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Apple recently purchased PullString, a San Francisco startup that enables the design and publishing of voice apps through its PullString Converse platform, reports Axios.

PullString could be used to improve the voice capabilities of Siri, Apple's personal voice assistant.

pullstring-800x487.jpg

On its website, PullString says that it can be used to "collaboratively design, prototype and publish voice applications for Amazon Alexa."
At PullString, we strive to help people talk effortlessly with voice technology that surrounds us. Working at the intersection of creative expression and artificial intelligence, we provide agencies and enterprises with the leading solution to collaboratively design, prototype, and publish highly engaging voice applications for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IoT devices.
According to Axios, PullString was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and when it was first started, was used to create interactive voice apps for toys.

The company broadened its horizons over the years, though, following the introduction of products like Amazon Echo and Google Assistant.

Apple has not officially confirmed the acquisition and details about the purchase price are not available.

Article Link: Apple Acquires Voice App Startup PullString
 

mtneer

macrumors 68040
Sep 15, 2012
3,179
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Well I hope they can better merge and utilize the strengths of this company better than what they managed to do with the Siri acquisition.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,495
11,155

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
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Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Apple doing what Apple does? Because they are incapable of improving Siri themselves, even though it’s their own fault it’s so behind everyone else, they’ve gone and bought a company to do it for them..
I don’t have much hope for Siri improving I’m afraid.. I can’t actually remember when I used it last? Use my Echo Dot everyday :)

We will see though.
 

mdriftmeyer

macrumors 68040
Feb 2, 2004
3,787
1,895
Pacific Northwest
Google acquires Nest.
Amazon acquires Ring and Eero.

Apple acquires... a voice maker for toys? o_O

It’s not like it’s Siri’s voice that needs improving... it’s actually quite good!

The head of Google AI resigns and takes a job as the AI Chief at Apple very recently, or did you omit that part as not to weaken your point?

Ref: https://www.apple.com/leadership/john-giannandrea/
 

Soccertess

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2005
1,276
1,821
Good on these guys. Hopefully this will help with the app intergration.

Too bad Siri will still retrieve non-sense responses. 90% understanding so it can respond “I can’t do that yet”
 

keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
In the future most people will be too dumb to interface with electronics in any other way except by talking to them.

That’s both terrifying and reassuring.

But then most thought the mouse was a gimmick and “dumbed down” computers, yet we can see how old-fashioned their ideas seem now. The prospect of such a fundamental change about how we interact with technology is too alien to embrace, unless we’ve lived through the curve and slowly learned to use it.

It’d be interesting to see the Enterprise computer brought to life.
 

shinkansenwarrior

macrumors regular
Sep 29, 2015
203
223
Tokyo
Google acquires Nest.
Amazon acquires Ring and Eero.

Apple acquires... a voice maker for toys? o_O

It’s not like it’s Siri’s voice that needs improving... it’s actually quite good!


Quite right. The voices coming out of Siri do not sound that bad. What Siri needs is a brain transplant (ultra intelligent one) to recognize and execute commands accurately from voices coming INTO it.
 

PickUrPoison

macrumors G3
Sep 12, 2017
8,131
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Sunnyvale, CA
Quite right. The voices coming out of Siri do not sound that bad. What Siri needs is a brain transplant (ultra intelligent one) to recognize and execute commands accurately from voices coming INTO it.
Which is why they hired John Giannandrea last April and quickly promoted him to SVP. Prior to Apple, Giannandrea led the machine intelligence, research and search teams at Google for 8 years. I’d say they got “the guy”. It’s a huge hire, on the order of Johny Srouji.
 
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0388631

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Sep 10, 2009
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Which is why they hired John Giannandrea last April and quickly promoted him to SVP. Prior to Apple, Giannandrea led the machine intelligence, research and search teams at Google for 8 years. I’d say they got “the guy”. It’s a huge hire, on the order of Johny Srouji.
And? Google's now on their deathbed? Jim Keller worked for AMD, Broadcom, Apple, AMD again, Tesla, and now works for Intel as SVP. Did any of those companies burn and extinguish after this particular genius left them? No.
 

ignatius345

macrumors 604
Aug 20, 2015
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Apple recently purchased PullString, a San Francisco startup that enables the design and publishing of voice apps through its PullString Converse platform, reports Axios.

PullString could be used to improve the voice capabilities of Siri, Apple's personal voice assistant.

Or it could be used as well to finally bring some kind of app store to the HomePod, which sorely lacks one.
 
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