siri appear in a smaller window more convenient, it is also more functional, as it allows users to drag and drop items. As of this moment, though, Siri only appears and functions that way in macOS. However, Apple's VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, hinted that such a change...
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Remember life before digital assistants? Even if you are not using one, it is a safe bet that you know someone who is, because they are all over the place. The market is flush with them—Alexa (Amazon), Siri (Apple), Cortana (Microsoft), Google Assistant (Google), and Bixby (Samsung), those being the main ones. There may be another on the horizon as well, from Facebook. These AI controlled assistants are in all kinds of devices these days, which mostly consists of smartphones and smart speakers. You can use them to fire up playlists, look up the news, get a weather forecast, fetch movie times, and even to order a pizza. Citing "several people familiar with the matter," CNBC reports that...
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Loup Ventures has published the results of its Annual Smart Speaker IQ test where it took the four major Smart Speakers on the market that are packed with Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana and put them through a round of tests. The test asked each of the four smart speakers 800 questions to see which of the devices was able to answer the most questions and then ranked the devices based on the percentage of understood queries, and the number of questions answered correctly. The results put Google Assistant at the top of the class. Google Assistant understood 100% of the aksed queries and was able to answer 87.9% of the questions correctly. Siri came in second place understanding 99.6%...
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Whether you primarily use Siri or Google Assistant (assuming you use a digital assistant) likely comes down to which platform you're invested in—Android or iOS. It doesn't have to be one or the other, though. Google recently updated its Assistant app for iOS to support Siri Shorcuts, which allows users to call up Google's virtual assistant without having to fire up the app. Once the app is updated, the best way to take advantage of the feature is to record a familiar phrase like "OK Google" or "Hey Google." After you do that, you can tap into Google Assistant without having to open up the app. It's sort of an end-around solution, though. It's not quite the same as on Android handsets, in...
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We are now just two weeks shy of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which means that new product and service announcements from the Cupertino company are right around the corner. So, what can we expect out of WWDC? Some users posed that question to Siri, and surprisingly the digital assistant obliged with some interesting answers teasing what might be in store. One of the things Siri revealed is that the digital assistant is getting a "brand new voice." It's not clear if that means a new voice option, as in a different accent, or more likely if Siri will simply sound different after WWDC. As useful as Siri can be, the software still sounds a little robotic. In contrast, the...
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For many people, digital assistants have become a party of daily life—you might have Siri set a reminder for an upcoming appointment on your iPhone, or tell Alexa to order more laundry detergent from Amazon. These AI (artificial intelligence) assistants are becoming more capable by the day as well. But can they be used for nefarious purposes? Perhaps so, and it could happen right under your nose—over the past couple of years, researchers have demonstrated that Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Google's Assistant can each receive 'hidden' commands that are undetectable to the human ear. Some of the things that can be done without an owner's knowledge are seemingly pretty mundane, like...
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Wouldn't it be awesome if one of the voice options for Siri was Samuel L. Jackson? That is not likely to happen, given the actor's penchant for swearing profusely (on the big screen, anyway). Be that as it may, you might be surprised that Siri is not afraid to drop an f-bomb on occasion, as one user discovered. In a video uploaded to YouTube, Siri can be heard reading a vulgar answer to a simple question. The video shows an iPhone owner asking Siri to "define the word mother." Siri's initial response is G-rated, as she reads off the first dictionary definition that says, "A woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth." Siri then asks if she should read the second definition,...
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If you have ever used the AI personal assistants baked into smartphones, you know they aren't always that helpful. Research firm Stone Temple has issued an update for 2018 on its Digital Personal Assistants accuracy study. The study tested 4,952 queries on five different devices including Alexa on Amazon Echo, Cortana on the Invoke speaker, Google Assistant on Google Home, Google Assistant on an Android smartphone, and Siri. The test structure asked the 4,952 questions to each personal assistant. In testing, the team recorded if the assistant answered verbally, if the answer was from a database like Knowledge Graph, if the answer was from a third-party like Wikipedia, how often the...
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When Apple pushed Siri as a standout feature of its iPhone 4S way back in 2011, there was skepticism over the need for a digital assistant. Fast forward to today and they are commonplace, with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung all heavily invested in AI assistants. To compete with those other technologies, and in particular Alexa, Apple has been on a hiring spree of sorts with a focus on Siri. Thinknum, a data analysis startup, combed through Apple's job listings and found that the number of open positions containing the term "Siri" has accelerated in recent weeks. Specifically, it found 161 Siri-related job openings posted on March 30th alone. That is notable as it marks a jump in hiring...
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Siri was one of the first digital assistants to be released for smartphones, but it arguably hasn't kept pace with its rivals when it comes to adding new features and overall performance. And earlier this week, it was revealed that Siri has a penchant for reading notifications that are hidden on your lock screen when asked (even the request is being made by someone other than the rightful owner). In a statement released to the press, Apple said that it will fix the privacy lapse in a future iOS update. So, you may be asking, what's the big deal? With iOS 11, lock screen notifications are hidden by default on the iPhone X, and will only display if the user authenticates with Face ID (or Touch...
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Apple launched its somewhat funky-looking AirPods (some people likened them to Q-tips dangling from your ears) back in late 2016, and they became widely available in 2017. Given that Apple didn't announce an update for the wireless earbuds during the iPhone X's introduction last year, it's about time for the rumor mill to churn with respect to the second-generation product. In this case, Mark Gurman is back with his take on what's cooking in Cupertino. According to his sources, the next generation model will be upgraded with hands-free Siri support. The current generation AirPods require you to physically tap one of the earbuds to summon Siri. However, you will now simply be able to say "Hey...
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When it comes to standalone media streaming hardware, Roku is the market leader with it family of affordable devices. Roku has even managed to integrate its streaming goodness into smart TVs, including popular budget brand TCL. First initiated in 2014, the Roku TV initiative has grown to include eight television brands (the recent addition of Magnavox will make it nine), and Roku claims that one out of every five smart TVs sold in the United States is running the Roku OS. Now, Roku is looking to further extend its reach by expanding its technology licensing program to include smart speakers and soundbars, which will connect to Roku TVs and Roku settop boxes using Roku Connect. Roku Connect allows...
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If you are bummed out that Apple has decided to delay the HomePod speaker until next year sometime, it least looks like Siri will still be getting a new home somewhere other than an iPhone. The iMac Pro is still set to launch in the next month or so; it's reportedly due before the end of the year. In addition, a new rumor has surfaced concerning the iMac Pro that claims Siri will get a home inside the high-end AIO desktop PC. The rumor stems from some digging that developers Jonathan Levin and Steve Troughton-Smith did in the available BridgeOS 2.0 software package. In their sleuthing they found evidence that the iMac Pro will get an A10 Fusion ARM co-processor chip. This will be the first...
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If you were hoping to get a HomePod smart speaker to round out the Apple hardware ecosystem in your home in time for Christmas, you will have to wait a bit longer. Apple originally unveiled HomePod way back in June at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and said that it would ship in December. However, Apple today confirmed that HomePod will miss the holiday shopping rush. “We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple’s breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers," said Apple in a statement to TechCrunch. "We’ll start shipping in the US, UK and Australia in early 2018.” Apple...
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