iOS Anyone know about the new dictation api?

[1458279]

I saw where the new iOS has a keyboard with a mic on it to be used for dictation.

I assume this will work with all devices that have a mic since it is a part of the new OS.

What I wondering about is what control (if any) do we have over this? Example: does it have a timer where the app can ask a Yes/No question and have that answer spoken, then move to the next question?

Kinda like a tech support system, where they tell you to say Yes or No, you respond and then it moves to the next question.

I know this is all new stuff, but I can see where this might be interesting for some apps.

I did a google search and dictation is not even listed as a top 10 reasons to upgrade, I thought this would be bigger news.

 

[QuarterSwede]

It's currently only available on the iPhone 4S and the new iPad (3rd Gen). On those devices it's available to all apps that use the keyboard as it's part of the native keyboard. It's only for dictation and has nothing to do with Siri.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Off the top of my head, the best you could do for what you want would be make a textfield the first responder, then simulate a touch on the mic key (private APIs exist to do this; public APIs for simulating touches don't exist however so you can't get the app approved by Apple,) and then have a delegate look for the word "yes" or "no" appearing in the textfield.

To the best of my knowledge, there aren't even private APIs for diction/Siri.

You might be better off looking to see if anyone else offers a library for interpreting speech on iOS. You could probably use those without having to use private APIs at all.

And yes, Apple has really dropped the ball on this. iOS 5 introduced many really cool features that developers aren't allowed to use.

 

[1458279]

That's strange that Apple has it closed off, along with other iOS 5 stuff. This is where cutting edge apps will come from.

I'm just now digging into some of the iOS 5 stuff.