It ’s become something of an April custom : presently after Apple sends out the WWDC invitation , we all start judge to figure out what Tim Cook might be obscure up his arm . Like an optical fancy or apoorly - get down apparel , we each interpret the conference logo and tagline in our own way , and by the time the keynote actually arrives , it ’s been deconstructed to the point of absurdity .
But our shot are most often untimely . Last class ’s invite , for illustration , with its rounded square motif and “ Epicenter of change ” puzzle , seemed to clearly point to an delinquent Apple TV refresh that opened up the platform to developers and pave the agency for a subscription tv set service . alternatively we gotApple Musicand the News app .
This twelvemonth , we have something a little dissimilar to masticate on . While there is n’t too much to decipheron the invite — the design idea is Swift secret writing and the voice communication contains thin veiled references to popular third - political party apps — Applegave us a gamey hinteven before the emails were even go under out . Earlier in the solar day , Siri was blabbing about the WWDC dates to anyone who asked , commit the digital helper a rarefied chance to scoop its God Almighty . And I cogitate it ’s good that Siri ’s role in WWDC is n’t run to be limited to her loose lip .
In the spotlight
Over the retiring twelvemonth or so , Siri has take in on much more responsibility . On Apple Watch and Apple TV , it recreate a major persona in not just with intelligence agency but also seafaring , and on the iPhone 6s , the always - on Hey Siri has given Apple ’s digital adjunct life beyond the limitation of its French telephone confines .
But for all of its advancement , Siri is , for the most part , still a novelty . While the voice recognition technology has been refined with each new twist , there are still many case where Siri is either too slow or does n’t have the correct information , and it ’s just easier to execute tasks the previous - fashioned way . If Apple wants Siri to be a cardinal part of the experience , pep pill and efficiency are of utmost grandness .
But still , while Siri may be lagging a number behind Google Now and Cortana , the race to build up the everlasting smartphone AI is still a unaired one , and I think this year ’s WWDC is going to be a breakout minute . Letting Siri leak the engagement might have been a precious gimmick ( one resonant of the tease to last year ’s iPhone event , “ Hey Siri give us a mite , ” which draw out a series of playful interaction when the knowledge navigator was queried ) , but I also think it ’s a sign that Apple is going to finally let Siri loose to take on a much liberal part in the ecosystem .
Open for business
Apple has thus far kept a tight rein on Siri , locking it down to system functions and stock apps . But on Apple TV , Apple has opened it up a bit , let some substance providers get at the vocalization - powered universal search and most recently enabling Live Tune - In , which gives Siri the power to access third - party apps .
A similar carrying out on iOS or watchOS would straightaway make Siri an instant orca feature . The WWDC scoop might even be a little predilection of what we ’ll be able to do with a novel Siri API ; a full - blown in - app API might not be in the card game just yet , but opening data queries may very well be . By allow Siri retrieve information from the dozens of other apps we have install , it would become exponentially smarter while also cutting down on the number of time we need to unlock our iPhones .
Hey now
The biggest impediment to Siri ’s utility is n’t the lack of a third - party API , it ’s the disparate method we apply to summon her . Hey Siri is the well-situated method , but it ’s missing from the one twist where it would be most useful .
Siri on Apple TV is fantastic , but the way we need to activate it is not . Holding down the button during the whole conversation is in enemy to how we do it on our other devices , and the lack of a Siri release on the Remote app is a major nuisance . Eddie Cue has already promised that a new app with “ the full functionality of the Siri Remote ” due this year , so our struggle seem probable to cease at WWDC .
Even beyond a usable iPhone app , however , Hey Siri would be perfect for Apple TV . With Alexa and Echo , Amazon has already demonstrated just how useful an always - on digital supporter can be in our homes , and all the pieces are there for Apple to build a alike curing - up with its digital spiritualist receiver .
And it would solve the problem of bringing Siri to the Mac as well . It ’s not solely clear why Apple has wait so long to convey Siri to its computers , but activation is surely one of the issues Apple is wrestling with . Adding a computer menu legal community item alongside Spotlight ’s magnifying chicken feed is fairly obvious , but for quick interrogation , a central stroke might not do the trick . ( After all , how many casual users know the Command - place prevention shortcut to access code Spotlight ? ) But articulation activation would work well , let us summon Siri without call for to stop whatever we ’re doing .
Siri has make out a foresightful way since its genus Beta offset , but in many ways its still an unfledged system . But I think a growth spurt is follow at WWDC . It could be why she ’s so excited for this year ’s effect .
