Siri for Mac’s Colorful Waveform Dock Icon Revealed Ahead of OS X 10.12 Unveiling

[garagethrash]

Let me just preface this with a few points:
- I have zero issue with OS X becoming more iOS-like, or even iOS-based(which was OS X based originally - Nothing wrong with leapfrogging).
- I have zero issue with apple dropping legacy support, ports, etc. This is why I love Apple. I don't care that my 3.5mm headphones may become useless in future. As long as there are major benefits by dropping the port.
- There is no better ecosystem to be in than the apple ecosystem.

I'm just numb at this point in regards to Apple. I see the same old OS X with the same old dock and menubar, with the same old handful of iOS features poorly strapped to OS X in a way that minimises work for the devs. This gives me no confidence that bugs are going to be fixed in OS X 10.12. Clearly a skeleton crew B team has been working on iOS and OS X for many years now. I just hope what the A Team are working on does not have bugs, and comes out before 2020.

I have a 4K iMac, iPhone 6S Plus, iPad Pro, Apple Watch, Apple TV.

Every day i battle bugs on all these devices. None of their stuff seems finished anymore. Everything seems rushed. There is very little attention to detail in UI.

My 4K iMac is like a watching a slideshow when there are animation effects on screen.
Clinking links on my iPhone now takes a few goes as i battle the force touch gimmick (app icon shortcuts are great though)
iOS on my iPad Pro has always felt like an alpha version, not in regards to missing "pro" features, but in regards to bugs.
I love my Apple watch. Apple Watch Apps are useless. Sometimes my watch crashes. Like once a week.

I reported many bugs in Yosemite betas. None of them have been fixed.

All my devices have recently been formatted, and betas haven't touched any of them since. Yet they all feel like Alpha versions.

How is iTunes still a thing?

Whoever is the first mainstream Apple Journo to start rationally talking about apple gets my respect.

At the moment they all just jerk each other off on Slack and then all go to their sites and write the same exact ****.

I think Gruber is senile at this point.

 

[jonobin]

I just hope they let me disable this feature, I don't want it to drain my battery life.

 

[PBRsg]

Siri on Mac OS took waaay too long.

 

[mr.bee]

I don't really care for Siri on my mac, nor can I imagine a lot of people are...certainly not as a main feature. Talking to your computer in a work environment? not gonna happen! and for non work environment I use my iPhone and iPad.

If that's a main feature, they are dropping the ball. A 1000 other things need to be done before Siri on my mac.
update apps (mail, photos, calendar, ...)
create useful iWork suite (numbers is embarrassing)
integrate iOS and macOS with launchpad as graphic transition
new filesystem
iTunes
a better Siri on iPhone and iPad

....

a 1000 things before siri on mac.

 

[Tech198]

people talk to their iphone all the time with Siri, whats the difference other than being a *bigger* device you are not holding with one hand ?

I just hope they let me disable this feature, I don't want it to drain my battery life.

of course... way what Apple want to keep it on. I guess there would be an "always on" type checkbox where it would be hand-free, with the trigger word, like Amazon Echo does, just a guess.

 

[SDAVE]

keyboard and mouse...much faster than any "voice assistant"

 

[orioncrystalice]

What kind of selfish post is this? Next you will be asking Apple to allow folders on top. /s

I love that Siri icon, it looks beautiful. So it will definitely be changed before the release. I expect something like this:

...only of course with super-saturated colours.

But when I see this, I don't immediately think of Siri, therefore anti-intuitive and Apple is doomed.

 

[pier]

Meh couldnt care less about Siri. Google's AI is much more advanced and their commitment is a lot stronger considering all of its strategy is based on that.

It seems rather ironic that such leak from Apple occurs the day after Google announces so many new stuff regarding their assistant.

 

[blacktape242]

great just what i need, something on my desktop that won't do what i ask it.

 

[Ebenezum]

That's the funniest thing I read all week. Apple is pretty fantastic in creating amazing hardware, but their online services suck, their software is pretty weak in terms of quality and features, and the level of OsX is nowhere where it used to be.

Apple software could use a lot of improvements.

For example iWork is in shambles, it still isn't as feature rich as 09 version.
As for the OS X I have a feeling Apple has outsourced quality assurance to users, it would explain the number of bugs in the last few OS versions...

I hope this isn't the flagship announcement. I would prefer to see more productivity features and a few key tweaks like making tags easier to use, or making tags work better with iOS, or being able to create a heirarchy of tags to make them usable. In fact, there is a lot about finder that I would change. Safari needs better sharing options, extensions and to work better with other apps.

Personally I couldn't care less about Siri, tags haven't been improved at all since they were introduced in Mavericks. As for the productivity I would prefer Apple would stop removing features (Disk Utility, System Preferences etc.) and give Finder some real improvements.

Also how about fixing Spotlight? It hasn't been reliable in 10.10 and 10.11, 10.9 Mavericks was the last version when it worked reasonable well.

I would prefer if not a single new feature (especially gimmicky ones like this) were added and all focus was on improved stability instead.

Can I get an amen?

Yes!

El Capitan was supposed to be stability improvement but while its somewhat better than 10.10 its still less reliable than Mavericks. I would prefer Apple would finally ditch yearly updates which are clearly impossible to release without unacceptable quality issues and switch to "release new OS only when its ready no matter how long it takes" schedule. Alternatively release a long term support branch of OS X (at least 3 years between major releases) which focuses on stability instead of new features.

 

[alexgowers]

I hate all OSX icons, just unify them apple and stop making crap icons please.

 

[Defthand]

Whoever is the first mainstream Apple Journo to start rationally talking about Apple gets my respect.

Your entire commentary was lucid and spot on! Tim Cook, and the bloggers who cover Apple product developments, are extolling praise that was earned in the past but not deserved today. Independently, there are many nice details among the Apple products, but the collective experience is disappointing. What good is polish on a car that is difficult to drive and doesn’t run reliably?

The ease of accomplishing tasks with Apple’s UI—like drag-and-drop—set Apple apart. What was once elegant is now somehow clunky. Maybe I’m getting old. I didn’t mind the occasional challenges, work-arounds and maintenance that all computer products require but now I expect features to work as advertised if I’m paying a premium. I’m also tired of Tim Cook speaking of the “great products that Apple is working on”. I want the current ones to deliver on their Keynote braggings first.

 

[giebe]

Well I don't think those will be the final versions. It doesn't look like Apple. Doesn't even make sense why siri would be a text in the top bar.

So many people complaining about it, but I think it's great that they add it now. It's not even copying something, they just needed to wait until you can really use it. Problem is: they need to improve Siri a lot and I think it's quite helpful on a Mac. Just telling that she should write a mail, while I'm working on something else. Or say to send a message to someone, while working. Quite neat. Or even search for photos etc. One big thing I hope for is an open API for developers, so other Apps could use Siri too.So looking forward to the real Siri and the real icons and not from a random designer who had some fun.

 

[djbuddha]

2 points I can't wait for:

1. The day I go into Starbucks to hear people yelling hey Siri and 12 MacBooks are all shutting down in unison. (Apple's highest rating in customer service will get a run for the money when this happens).

2. Siri gets to new levels of pissing people off that Apple just renames it to "Sorry" and it ends up in the same place as mobile me lol.

 

[orioncrystalice]

2 points I can't wait for:

1. The day I go into Starbucks to hear people yelling hey Siri and 12 MacBooks are all shutting down in unison. (Apple's highest rating in customer service will get a run for the money when this happens).

2. Siri gets to new levels of pissing people off that Apple just renames it to "Sorry" and it ends up in the same place as mobile me lol.

Spend a whole day going from Starbucks to Starbucks walking in, yelling it, and running away.

 

[peterdevries]

I really dont care about siri or apple watch... Please focus on something else, for example the pro apps?!

I really don't care about BMW cars. Please focus on something else, for example the clothing line....

See how ridiculous this reasoning is? There are enough designers and developers within Apple for the company to focus on both at the same time (and they require differently skilled resources too). If your favorite app is not updated enough, than it is a conscious decision by Apple to do so rather than a lack of development resources.

 

[Michael Goff]

Apple software could use a lot of improvements.

For example iWork is in shambles, it still isn't as feature rich as 09 version.
As for the OS X I have a feeling Apple has outsourced quality assurance to users, it would explain the number of bugs in the last few OS versions...



Personally I couldn't care less about Siri, tags haven't been improved at all since they were introduced in Mavericks. As for the productivity I would prefer Apple would stop removing features (Disk Utility, System Preferences etc.) and give Finder some real improvements.

Also how about fixing Spotlight? It hasn't been reliable in 10.10 and 10.11, 10.9 Mavericks was the last version when it worked reasonable well.



Yes!

El Capitan was supposed to be stability improvement but while its somewhat better than 10.10 its still less reliable than Mavericks. I would prefer Apple would finally ditch yearly updates which are clearly impossible to release without unacceptable quality issues and switch to "release new OS only when its ready no matter how long it takes" schedule. Alternatively release a long term support branch of OS X (at least 3 years between major releases) which focuses on stability instead of new features.

Great companies do have to ship eventually.

Also, who is to say they didn't think it was ready each time?

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Siri on Mac doesn't need a Dock icon, it's a service like Spotlight, not a full-featured desktop app.

Look at Launchpad

 

[noanker]

I would welcome Siri on my MacBook as its absence has been rather conspicuous. But I'd hope that Apple will make Siri more useful across the board.

Some things I'd love to see:

Alert me, without my prompting it, when an email or text is received while driving and read said message. Even better if Siri could 'remember' where I shop so that when I pass within a user-selected proximity of said market, it reminds me of some items on my list.

Also when getting into my vehicle, it can ask me where I'm headed to so that it can relay current traffic conditions and perhaps gas prices along my route.

Siri needs to become more personal and interactive if Apple is positioning it as a 'personal assistant.'

 

[sadaquatak1]

Mac already have this functionality but in dictation command form which obviously can do much more than Siri but more importantly Apple should focus on speech recognition algorithm like google does for Google assistant.

 

[andreiru]

I'm actually starting to feel a bit disappointed with siri's limitations... It's been a while now and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

 

[uid15]

There are two things that Mac OS X needs right now-- Siri integration, and a touchscreen for notebooks. Amazingly, Windows has the lead in both of these areas. And that just should not be....

Apple are not missing the design input from all these forum "experts", they're quite alright enough on their own, thank you very much.
[doublepost=1463691116][/doublepost]

I'm actually starting to feel a bit disappointed with siri's limitations... It's been a while now and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

Siri doesn't need to go anywhere, she just tells you where to go, opens Maps, and boom!

 

[h4lp m3]

LOOOOOOOOONG OVERDUE!

Someone should be fired for making me use Dictation all these years.
[doublepost=1463691714][/doublepost]

"Siri, open Safari."
...
"I'm having trouble locating Jafar E."

"Lost and insecure...
Jafar E! Jafar E!
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
Jafar E! Jafar E!"

 

[Digital Skunk]

THAT'S A HIT!

Sorry, got excited there for a minute. It's never a bad thing when Apple takes a page out of the competition's playbook. Windows 10 did a good job putting Cortana on full systems, (for as much as I've used it, Cortana was fantastic and useful)

I'd love to see Siri on the Mac.

 

[uid15]

I would welcome Siri on my MacBook as its absence has been rather conspicuous. But I'd hope that Apple will make Siri more useful across the board.

Some things I'd love to see:

Alert me, without my prompting it, when an email or text is received while driving and read said message. Even better if Siri could 'remember' where I shop so that when I pass within a user-selected proximity of said market, it reminds me of some items on my list.

Also when getting into my vehicle, it can ask me where I'm headed to so that it can relay current traffic conditions and perhaps gas prices along my route.

Siri needs to become more personal and interactive if Apple is positioning it as a 'personal assistant.'

I just emailed Jony - he got into his time machine and went back and implemented this feature just for you...