Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,287
30,349



siri_ios_7_icon.jpg
As Apple continues work on its much-rumored iWatch, the company is placing a significant focus on expanding Siri's ability to interface with third-party apps, according to a report from The Information summarized by TechCrunch.

With input methods for the iWatch limited due to the device's size, Siri's voice capabilities may be one of the best tools for Apple to leverage, and that means improving Siri's capabilities.
The report points out how the Siri of today can't do things like book a car rental or make a hotel reservation, or use a messaging app other than Messages to send a text. The improvements to Siri would potentially enable those types of things, enabling third-party integrations that don't require one-to-one business arrangement between Apple and the external company. Current integrations like those with OpenTable and Wolfram Alpha do involve those direct deals, which limits the pace at which new third-party powers can be added to Siri.
The report also claims that Apple is working on technology to dynamically adjust what content is being shown on a device's display, offering the example of a running app automatically being shown when the user begins jogging. The technology would obviously be useful for a device such as the iWatch with very limited display size and input capabilities.

Apple has been rumored for several years to be working on a smart watch project, with the company reportedly placing a strong focus on biometrics to include health-related data tracking for the iOS ecosystem.

Article Link: Apple Working to Expand Siri's Third-Party App Integration for iWatch
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
Where do the latest rumors pin the iwatch release date? Is it suppose to launch with the iphone 6 or earlier?
 

AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
5,452
29,002
With input methods for the iWatch limited due to the device's size, Siri's voice capabilities may be one of the best tools for Apple to leverage, and that means improving Siri's capabilities.The report also claims that Apple is working on technology to dynamically adjust what content is being shown on a device's display, offering the example of a running app automatically being shown when the user begins jogging. The technology would obviously be useful for a device such as the iWatch with very limited display size and input capabilities.

Hmm, it could even integrate with the iPhone and open up specific, fun webpages in Safari when the watch starts violently shaking.
 
Last edited:

Lepton

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2002
855
299
Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Even the simplest integration would be helpful for iWatch, CarPlay, and on the phone itself! Something like saying "Tell <app> to <spoken text>" could open a URI like "<app>:///<spoken text>". More of an API would be great, but just this very simple API would be plenty to do a zillion useful things. An app can already do text to speech responses and of course control the screen.

For example "Siri tell NewsBrain to speak the news" would invoke "newsbrain:///speak the news" causing the app to launch and read articles aloud.
 

leftynaut

macrumors member
Nov 10, 2009
66
85
does anyone use Siri or something similar regularly? i still haven't seen a real need to ever talk to my phone. maybe one day when scarlett johansson is on the other line, but until then my fingers work quite well.
 

Websnapx2

macrumors 6502a
Apr 24, 2003
519
530
does anyone use Siri or something similar regularly? i still haven't seen a real need to ever talk to my phone. maybe one day when scarlett johansson is on the other line, but until then my fingers work quite well.

I use it all the time, especially while cooking. I have my iPad in a large freezer zip-lock and use Siri to look up stuff, respond to messages and anything else beyond a tap away.
 

Born Again

macrumors 601
May 12, 2011
4,021
5,214
Norcal
Siri offers nothing but frustration in real world usage.

Any noise around you confuses it.

Google voice has been so far much better at understanding the human language.
 

Lepton

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2002
855
299
Cold Spring Harbor, NY
does anyone use Siri or something similar regularly? i still haven't seen a real need to ever talk to my phone. maybe one day when scarlett johansson is on the other line, but until then my fingers work quite well.
I use Siri all the time, but for two main things:

"Set a timer for ten minutes" I use this when Im cooking or whatever. It is much faster than whipping out the clock app and spinning those little wheels to set the time.

"Remind me to visit Mom at 2" When said at 3PM it sets up a reminder for tomorrow at 2PM. Again much faster, and I use this when I want a reminder for a meeting or to go somewhere when it isn't a big enough deal to make a calendar entry.

I also use it in the car "Let's drive to Mom's". This figures out who "mom" or "Uncle Fred" or whomever is, and starts giving directions there.

It's just a very speedy shortcut for doing simple stuff.
 

Richdmoore

macrumors 68000
Jul 24, 2007
1,956
355
Troutdale, OR
I own a really high end watch (It was a gift) so I am not in the market for a smart watch. I hope some of this technology filters down into another form factor (keychain, zipper pull, or something else) that will work with my lifestyle.
 

jimi78

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2010
216
39
Carlsbad, CA
does anyone use Siri or something similar regularly? i still haven't seen a real need to ever talk to my phone. maybe one day when scarlett johansson is on the other line, but until then my fingers work quite well.

Anytime I am doing laundry or cooking or waiting for something to start or stop I use siri to set my timer. it's a little task, but I do it so often that I love this feature. setting my wakeup alarm when it happens to change is nice too. ;)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.