Siri

Looks like Microsoft isn’t the only latecomer scrambling to add a voice-guided assistant to its mobile platform. A leaked test-build of the new BlackBerry firmware (version 10.3.0.140, if you’re curious) is rocking an app called “Intelligent Assistant,” but as both N4BB and a ZonaBlackBerry forum poster have noticed, it doesn’t quite work yet. The application Continue Reading →

Apple is working to make Siri play nice with more third-party apps and services, according to a new report from The Information. Within a larger piece on the mobile search battleground and app integration, the tech site revealed that Apple is working on improving Siri’s search capabilities, and widening its capability set. The report points Continue Reading →

There’s a problem with today’s voice recognition systems: They’re just too slow. Anyone who has waited in frustration while Siri or Google’s Voice Search “thinks” about even the simplest commands knows what I’m talking about. The problem isn’t voice recognition software per se, which is more accurate than ever. The problem is that voice recognition Continue Reading →

For a feature that has so many uses across all of iOS, it is amazing how many people have never used Siri before. A survey taken in the second half of last year found that as many as 84 percent of users polled were not using Siri following the launch of iOS 7. That means Continue Reading →

Yahoo may be working on its own voice-based personal assistant to rival Apple’s Siri and Google Now. A video has recently surfaced that shows the unreleased app running on an Android smartphone. The origins of the clip are unclear, though it may have been developed for internal purposes. In the video, we see the Android Continue Reading →

I can’t wait to see Her. Opening in limited release next week (and already getting rave reviews and year-end awards), Spike Jonze’s newest movie is set in the “near future” and stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely man who falls in love with a Siri-like A.I. system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. She’s specifically designed to Continue Reading →

85 per cent of iPhone owners who’ve updated their phones have never used Siri, according to new research — and those that have are divided on whether Siri lives up to Apple’s promises. That number is based on a survey of 2,330 Apple-owning folk in the US who have upgraded to iOS 7, the latest Continue Reading →

Personal assistant app Cue has been acquired, we’ve confirmed with a person who should know. The app has sold for between $40 million to $60 million, we’re hearing from two sources, including TechCrunch tips, who posit that Apple has picked up the company for over a $35 million price tag. While we’re hearing that the Continue Reading →

For the past two years, she’s been a pocket and purse accessory to millions of Americans. She’s starred alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel. She’s provided weather forecasts and restaurant tips, been mocked as useless and answered absurd questions about what she’s wearing. She is Siri, Apple’s voice-activated virtual “assistant” introduced to the masses Continue Reading →

In iOS 7, Siri can change a number of settings on the iPhone, including toggling Bluetooth on and off or changing the screen brightness. As one MacRumors reader noticed, Siri can also activate Airplane Mode, even if a passcode lock is set, allowing a thief to effectively disable Find My iPhone on a stolen device. Continue Reading →