Apple Hires Carnegie Mellon Researcher to Lead AI Team

[kdarling]

Siri does well with smaller tasks and when Apple introduced the M10 coprocessor to be used off the charger, it really did provide freedom to use Siri without even having pick up your iPhone.

I agree that hands free is great.

Is hands free Siri still tied to using a charger?

My 2013 Moto X, which added a low power motion/voice coprocessor slightly before Apple did their M7, has always had hands free always-on listening and readback of texts etc, without taking much of a battery hit.

Keeping it in a shirt pocket is almost like wearing a Star Trek badge to talk to the ship's computer, but without having to tap it. It's always ready for a vocal Google Now request.

And if you also enable Motorola's special assistant add-on, it notices when you're moving fast enough to be driving, and automatically switches into a special hands free mode where incoming calls or texts automatically trigger a vocal prompt to be answered or read out.

 

[44267547]

I agree that hands free is great.

Is hands free Siri still tied to using a charger?

My 2013 Moto X, which added a low power motion/voice coprocessor slightly before Apple did their M7, has always had hands free always-on listening and readback of texts etc, without taking much of a battery hit.

Keeping it in a shirt pocket is almost like wearing a Star Trek badge to talk to the ship's computer, but without having to tap it. It's always ready for a vocal Google Now request.

And if you also enable Motorola's special assistant add-on, it notices when you're moving fast enough to be driving, and automatically switches into a special hands free mode where incoming calls or texts automatically trigger a vocal prompt to be answered or read out.

Siri can be used hands free with the 6s, SE and iPhone 7. If low power mode is activated and not connected to the charger, then it cannot be used hands free. If low power mode is activated and on the charger, hands free Siri can be used.

If low power mode is off and not connected to the charger, hands free Siri can be used, assuming the user has the 'Hey Siri' function turned on. This was one of my favorite features Apple added with the 6s. Hands free was very convenient when driving or having your iPhone from a distance, where you could request an alarm set, notifications read, calendar events, even activating General settings if you so wish. The battery life to me was not affected with the efficiency of the coprocessor.

That's impressive with the Moto X being able to switch over when driving a vehicle. I believe the X also had the function of hands free with the screen waking without even picking up the Phone.

 

[HiRez]

Nice, but a few years too late, no? Catching up to Google and Amazon will be a monumental task.

 

[Banyan Bruce]

Much appreciated. At the moment Siri simply isn't making the grade.

 

[shk718]

Yep, it's just a few years after Amazon started it and now that Google is in it....

Apple sure has a vision of the future, it's just a bit late and kind of derivative.

Perhaps they need to pay a few extra million to Cook and team...? Or just fire them?

Apple has historically never been first to market . That's well known. I hope they really kick it into gear and give us something amazing.

 

[macUser2007]

Apple has historically never been first to market . That's well known. I hope they really kick it into gear and give us something amazing.

I hope you are right, but just not holding my breath.

Apple helped revolutionize the personal computer and the mobile phone. And the tablet, in a way.

But not much since. We were hoping for a revolution in TV, and self-driving cars, and wearable tech.

Nada as of now, just marketing wind blowing and big bonuses for those entrenched at the top of the corporate pyramid.Even the new iPhone 7 has a good, but unexceptional camera and for the last few years iOS has been basically catching up to Android, in a muddling fashion at that. And that's Apple's biggest money-maker.

Even Apple's design, which is what really set it apart, has stagnated.

 

[wimdows]

Absolutely an excellent point. But is there any reason that Apple can't benefit from all that open-source work without contributing to it? It seems like they could at least be close to as good as Google if they would.

A lot of the learning is done in the collaboration and sharing thoughts, ideas, discussions. This occurs organically, informally and most of the time does not result directly in an OpenSource contribution. It's the interaction and being part of the discussion, along with the blue-sky thinking which is an excellent driver for progress in such an advanced field. Collaborating and sharing ideas and thoughts with peers in other organisations and sometimes even different industries can help enormously.

100% agree with macduke's original comment.

 

[shk718]

I hope you are right, but just not holding my breath.

Apple helped revolutionize the personal computer and the mobile phone. And the tablet, in a way.

But not much since. We were hoping for a revolution in TV, and self-driving cars, and wearable tech.

Nada as of now, just marketing wind blowing and big bonuses for those entrenched at the top of the corporate pyramid.Even the new iPhone 7 has a good, but unexceptional camera and for the last few years iOS has been basically catching up to Android, in a muddling fashion at that. And that's Apple's biggest money-maker.

Even Apple's design, which is what really set it apart, has stagnated.

I feel the iPhone 7+ camera is exceptional and the jet black iPhone is georgous. As far as catching up to android I disagree. Both have picked the areas they want to focus on. Apple has spent a considerable amount of time on developing security for its AI and the platform in general. With the latest DDos attack I'd say they made the right decision. Now that they have that under their belt they can, I hope, focus on user facing features. Let's not forget AI is in its very very early stages. None of the major platforms does an outstanding job with it.