Posts tagged with "siri"

Why Apple’s A5 Is So Big, And Siri Is 4S-only→

Why Apple’s A5 Is So Big, And Siri Is 4S-only

Stephen Shankland at CNET reports on a possible explanation as to why Apple decided to make Siri an iPhone 4S exclusive:

Apple’s A5 processor includes noise-reduction circuitry licensed from a start-up called Audience, and a chip analyst believes that fact resolves an iPhone 4S mystery and explains why the iPhone 4 lacks the Siri voice-control system.

Audience revealed details of its Apple partnership in January, when it filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. Teardown work from iFixit and Chipworks revealed a dedicated Audience chip in the iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4S integrates Audience’s “EarSmart” technology directly into the A5 processor, the company’s S-1 filing said.

Audience confirmed in its filing that Apple signed an agreement to pay royalties for the intellectual property used in the A5 processor in the “three months ended December 31, 2011”, suggesting that only the iPhone 4S version of the A5 (the A5 CPU is also used on the iPad 2) supports Audience’s technology. Audience also said that Apple is a licensee for the next-generation IP, although they won’t be contractually forced to use it; iPhone 4-era technology from Audience also has advanced noise-reduction, but it was only with the second-generation product (the one on the A5) that Audience perfected recognition/reduction at arm’s length – thus allowing for features like voice control through Siri.

Integration of Audience’s EarSmart on the iPhone 4S’ A5 could explain why Apple decided to not offer Siri on older devices, and why it will likely only feature the voice-based assistant on newer devices going forward. A number of unofficial hacks to enable Siri on older devices surfaced in the past months, albeit with mixed results.

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Hacker Builds Custom Siri Proxy Server

A hacker known as plamoni created a Siri proxy server that could allow anyone to use it and make Siri work with a wide range of non-Apple devices. Applidium, a development firm, hacked the Siri security protocol and has explained the process so anyone can use it.

One implementation of Siri + the proxy server is sending commands to any standard thermostat with Wi-Fi capabilities. plamoni taught Siri (no jailbreak required) to send commands over the network and if you’re interested, the source code is available for free online. Anyone with an iPhone 4S unique identifier and knowledge of networking can get it working. In order to set up Siri to control your home’s temperature involves a DNS server that uses a proxy to send requests to Siri’s servers.

Video after the break. Read more

OmniFocus for iPhone Adds “iCloud Capture” To Import iOS Reminders

With the latest update to OmniFocus for iPhone, The Omni Group has figured out a way to let the app interact with iOS reminders and iCloud, and automatically fetch reminders created through the iPhone 4S’ Siri or Reminders app. Whilst you still can’t ask Siri to create new tasks directly into OmniFocus, the solution implemented by The Omni Group is very clever, and it gives you the illusion of native integration with the assistant, using iCloud and your Apple ID as a bridge between Siri’s reminder functionality, and OmniFocus.

The Omni Group has implemented a new feature called iCloud Capture that is capable of taking Reminders from your iCloud account, and move them into OmniFocus’ inbox. iCloud Capture, as explained in the Help section, literally takes input that would otherwise stay into Reminders, and moves “as much data as it can” away from Reminders and into OmniFocus. This is done in two ways: first, you have to create reminders that go into a “Reminders” or “OmniFocus” list. Second, you’ll have to log in with your iCloud account in OmniFocus’ settings, and enable iCloud Capture. Once enabled, OmniFocus will check for new reminders every time upon launch and move them into the inbox. The “upon launch” part is important, as OmniFocus can’t process iCloud data in the background – you won’t be able to add reminders via Siri, and expect OmniFocus to import & sync in the background. You’ll have to open OmniFocus for iCloud Capture to work, but it’s a minimal effort compared to the added convenience of being able to let OmniFocus seamlessly process and import reminders.

Please note that reminders will be deleted from Reminders.app as they’re moved to OmniFocus; title and dates will be preserved in the transition, but The Omni Group says that location reminders – which both Siri and Apple’s Reminders can use out of the box – will be “most effective” when they match Reminders’ contact locations and OmniFocus’ own implementation, which is quite different from Apple as it’s got more options. From my understanding of this limitation, it appears getting location reminders into OmniFocus from iCloud might work best if OmniFocus is using the same contact information rather than its “current location” or “exact location”, and I’ll need to investigate this further. For now, I can say that one location-based reminder did go through iCloud Capture, but another did not, and stayed inside Reminders.

The Omni Group didn’t add direct Siri integration, but they came up with one of the most clever ways I’ve seen to use Siri and iCloud to create reminders and have them automatically moved to OmniFocus every time you open the app. The system isn’t perfect, but has worked very well for me with simple reminders. Another good point of iCloud Capture is that Windows users will be able to move Outlook tasks to OmniFocus when they launch the app, as iCloud Capture checks for all reminders in your iCloud account, not just those created via Siri. Overall, I’d recommend giving iCloud Capture a try, and see if reminders might work better for you inside OmniFocus rather than Apple’s Reminders.

Update: The Omni Group has posted a series of videos showing how iCloud Capture works. Check them out after the break.

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iOS 5.0.2 Coming Soon With More Battery Fixes, iOS 5.1 To Bring New Siri Features?

According to German website Macerkopf [Google Translation], Apple is quickly pushing towards the next release of iOS 5, likely iOS 5.0.2, to bring additional battery life fixes, and the update may come out as early as next week. Additionally, the website also claims the next major update to iOS 5, dubbed iOS 5.1, will include new Siri functionalities tied to the iPhone’s hardware such as camera and Settings integration.

In addition, a larger Siri update is planned, where the hardware is heavily involved. As examples here are “do a photo,” “make a video”, “turn on wireless” or “turn off Bluetooth” to call.

In spite of Macerkopf missing the iOS 5 and iCloud announcement date earlier this year, we believe there are some facts that could back their latest rumor. Software updates, for one, are always “in the works”, so it should be no surprise that Apple is “already working” on iOS 5.1 and perhaps even something after that. But the specific claims of iOS 5.0.2 and iOS 5.1 aren’t too far from what Apple has already confirmed either: the company has said they’re continuing to investigate battery life issues on iOS 5 devices – which, apparently, weren’t completely fixed by iOS 5.0.1 – and has posted a Siri FAQ, detailing how some limitations will be lifted for international users in 2012 with support for new languages. Apple hasn’t said anything about new Siri functionalities, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a beta service gaining new features over time.

In the meantime, users who are still affected by battery life issues on iOS 5 can head over Apple Support Communities to report back on their experience with the iOS 5.0.1 update.

iTeleport Adds “Launch” VNC Voice Command for iPhone 4S

iTeleport, a popular VNC client for iOS that allows users to remotely connect to Windows PCs and Macs, has added a new feature in its latest update that lets iPhone 4S users launch applications just by using their voice. iTeleport, which I reviewed here, has always been a fine app to connect via VNC to OS X and Windows, and recently the app added full Lion support with authentication through the OS’ username and password. Unlike Screens by Edovia, another great VNC app for iOS and Mac, iTeleport doesn’t use its own online service to make computers available over the air, relying on Google logins instead (via Google Talk protocol).

With version 5.2, iPhone 4S owners will be able to open Mac apps by saying “Launch” followed by an app’s name. Once connected to a Mac, the keyboard icon in the upper toolbar of iTeleport will display the standard iOS system keyboard with a compose box on top of it. And because the iPhone 4S comes with Siri and dictation, the keyboard will also have the dedicated microphone icon next to the spacebar. What happens with iTeleport is that if you say “Launch iTunes” through Siri’s dictation, the app won’t transcribe your command in the text box – it will directly launch the app as you can see in the screenshot above. The developers have apparently figured out a way to parse dictated commands directly inside the app to let it recognize installed applications, and launch them in seconds. In my tests, voice recognition in iTeleport has been as good as you’d expect from regular Siri, and app names such as Evernote, Google Chrome, iTunes and Sparrow were recognized instantly.

iTeleport was already a solid VNC app and this new feature will allow iPhone 4S users to save a few seconds when using a Mac remotely. iTeleport for iPhone and iPad can be downloaded on the App Store, and you’ll need the iTeleport Connect app to make your Mac available over the air.

Siri and iPhone URL Schemes→

Siri and iPhone URL Schemes

Alex Heath at iDownloadBlog came up with a way to let Siri launch third-party apps on an iPhone. The solution is far from integrated and it requires some tweaking, and it uses an iOS app’s internal URL scheme (example: fb:// for Facebook) and the Address Book to open apps, provided you’ve asked Siri to visualize a “contact card” with some shortcuts in it. You’re basically creating a fake Address Book entry for apps, and assigning a URL scheme to one of the available fields. Tapping on it will open the app or a specific section of the app.

If you have a select number of apps that you’d like to have quick access to with Siri, you could create a “Shortcuts” or “Favorites” contact and add each trigger. Telling Siri to “show shortcuts” would then pull up your list of app shortcuts to open within Siri.

Many have speculated that, in the future, Siri will gain new functionalities including the capability of launching apps directly from its voice-based interface. But wouldn’t it be cool to ask Siri “Open my Facebook messages” rather than just “Open Facebook app”? Or perhaps ask Siri “Go to my OmniFocus Home project” instead of just launching OmniFocus? And what about creating new content from Siri inside a specific section of an app (a new task inside an OmniFocus project), without actually opening it? That’s why I think URL schemes will be worth keeping an eye on – Apple could offer developers a new set of APIs to associate their apps’ sections and menus with Siri actions, and perhaps revamp the URL scheme architecture to include support for Siri and new APIs. This is just speculation on my side, but I think it’d be interesting to see Siri becoming a new, lightweight interface for basic tasks in external apps.

Meanwhile, if you really want to launch apps using Siri and the Address Book, check out iDownloadBlog’s tips here.

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Recommended Read: “Talking to Siri” by Erica Sadun and Steven Sande

I got my iPhone 4S two weeks ago, and have been experimenting with Siri and my best American accent since then. In spite of the software still not supporting maps and directions in Italy (more countries, including Italy, will support Siri in 2012) and weather requests, I’m having my fun in playing around with Siri for things like messages, notes, emails and Wolfram Alpha questions (I thank Americans for giving me a reason to convert their units to the metric system). Siri makes for the perfect iPhone demo to non-iPhone users, but impressive presentations aside it’s actually a great tool to quickly “do stuff” that would require looking at your phone and manually interacting with apps otherwise. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already asked Siri to send messages to my co-workers while I was driving, change songs, call my girlfriend, or create new calendar appointments.

A few days ago I was sent a link to “Talking to Siri: Learning the Language of Apple’s Intelligent Assistant” by TUAW’s Erica Sadun and Steven Sande. I’ve read the book using the Kindle app on my iOS devices and Amazon’s CloudReader on the web and, let me tell you, it’s a great book to learn more about Siri.

At first I was skeptical – why would I need a book when Siri is so intuitive? It turns out, Erica and Steve have put together an impressive collection of things Siri does that I didn’t know about, also explaining with a friendly and familiar style (if you’ve been reading TUAW, which I do) how you should ask things to Siri. The book is organized in sections, covering every system app that’s integrated with Siri as well as built-in tools such as Wolfram Alpha and Yelp. Erica and Steven have also included lots of screenshots and descriptions, so you’ll be able to immediately understand and see what they’re referring to in describing Siri. It’s an incredibly pleasant read for new iPhone 4S users, and a nice handbook to get started with Siri. Without spoiling much, let me just say that I’ve learned a lot about things you can ask Wolfram (built into Siri), how to keep adding new items to a note, sunrise and sunset times and recurring reminders.

“Talking to Siri” covers in great detail every possible combination of commands Siri supports, providing a comprehensive guide to know more about what Siri can do for you. You can buy the book on Amazon as Kindle edition.

Apple Posts New iPhone 4S Camera, iCloud and Siri Ads

Following the first Siri ad that was released last week, Apple uploaded three new commercials on its website and YouTube channel earlier today, showcasing once again the capabilities of the iPhone 4S’ voice assistant, as well as the improved camera and iCloud support.

The new commercials cover a wide range of hardware and software features of “the most amazing iPhone yet”, albeit some of them are also available on older generation models like the iPhone 4. The camera is described as “all new” with 8 megapixels and “advanced optics”, but the ad also focuses on what’s possible to do after a photo has been taken on an iPhone, showing the built-in photo editing functionalities that “no ordinary camera can do”. From the YouTube description:

With 8 megapixels, advanced optics and more, the all new camera on the iPhone 4S may be the only camera you need.

The second Siri commercial is similar to previous one, featuring different input requests from iPhone 4S users such as map directions, weather conditions, calendar appointements and Messages. Apple describes Siri as your “personal assistant for everything”.

The iCloud ad goes a little more technical – although with Apple’s usual clear and friendly style – to show iBooks and document sync across devices, Purchase history on iTunes, Photo Stream and Automatic Downloads for songs. “Now the things you do on your phone are everywhere you want them”.

Check out Apple’s new ads here, or watch the YouTube video embeds below.
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iOS 5 Reminders From an OmniFocus User’s Perspective

When I first got my hands on the new Reminders app in iOS 5, I launched it and scoffed under my breath. Sure it was cute but it was not for me. I have spent so much time developing a bond with OmniFocus that I don’t know if it could ever be broken. It probably sounds dramatic but OmniFocus and I have been through some hard times together, probably some of the worst in my life.

My wife hates when she sees OmniFocus projects related to something personal in our marriage but it is my trusted system and I use it for everything. I have never found a suite of applications that can do for me what OmniFocus does. I have tried so many productivity and task management apps that I refuse to count them for fear of realizing the amount of money I have wasted. I have a natural (or unnatural if you ask my wife) attraction to this genre of apps so of course I was excited to take a look at the new Reminders app.

Reminders is a simple, albeit extremely well done, list-making application. Its main appeal is the “geo-fencing” feature that will trigger a reminder based on your proximity to a predefined location. The concept is amazing to me. The only problem is Reminders does not easily integrate in to my existing system, thus I probably won’t be able to truly utilize it.

Enter Siri. Read more