siri
Latest
Apple's HomePod speaker will make and receive phone calls
We haven't heard much about Apple's HomePod speaker since it added multi-room support in May, three months after it launched in the US. Up until then, the device hadn't received much flair due to the lack of features that other smart speakers have out of the box. But for those of you who already have one, there is some good news. Apple has announced that the HomePod will soon be able to make and receive phone calls as well as search music by lyrics -- something rival speakers, like the Google Home, have been able to do for some time.
Bose's new smart speaker and soundbars offer Alexa control
Voice assistants don't seem to be going anywhere. If anything, they're becoming more and more ubiquitous. Case in point: Bose's new line of soundbars and speakers with Alexa and other smarts built in. Out of the box, the Home Speaker 500, Soundbar 500 and Soundbar 700 will react when you start shouting commands at Amazon's digital assistant this October. Bose promises that other voice assistants will follow at some ambiguous point, and early next year there will be an update that adds AirPlay 2 streaming.
Apple may be working on multi-user support for Siri
Today, Apple Insider reported that Apple had been granted a patent that would allow a voice recognition system to identify a user based on their speech and perform tasks based on who is speaking. This could be the framework for Apple to offer multi-user support with Siri.
Apple says the iPhone doesn't listen to your conversations
Last month, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee fired off a letter to Apple following reports that phones and other devices, such as smart speakers, can listen in on conversations. Now, the tech giant has sent the Representatives its response: iPhones, it says, don't listen to people's conversations and don't share people's spoken words with third-parties. In what could be interpreted as a dig at its staunchest competitors, Cupertino explains in the letter (courtesy of CNET) that the customer is not its product and that its business model "does not depend on collecting vast amounts of personally identifiable information to enrich targeted profiles marketed to advertisers."
HomePod may get phone call support and multiple timers
While Apple was quiet about HomePod updates at WWDC, that doesn't mean it's twiddling its thumbs -- its staff are privately testing pre-release software. And now, we might know what that software entails. French site iGeneration claims to have details of the HomePod's iOS 12-based beta, and it could address a laundry list of feature requests for Apple's smart speaker. Most notably, it would include native phone call support. Instead of having to start the call on your iPhone and switch audio inputs, you could both place and receive calls through the HomePod. Your smartphone would just supply the cellular connection. This wouldn't be a new concept by a long shot, but it'd be extremely helpful if you'd rather not stay within earshot of your iPhone's modest speakers.
AirPlay 2 arrives on Sonos
AirPlay 2 has arrived on Sonos. From today, any app on your iOS devices can be streamed directly to Sonos speakers including Sonos Beam, Sonos One, Playbase and the second generation Play:5. Plus, Siri is on board with an extensive set of voice controls. Not only can you ask Siri to play songs on Apple Music, you can also specify which room or devices you want them to play on. The roll out comes a week ahead of the new Beam living room smart speaker, which ships with AirPlay 2 support as standard.
Former Google AI chief will lead Apple’s new machine learning team
Back in April, Google's former AI and search chief John Giannandrea left the company to join Apple for an undisclosed role. Today, the latter company announced he will head a new team combining the Core ML and Siri groups.
Siri and Alexa walk into a bar: How AI assistants found their funny bone
Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa are useful for a lot of things, like telling you what the weather's going to be or reminding you of an upcoming calendar appointment. But they can be entertaining too, providing the occasional fun fact or playing that hit song from Beyonce. Or, when you want a little levity in an otherwise crappy day, telling some really corny dad jokes.
Apple's HomePod in stereo: When two become one
Apple was late releasing the HomePod. And even though the company took a few extra months to finish things up, it shipped without two key features: multi-room audio and stereo pairing. Without those, there wasn't a compelling case for buying multiple HomePods. But Apple has finally released a long-awaited software update for that enables the AirPlay 2 streaming protocol -- which also lets owners pair two HomePods in stereo or group together multiple speakers across your house. With that big update out in the wild, I wanted to see how easy it was to manage multiple HomePods and hear how good a stereo pair sounded. While there are legitimate complaints with the smart speaker, the audio quality was never a problem. And with stereo pairing, two HomePods are definitely better than one.
‘Hey Siri’ is purely optional in watchOS 5
Why do you need to say Siri when you've already got your Apple Watch hovering right in front of your face? Soon, you won't have to. WatchOS 5 will drop the need for you to vocally summon Siri, instead, as soon as your raise your device up, it'll start listening to your requests, questions and messaging apps. It'll also stop those awkward Siri requests that seem to raise your phone, watch, iPad and HomePod in one single, horrific instant.
Apple's Shortcuts app lets Siri do everything
It's no secret that Apple's virtual assistant, Siri, doesn't have the best reputation -- especially when you compare it to Google's incredibly smart counterpart. But, the company has been working hard recently to make Siri more useful for those of you with an iOS or Mac device. And today, Apple announced that Siri is getting smarter thanks to a new app called Shortcuts, which will let you build your own commands with any application. With the Tile app, for example, you can say "Hey Siri, I lost my keys," and that will then alert the tiny gadget attached to your keys.
It's too easy to trick your Echo into spying on you
The main reason most people get an Amazon Echo, with its onboard AI servant,Alexa, is convenience. But, after a family in Oregon found out Alexa recorded at least one private conversation and sent it to a contact in their address book, you might want to sacrifice convenience for privacy and personal security. Or, maybe you should at least keep the microphone turned off when not in use. Not very convenient, I know.
Alexa can open Schlage smart locks
Schlage announced today that users of its Sense and Connect smart locks will now be able to unlock them with Alexa. Users have been able to lock and check the status of their smart deadbolts with Amazon's digital assistant since October, but unlocking them still required a phone. Now Sense and Connect owners can use any Alexa-enabled device to unlock their doors for them.
Is Apple’s HomePod failing?
A report from Bloomberg earlier this week claimed that Apple's HomePod isn't doing so well, and that the company cut orders for new hardware from suppliers. This might not shock some of you: Apple missed the all-important holiday buying season and is competing with less expensive hardware from Google, Sonos and Amazon. But is the first smart speaker with Siri already a failure, or does the HomePod simply need time to find its place?
Bloomberg: HomePod sales are slow, per suppliers and analysts
It has only been a few months since Apple entered the smart speaker market with its $349 HomePod, but a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests it's not selling as well as the company hoped. The report cites sources close to suppliers for some of its components, Apple Store workers and industry analysts who report that between its relatively high price, late entry to the market after the holiday season and somewhat limited AI capabilities, the HomePod isn't making much of a dent.
What Siri can learn from Google Assistant
It's no secret that when it comes to voice assistants, Siri is often cited as one of the worst. Even though Apple introduced it years before Amazon and Google, their digital rivals -- Alexa and Google Assistant -- have since bested Siri in both features and performance. That's mostly because Amazon and Google have spent years pouring millions of dollars worth of research into artificial intelligence, making their assistants smarter and more capable over time.
MIT's wearable device can 'hear' the words you say in your head
If you've read any sort of science fiction, it's likely you've heard about subvocalization, the practice of silently saying words in your head. It's common when we read (though it does slow you down), but it's only recently begun to be used as a way to interact with our computers and mobile devices. To that end, MIT researchers have created a device you wear on your face that can measure neuromuscular signals that get triggered when you subvocalize.
Apple hires Google's former AI leader
Apple has regularly been accused of lagging behind Google in AI development, but it just scored a major victory that could help it turn things around. The iPhone maker has hired Google's just-departed AI and search chief, John Giannandrea, to head up its "machine learning and AI strategy." He'll report directly to Tim Cook. It's not certain if Apple has specific plans for the new exec, but Cook observed in a message to staff (obtained by the New York Times) that Giannandrea shared "our commitment to privacy and our thoughtful approach." In other words, don't expect him to widen Apple's data collection just because of his Google history.
Apple goes on hiring spree to improve Siri's smarts
It won't shock you to hear that Siri is lagging behind rivals like Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant -- the HomePod struggles to handle non-music tasks as well as competing smart speakers, for instance. And Apple appears to be aware of this shortfall. Thinknum has noticed that Apple has been on a Siri-related hiring spree in recent months, with 161 positions listed as of the end of March. There's been an uptick ever since summer 2016, but there was a distinct surge in February of this year.
Siri won't be reading hidden notifications out loud for much longer
A fix is coming for a bug that led Siri to speak notifications out loud that were hidden behind the lock screen should someone ask about them. "We are aware of this issue and it will be addressed in an upcoming software update," Apple confirmed to Engadget. It's unclear when this will be, as the company could release a minor operating system patch (conceivably 11.2.7) before the next big update iOS 11.3, which is currently in beta.
