Siri integration with third-party apps expected to play key role in Apple's 'iWatch'

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited May 2014
Apple is apparently working to open up Siri, its voice driven personal assistant, to third-party iOS applications, an improvement in services believed to be tied closely to the development of an anticipated "iWatch."

iWatch
iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton


Apple's efforts are focused on allowing Siri to point users to third-party applications, according to a new report issued Monday by The Information. While this would allow Siri to do more advanced functions like booking a hotel reservation, the report suggested it could also be closely tied to integration with a so-called "iWatch."

"The technology being developed at Apple can also be applied to determine what app to show a user when they have limited screen space, as they would when using a smartwatch the company has been developing, according to people familiar with the effort," the report reads. "If a user starts running, for example, Siri might show them a fitness app that could help them track their workout while moving other apps into the background."

The report would suggest that voice controls will play an important part in Apple's anticipated wrist-worn accessory. Previous rumors have suggested Apple's device will also be focused on biometric feedback, providing users with health and fitness data obtained from the wrist.

Those claims have been bolstered by the fact that Apple has hired a number of experts from the medical sensor field. Even Apple itself has fueled speculation, as the company filed for ownership of the "iWatch" trademark in a number of countries around the world last year.

With rumors about a smart watch from Apple continuing to grow, speculation has pegged the launch for such a device to occur in late 2014.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    So an iWatch won't be for me, then? Siri more often then not misinterprets what I say. Surely Siri will be an optional convenience for some.

  • Reply 2 of 17
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    There is no iWatch (waves hand like Obi-Wan Kenobi).
  • Reply 3 of 17
    I hope Apple doesn't think Siri is something more than an augment for any device other than the car. I don't want Siri blurting out crap in public, especially something personal.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    mykemmykem Posts: 33member
    ireland wrote: »
    So an iWatch won't be for me, then? Siri more often then not misinterprets what I say. Surely Siri will be an optional convenience for some.

    Despite English not being my mother-tongue (I began speaking English at the cusp of when a person is linguistically malleable- at the age of 13), I've no problem being understood by Siri 99% of the time. I don't even have to self-consciously enunciate each word to get the right response. Admittedly, I've no detectable accent but still even if I were to mumble through a sentence, 80% of the time it will be understood. I would say Siri probably understands me better than my partner of 7 years.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    I wish Apple would stop launching everything at the end of year.   They always end up with supply constrain at the peak of the holiday season, which is bad planning imo...

  • Reply 6 of 17
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member
    English is my native language and Siri can't understand me even when I don't use epithets.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MykeM View Post





    Despite English not being my mother-tongue (I began speaking English at the cusp of when a person is linguistically malleable- at the age of 13), I've no problem being understood by Siri 99% of the time.

     

    Congratulations. So iWatch won't be for me then. Siri, like on the iPhone, should be an optional way to interact.

  • Reply 8 of 17
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    I think using Siri is a brilliant idea, because really, who can focus on a teeny tiny screen?

     

    I just HOPE Siri is continuing to improve (as she has, greatly!)

     

    Siri, what time is it?

    (long pause)

    I'm really sorry but something has gone wrong, and I can't help you right now.

     

    (insert other Siri related jokes here)

     

    That is what Apple I'm sure will avoid by continuing to refine and improve the Siri experience.

     

    How else are you going to input data into the watch, if not by voice?

  • Reply 9 of 17

    SIRI is the computer.  It is the most important UI now and for the future.

    The speech interpretation and recognition is already very good as I can work comfortably with it in several languages.

    The SIRI knowledge base can be improved infinitely to the point where one can ask anything and get an intelligent answer.

     

    Automatic language detection is one of the next challenges.  

    I should be able to speak multiple languages without having to change the keyboard language.

    ?Then we can have Star Trek class universal translators.

     

    CarPlay and iWatch will greatly increase the use of SIRI.

  • Reply 10 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

     

    So an iWatch won't be for me, then? Siri more often then not misinterprets what I say. Surely Siri will be an optional convenience for some.


    I guess not.  A lot of people cannot use computers today so...

  • Reply 11 of 17
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Something tells me the iWatch will be announced at WWDC and the iOS/SDK will be available to all with the ship date to a few months later.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    feynman wrote: »
    Something tells me the iWatch will be announced at WWDC and the iOS/SDK will be available to all with the ship date to a few months later.

    I hope it's sooner. As [@]herbapou[/@] stated, having everything piled in for the second half of the year isn't appealing.
  • Reply 13 of 17

    Longtime Apple fan here, but now Samsung is really tempting me:

     

    image

  • Reply 14 of 17
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    The technology being developed at Apple can also be applied to determine what app to show a user when they have limited screen space ...

     

    I'd be extremely surprised if Apple ever fully opens up the Siri API to all developers.  And even if that does happen, I'm sure Apple will cherry-pick the best few apps and direct Siri requests to just those anointed apps.  Because end users won't distinguish between iOS and its apps in a full Siri interface.  They'll just see it as "how my iPhone works."  And Apple does need to carefully control that user experience.

     

    Think "Her."  There is no distinction between the OS and its apps.  The OS handles all requests, calls whichever app is appropriate for handling that request, and the OS presents the results to the user with the appropriate combination of audio / video / image data.  Apps have devolved into services that the OS uses to handle specific requests.  No more icon-tapping, no more swiping through multiple home screens full of icons, no more menus or proprietary navigation schemes to learn.  Little if any UI "chrome."

     

    [Google anecdote: a buddy of mine in the tech industry is friends with a Google designer.  He and the Google designer and his design staff all saw "Her" together.  The Google designers all said "Wait, he's wearing glasses, but they're not Google Glass?"  And yes, it was a little scary for designers to see that futuristic voice input -> apps-as-services -> voice output interaction model.  Little if any UI chrome other than showing images and video on whatever screen is nearest.  No conceptual separation of OS and its apps from the user standpoint.  All possible within 5 to 10 years.  But hey, there will always be demand for game designers, right?]

  • Reply 15 of 17
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member

    Originally Posted by FromAppleToGear View Post

     

    Longtime Apple fan here, but now Samsung is really tempting me:


     

    Samsung paid you 10 cents to post that?

    Longtime troll / spammer hunter here, but Samsung should get their 10 cents back.

  • Reply 16 of 17
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    Makes sense. Siri needs to get a lot lot better.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Nokia has purchased their own artificial intelligence engine to use with their HERE maps created by the same company that Apple purchased Siri from, SRI International. This on is called Desti and currently still available on the App Store.
    http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/30/nokia-buys-sri-spinout-desti-to-add-ai-to-its-here-mapping-business/
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