No ducking way: Apple may soon let your friends know when autocorrect makes a mistake
Textual ambiguity may be a thing of the past if Apple adopts one of its newly-published patent applications, a system which will inform the person on the other end of the line when autocorrect has been at work.
The method disclosed within the patent is relatively simple: it highlights any words within a message which have been automatically corrected by the operating system. Apple currently does this only for the sender, and only in limited circumstances -- after using dictation, iOS will use a blue underline to point out any words it was unsure about.
The rest of the time, words are simply changed. Combined with the input speed of a QWERTY keyboard and fact that most people don't review their messages after typing but before hitting send, this has resulted in some hilarious miscommunications.
Apple's new invention would fix this by essentially extending the current post-dictation model.
Recipients would be able to see that words were changed, but they would not be able to see the original. Instead, Apple hopes it will prompt them to ask for a clarification: whether they were to meet at four o'clock or the much more delicious but temporally unsuitable fudge o'clock.
Apple credits Christopher J. Hynes with the invention of U.S. Patent Application No. 14/815,910.
The method disclosed within the patent is relatively simple: it highlights any words within a message which have been automatically corrected by the operating system. Apple currently does this only for the sender, and only in limited circumstances -- after using dictation, iOS will use a blue underline to point out any words it was unsure about.
The rest of the time, words are simply changed. Combined with the input speed of a QWERTY keyboard and fact that most people don't review their messages after typing but before hitting send, this has resulted in some hilarious miscommunications.
Apple's new invention would fix this by essentially extending the current post-dictation model.
Recipients would be able to see that words were changed, but they would not be able to see the original. Instead, Apple hopes it will prompt them to ask for a clarification: whether they were to meet at four o'clock or the much more delicious but temporally unsuitable fudge o'clock.
Apple credits Christopher J. Hynes with the invention of U.S. Patent Application No. 14/815,910.
Comments
looks annoying and "messy". I want my messages to look clean.
—kind retards
If auto-correct is doing its job, I don't want every auto-corrected word underlined in the message I send. This defeats the purpose of auto-correct.
Why not just do what dictation already does and underline it solely for ME, so that I can easily identify it before sending, and then have 1-tap access to changing any of the corrections.
The problem is if Apple doesn't attempt to patient everything they may or may not put in a product, somebody will patent a thing called a "drunk text descrambler" that may sound more novel than this and then sue Apple for infringing on key elements of their patent.
Besides, autocorrect does not fix the most egregious spelling errors such as confusing 'loose' with 'lose,' 'cite' with 'site,' or 'hangar' with 'hanger.' In fact, it is likely to make those errors. As far as I am concerned, autocorrect is a complete and utter failure and any attempts to fix it will just make things even worse.