iPad Pro has M9 motion coprocessor, but lacks always-on 'Hey Siri' support

Posted:
in iPad edited November 2015
Though it includes the same M9 motion coprocessor as the new iPhone 6s series, Apple's iPad Pro does not offer support for always-on "Hey Siri" voice controls when operating on battery power.




When the iPhone 6s launched, Apple said "Hey Siri" functionality was made possible by the M9 chip, which is integrated into the A9 processor. Promotional materials for the iPad Pro suggest that the M9 coprocessor is also integrated into the tablet's beefed-up A9X CPU.

Despite this, however, there is no support for "Hey Siri" to be actively listening in the background while the iPad Pro is unplugged. Digging into the iOS 9 Settings app, the iPad Pro indicates that users can use "Hey Siri" only when the device is connected to power.

This same capability can be found on past iPhones and iPads as well. The absence of always-on "Hey Siri" support in the iPad Pro means it remains exclusive to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.




"Hey Siri" can also be used with the Apple Watch, but users must first raise their wrist to activate the screen before speaking.

The M9 chip also gives the iPhone 6s the ability to measure a user's walking or running pace when they exercise without the need for GPS -- something that obviously serves no purpose in a large device like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Because it's integrated into the A9 series of processors, Apple says the M9 is more efficient than its predecessors. Apple's M-series chips handle all motion tracking capabilities for its iOS-based devices, via integrated gyroscopes and accelerometers.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    Apple has been doing exceedingly well with their feature removal lately!

    Removal of magnetic retainers on $2,300 iMacs in favor of double-sided tape.
    Removal of every single port on the latest MacBook in favor of a single USB-C connector.
    Removal of podcasts, Apple Remote, and Bluetooth keyboard support, and the optical audio output on the newest Apple TV.
    Removal of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Hey - less is more, right?
    Fraserpattycnocbui
  • Reply 2 of 31
    Hey Siri hasn't been on an iPad.
  • Reply 3 of 31
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,854member
    zroger73 wrote: »
    Apple has been doing exceedingly well with their feature removal lately!

    Removal of magnetic retainers on $2,300 iMacs in favor of double-sided tape.
    Removal of every single port on the latest MacBook in favor of a single USB-C connector.
    Removal of podcasts, Apple Remote, and Bluetooth keyboard support, and the optical audio output on the newest Apple TV.
    Removal of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Hey - less is more, right?

    I agree completely. Before long we'll have iMacs with nothing other than a big Facebook button, no ports, no access to the system and everything potted in araldite. It'll only be 4mm thick at the edges though! It seems a very common complain with the iPad Pro is, it's just too restrictive with iOS. iOS is fine for a phone, but for a tablet it's nowhere near powerful enough considering the amazing hardware it's running on. With a pencil and 12" of screen space, I don't really see why you can't run a standard windowed OS, or at least some kind of hybrid OS X/iOS (not in the Windows 10 fashion however) that is actually powerful enough to use as a laptop replacement.

    Cue Sog35 desperately running to Apple's defence in 3...2...1...
  • Reply 4 of 31
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    How can something be removed from a product that didn't previously exist?
  • Reply 5 of 31
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    How can something be removed from a product that didn't previously exist?



    And if it's an integral part of the M9 capabilities it's something that could be added in a future iOS integration. Perhaps once power consumption for usual users ITRW get some data (a guess on my part since an "always on" feature has to consume extra power of some magnitude...).

  • Reply 6 of 31
    rogifan wrote: »
    How can something be removed from a product that didn't previously exist?

    Thank you for your sanity.
  • Reply 7 of 31
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    How can something be removed from a product that didn't previously exist?

    Pardon me...

     

    Exclusion of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

     

    Considering the iPad Pro runs the same hardware (M9) and software (iOS 9.1) as other devices with always-on "Hey Siri", one would expect this feature to be included.

    Fraserpatty
  • Reply 8 of 31
    zroger73 wrote: »
    Apple has been doing exceedingly well with their feature removal lately!

    Removal of magnetic retainers on $2,300 iMacs in favor of double-sided tape.
    Removal of every single port on the latest MacBook in favor of a single USB-C connector.
    Removal of podcasts, Apple Remote, and Bluetooth keyboard support, and the optical audio output on the newest Apple TV.
    Removal of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Hey - less is more, right?

    According to the latest Mac sales figures, that's absolutely correct. And they don't come cheap, as you know.
  • Reply 9 of 31
    zroger73 wrote: »
    Pardon me...

    Exclusion of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Considering the iPad Pro runs the same hardware (M9) and software (iOS 9.1) as other devices with always-on "Hey Siri", one would expect this feature to be included.

    As opposed to all the other features it *does* include.

    An equitable trade, if there ever was one.
  • Reply 10 of 31
    zroger73 wrote: »
    Pardon me...

    Exclusion of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Considering the iPad Pro runs the same hardware (M9) and software (iOS 9.1) as other devices with always-on "Hey Siri", one would expect this feature to be included.

    I agree it should be included, but it's not to be expected exactly. iOS for iPad still doesn't have a native weather, calculator, or stocks app for instance like the iPhone does.
    Fraserpatty
  • Reply 11 of 31
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post





    As opposed to all the other features it *does* include.



    An equitable trade, if there ever was one.



    And as an integral part of the M9's hardware capabilities the option remains, as compared to the hardware limiting some feature because if it's not available in hardware: it isn't EVER going to be part of that generation of device.

  • Reply 12 of 31
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    zroger73 wrote: »
    Pardon me...

    Exclusion of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.

    Considering the iPad Pro runs the same hardware (M9) and software (iOS 9.1) as other devices with always-on "Hey Siri", one would expect this feature to be included.

    You said removal not exclusion. Since iPad Pro has the motion co-processor isn't this something that could be enabled via a software update?

    Having said that if this was excluded because marketing decided they wanted it to be a 6S only feature I think that's dumb.
    Fraserpatty
  • Reply 13 of 31
    elijahg wrote: »
    I agree completely. Before long we'll have iMacs with nothing other than a big Facebook button, no ports, no access to the system and everything potted in araldite. It'll only be 4mm thick at the edges though! It seems a very common complain with the iPad Pro is, it's just too restrictive with iOS. iOS is fine for a phone, but for a tablet it's nowhere near powerful enough considering the amazing hardware it's running on. With a pencil and 12" of screen space, I don't really see why you can't run a standard windowed OS, or at least some kind of hybrid OS X/iOS (not in the Windows 10 fashion however) that is actually powerful enough to use as a laptop replacement.

    Cue Sog35 desperately running to Apple's defence in 3...2...1...

    I'd be interested to know what an iOS/OS X hybrid environment (which is pretty much what Windows 10 tries to do) would look like if it wasn't in the Windows 10 fashion. Not really sure what you mean by that?

    I don't think a tablet will ever be a complete replacement for a desktop/laptop and you only have to look at Microsoft's attempts to see what happens when you try and combine the two.

    Do you have any ideas on how they could be combined without it being a hobbled together mess that fails as both a tablet and a laptop? If so you'd be the first to have worked out how to do it.
  • Reply 14 of 31
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lolliver View Post



    Do you have any ideas on how they could be combined without it being a hobbled together mess that fails as both a tablet and a laptop? If so you'd be the first to have worked out how to do it.

    Doesn't sound like such a good idea, but if you were to do it, you could run two different OS versions simultaneously, one in the background. The laptop version activates only when the screen is attached. The tablet version activates when the screen is detached. Using something like continuity could sync files between the two. 

     

    You'd have to have a pretty big battery though.

  • Reply 15 of 31
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,481member
    rogifan wrote: »
    You said removal not exclusion. Since iPad Pro has the motion co-processor isn't this something that could be enabled via a software update?

    Having said that if this was excluded because marketing decided they wanted it to be a 6S only feature I think that's dumb.

    Could it be that they were squeezing every ounce of battery life out of it with the bigger screen and the always on feature was an unacceptable trade off. Especially on a new product that complaints about battery life from people who leave that feature on could effect their roll out.
  • Reply 16 of 31
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zroger73 View Post



    Apple has been doing exceedingly well with their feature removal lately!



    Removal of magnetic retainers on $2,300 iMacs in favor of double-sided tape.

    Removal of every single port on the latest MacBook in favor of a single USB-C connector.

    Removal of podcasts, Apple Remote, and Bluetooth keyboard support, and the optical audio output on the newest Apple TV.

    Removal of always-on "Hey Siri" on the iPad Pro.



    Hey - less is more, right?

     

     

    I know, right!

    I'm still mad at AT&T for removing the rotary dial from telephones in favor of number buttons. Take make it even worse, phones don't even have number buttons any more, you just have a darn touch screen!  What the heck?!

    Then there are TV's.... whats up with removing those Cathode Ray Tubes?  I mean, does everyone really want flat screen tvs?  Not having a 400 pound 32" tv to move around has forced me to go out and buy a weight set...

    I mean, what the heck?

     

    p.s.  but seriously.... how do you "remove" a feature that was never there to begin with, on a device that isn't even publicly available yet...?

  • Reply 17 of 31
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,313member
    Microsoft is able to get away with compromised first gen products because of its slow to adopt corporate market.
    Apple as a consumer oriented company can't. Cook doesn't get this.
    Better to delay until both the hardware and software are in sync
  • Reply 18 of 31
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I'd want this on my iPad MORE than on my iPhone. Hope Apple enables it.
    Fraserpatty
  • Reply 19 of 31
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    How can something be removed from a product that didn't previously exist?



    At the current rate I've been blocking new and old trolls on this site, there will soon be no one left to converse with except for maybe ten people!

  • Reply 20 of 31

    I have to say it is a bit of a let down that apple decided to not even make this an option. I mean off by default ok but not even an option that is just low blow apple low blow.   

     

    I just set some one up with one today and she is supper pumped about the large slate. She was a die hard iPad user. I have to say after playing with it i find it to be a marvelous set of hardware. 

     

    I found IOS more lacking than the hardware.  I felt this iPad could stand up to several OS feature additions in future IOS updates. 

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