siri
Latest
Siri can now talk to Tesla's Model 3
Telsa's Model 3 uses a lot of voice and touchscreen rather than physical controls, which makes it a bit harder to operate than it should be, we found. One thing that will help is more voice controls, and Tesla has addressed that with its latest iOS app release -- sort of. The Model 3 now supports Siri, letting you do some functions like unlocking it, flashing the lights and honking the horn by voice without opening the Tesla app. You can also find your car and check the charge levels.
Apple Watch Series 3 will track your shredding on the slopes
Fancy yourself a skier or snowboarder? Don't let winter's impending conclusion distract you from news that your Apple Watch Series 3 can now track those snowy workouts and put them toward your daily activity goals. Apps including Snoww, Slopes and Ski Tracks will take advantage of the Watch's built-in GPS and altimeter.
Apple HomePod review: A great speaker that’s not so smart
For Apple, being late to the smart speaker party isn't necessarily a sin. The company's ethos -- as explained by CEO Tim Cook time and again -- is that Apple cares more about being the best than being first. The $349 HomePod is proof that's not always true. Apple put considerable time and effort into making its first smart speaker sound better than its rivals, and I'd argue they succeeded. After a few solid days of testing, I can honestly say the HomePod is the best smart speaker I've ever heard -- it's just not very smart in the ways I was hoping.
Apple’s Animojis may come to iPad and FaceTime this fall
Apple's biggest software updates are always scheduled for a single fall release and today Bloomberg reports on some new features that we can look forward to later this year. First up, third-party apps will be able to work across iPhones, iPads and Mac computers -- a feature we've heard talk of before and will involve both iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Additionally, the iPhone X's Animojis will be getting an upgrade, with new characters and a better menu reportedly on the way as well as the ability to use them in FaceTime. And they won't be relegated to the iPhone X for much longer. Bloomberg says Apple is working on a new iPad that will have the Face ID camera, allowing iPad users to play with Animojis as well.
A closer look at Apple's new HomePod
The first time I got close to one of Apple's HomePods was in a secluded meeting room at WWDC. Sonically, at least, it blew away the competition. After seven months -- not to mention the introduction of other impressive smart speakers -- Apple invited me to spend another hour with a near-final HomePod, and it still sounds like the one to beat. There's much more to the HomePod than just its stellar sound quality, though, and my time spent with Apple's new speaker provided answers to some key lingering questions. But first: the basics.
Apple details the energy use of its always-on HomePod speaker
Now that the HomePod is nearly here, Apple is dribbling out details of what its first smart speaker will do... including, apparently, that it's a power miser. The company has posted environmental data showing that the HomePod uses no more than 9.25W of power when playing music at 50 percent volume. As MacRumors noted, that's less than the consumption of a typical LED light bulb (such as the 10W of a Philips Hue A19). You're going to use more power if you crank it up, of course, but you probably won't cringe at your electricity bill if you stream music all day.
Apple's latest iOS update brings Siri news briefs and HomePod support
Siri's news reading feature is no longer limited to the beta testing crowd. Apple has officially released iOS 11.2.5, and the centerpiece is the ability to ask Siri for the latest happenings. If you're in the US, UK or Australia, you can get a briefing from a slew of local sources, such as NPR and the Washington Post in the states or the BBC and Sky News in the UK. And it doesn't have to be general news, either -- you can ask for business, music or sports news as well.
Apple may be close to launching its HomePod speaker
Apple's HomePod has been sitting in limbo for the better part of a year, but a few new clues suggest that it's on the cusp of launching -- and hint at what it can do. To begin with, the HomePod recently received FCC approval. The filing itself doesn't reveal anything shocking about the device (surprise, it's a wireless speaker), but it clears a key hurdle and suggests the hardware, at least, is ready to go. And crucially, a recent iOS release both supports the possibility of an upcoming release and hints at what the HomePod can do.
Siri’s news bulletin feature goes live in the UK and Australia
Brits can now ask their iThings to give them a brief update on what's happening in the world with the command: "Hey Siri, give me the news." Siri doesn't actually read the news, though, and instead will automatically play the latest podcast from a trusted source of your choice. I was treated to a 2-minute bulletin from BBC News when I said the magic words to Siri this morning, which also offered Sky News and LBC up as alternative sources.
All the cool gifts are made for spying on you
It's the gift-giving season, and high-tech gadgets are more exciting than ever. Alexa, Siri, Cortana and even "Okay Google" are ready to come over for holiday ham, ready to help you turn on a light or play you some Spotify. Those always-on microphones, cameras and WiFi-connected devices are cheaper, cooler and more convenient than ever.
Engadget UK giveaway: Win a smart heating system courtesy of Tado
There's nothing like cosying up in front of a roaring fire during the Christmas holidays, but you can't exactly stoke the embers from your smartphone on the way home from work. Turning your central heating up to tropical temperatures from afar is something you can do with Tado's smart heating system, though. This week, we're giving away one of Tado's connected thermostat starter kits, two smart radiator valves for creating specific heating zones, and free installation for the lot. The smart thermostat also works with Alexa, Siri and Google's Assistant, so there are plenty of ways to fiddle with the dial without taking your hands out of those toasty pockets. Go ahead and get your entries in via the Rafflecopter widget below, but make sure to familiarise yourself with the giveaway rules first.
Apple's HomePod has been in and out of development since 2012
Have you wondered why it took Apple 3 years to come up with an answer to the Amazon Echo in the form of the HomePod? Apparently, it's because it wasn't really meant as an answer to the Echo. Bloomberg sources claim that work on the HomePod started in 2012 as a side project (common at Apple), and it was reportedly cancelled and resurrected "several times" as the company tried to figure out how a connected speaker would work in its lineup. It reportedly went through multiple dramatic redesigns, including a 3-foot-tall design chock-full of speakers.
Apple delays HomePod smart speaker until early 2018
We hope you weren't counting on giving (or getting) a HomePod for the holidays -- Apple has delayed the release of the Siri-powered speaker from December to early 2018. In a statement, the company said it needed a "little more time" before the device was ready for its initial release in Australia, the UK and the US. It's not yet clear how this will affect releases in other countries (we've asked the company if it can elaborate), but we wouldn't be surprised if it pushed back their releases slightly as well. They were already being asked to wait until early 2018.
Apple pushes out iOS 11.1.1 to fix annoying autocorrect bug
Apple gave its mobile software a facelift when it released iOS 11 back in September, but bugs led the company to push out an 11.1 update a month later to protect user security from that WPA2 Krack vulnerability. Turns out that version introduced another set of squirrely issues, which has led Apple to release iOS 11.1.1 today. You can finally say goodbye to that stupid autocorrect bug switching out the letter 'i' for all manner of gibberish.
Facebook Messenger's money transfer tool is heading to the UK
Back in 2015, Facebook introduced the ability to send money to friends through Messenger and now it has brought that capability to UK users. It's the first time Facebook has launched the feature outside of the US.
Apple Watches were crashing when asked about the weather
We hope you didn't ask your shiny new Apple Watch about the weather on November 4th -- you probably got a rude response. Many Series 3 owners reported that their wristwear crashed (specifically, the "springboard" interface restarted) if they asked Siri how the weather was that day. It wouldn't crash if they asked about weather in subsequent days, but the odd hiccup affected users across North America and Europe. We've asked Apple for comment. With that said, there's already a potential culprit... and it's a familiar one for iPhone users.
Google Assistant for Android now supports Spanish and Italian
Google announced today that its virtual assistant will now support two new languages -- Spanish for users in the US, Mexico and Spain as well as Italian for those in Italy. These languages will be rolling out over the next few weeks, according to Google, and while initially they'll only be available for Android, the company says iPhone support will be released later this year.
IKEA’s smart lighting officially supports HomeKit
After what seems like an eternity (for IKEA and HomeKit fans, at least), the Swedish furniture maker has added support for Apple's smart home platform. As 9to5Mac notes, so long as you have the company's Tradfri hub installed at your house, you'll be able to start controlling the lighting via your iOS device. It's worth noting that, this will only work with smart lightbulbs at this time; dimmer switches aren't online just yet. More than that, the hub integrates with Amazon's Alexa so if you aren't all-in on HomeKit, you can still use voice commands to turn your lights on and off. Google Assistant support isn't included in this update, however.
Meet Alice: The virtual assistant from Russian search giant Yandex
Russian search giant Yandex has unveiled its virtual assistant Alice. Like Alexa or Siri, Alice provides users with directions, weather forecasts and news as well as incorporating access to other Yandex offerings like its music service. And, of course, it does all of this in Russian, which Yandex points out isn't an easy language for AI to tackle. "Speech recognition is especially challenging for the Russian language due to its grammatical and morphological complexities," Yandex it said in a statement. "According to word error rate measurements, SpeechKit provides world-best accuracy for spoken Russian recognition, enabling Alice to understand speech with a near human-level accuracy."
Apple Watch Series 3 review: A good watch, a so-so phone replacement
With each generation, the Apple Watch's purpose has seemed to shift. The first one demonstrated what Apple thought a wearable should be, and the second tried to be the perfect workout companion. When it came time to build the Series 3, though, Apple took everything it got right with the fitness-friendly Series 2, polished it up, and threw an LTE radio inside. And lo, the $399 Apple Watch Series 3 became the first of a new breed of Apple devices -- it straddles the line between smartwatch and phone, with a dash of iPod thrown in for good measure. For those who'd rather play it safe, Apple also built a $329 Series 3 with just GPS and no cellular connection. In fact, that safe bet will probably pay off for most people -- the cellular Series 3 is a little too inconsistent for my taste.
