Apple Updates Siri With Improved Baseball Acumen

[MacRumors]

Apple has upgraded Siri to improve answers to baseball-related questions in time for Major League Baseball's new season (via The Verge).

Apple's voice-activated assistant is now able to draw on an updated database that includes statistics going back to the beginning of the sport's history. Siri users can also enjoy more detailed Major League Baseball career stats as well as additional information for 28 other leagues and minors.

Siri has provided sports results since iOS 6. However, The Verge notes that, when it comes to sports, Siri's responses to more specific questions still feel limited. For example, asking "When was the last time the Yankees had a perfect game?" returns a generic search for the baseball team, with similar searches resulting in simple Google queries.

Apple is continually working to improve Siri's breadth of knowledge and often quietly updates its responses to particular topics. The personal assistant also received additional improvements to its contextual awareness with the release of iOS 9. Siri is expected make its long-anticipated debut on Mac in OS X 10.12 later this year.

Just last week, Apple agreed a deal with Major League Baseball that will see the sports league's coaching staffs use iPad Pros in dugouts to make better use of data during games.

Article Link: Apple Updates Siri With Improved Baseball Acumen

 

[Benjamin Frost]

I wish Siri was not so uncouth.

It's "It looks as though" not "It looks like".

Waiting for Apple to deliver a well-spoken Siri.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I wish Siri was not so uncouth.

It's "It looks as though" not "It looks like".

Waiting for Apple to deliver a well-spoken Siri.

I'm waiting for offline functionality for basic tasks like 'call xxxx, read last message'. No need to bounce every single request off their servers.

 

[fitshaced]

I'm waiting for offline functionality for basic tasks like 'call xxxx, read last message'. No need to bounce every single request off their servers.

I wish we could use it hands free by saying custom phrases like 'Oi, read me bloody email you drunk!'

 

[McFlyOz]

I wish we could use it hands free by saying custom phrases like 'Oi, read me bloody email you drunk!'

Here here! Any Australianism should be allowed. Why can't Apple allow for colloquialisms from any countries? Oi, howdy, bloody hell etc.

 

[Sandstorm]

The first best thing i love in the iPhone is "SIRI".

Apple products make one of the best world in everyone's life . . . i Proud to say, we live with inventions of apple apps

Are you serious? Siri is borderline garbage compared to Google Now and even some 3rd party iOS apps (like Hound, that works much much faster and is much more precise, but because iOS is locked down, has no chance to compete with Siri).
I truly fail to understand how company with billions upon billions of cash laying around (Apple) can be really good at some products, but so behind its competition in so many other areas (like Siri, online services in general, music, storage space, timely updates to Mac products etc etc etc).

 

[GenesisST]

I wish Siri was not so uncouth.

It's "It looks as though" not "It looks like".

Waiting for Apple to deliver a well-spoken Siri.

I would personally love a bilingual Siri. So I could ask for titles in French with English Siri (or vice versa). I do understand the complexities, but link to "Hey Siri" vs "Dis Siri", you could easily switch.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I wish Siri was not so uncouth.

It's "It looks as though" not "It looks like".

Waiting for Apple to deliver a well-spoken Siri.

This is really the least of my problems with Siri.

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

Oh great sports scores, what a great thing no one asked for. Apple really just know how to develop crap that interests them and not what customers are calling for.. The list is getting endless - do I even need to say 16GB devices.

 

[RockSpider]

The first best thing i love in the iPhone is "SIRI".

Apple products make one of the best world in everyone's life . . . i Proud to say, we live with inventions of apple apps

If you think Siri is good you should try Google, then you'll know what good is. I have both but rarely use Siri as she's hopeless.

 

[Rogifan]

Oh great sports scores, what a great thing no one asked for. Apple really just know how to develop crap that interests them and not what customers are calling for.. The list is getting endless - do I even need to say 16GB devices.

Because you've polled all Apple customers and know what they want? As far as I know this wasn't announced by Apple or anything so it's not like they're making some big deal about it. Quite honestly things like this should be happening all the time with Siri.

 

[mainstreetmark]

Siri can do baseball questions now? Wow wee. Mine still can't do things like set a timer without an error. Almost anything I ask for results in a delay, followed by a google search, unless, of course, I know it's in the list of 10 questions I'm able to ask it.

Can I ask when high tide is? no. And it knows it can't. So Apple knows it can't. Why isn't there a list of un-answerable Siri questions, that Apple logs, and then lets us, the internet, craft answers. The first 5 people that ask some question get nothing, but everyone after that may get somewhere with it, without defaulting to a stupid google results list.

Siri is 10% of what it should be, and 1% of what Samuel Jackson made us think it would be.

I wish Apple would let us choose the default assistant in the same way we choose a default browser. I'd swap it out for anything else.

 

[jonnysods]

I'm waiting for offline functionality for basic tasks like 'call xxxx, read last message'. No need to bounce every single request off their servers.

Oh man so here. I just want to add a reminder. Surely that can be done offline and then upload it later?

 

[One Bad Duck]

No one cares about Baseball apple. Siri needs to be able manipulate 3rd party apps

 

[rdlink]

Siri can do baseball questions now? Wow wee. Mine still can't do things like set a timer without an error. Almost anything I ask for results in a delay, followed by a google search, unless, of course, I know it's in the list of 10 questions I'm able to ask it.

Can I ask when high tide is? no. And it knows it can't. So Apple knows it can't. Why isn't there a list of un-answerable Siri questions, that Apple logs, and then lets us, the internet, craft answers. The first 5 people that ask some question get nothing, but everyone after that may get somewhere with it, without defaulting to a stupid google results list.

Siri is 10% of what it should be, and 1% of what Samuel Jackson made us think it would be.

I wish Apple would let us choose the default assistant in the same way we choose a default browser. I'd swap it out for anything else.

Hmm. I probably set 5-6 timers a day with no issues. I ask Siri a myriad of complicated questions all the time, have her run the lighting and environmental control in my house, and yes, ask her baseball questions. You must have the evil Siri who doesn't like you.

 

[yg17]

Now, if only Siri was smart enough to figure out that if I'm asking for Cardinals scores within 200 miles of the St. Louis area, I'm probably interested in the St. Louis Cardinals and not the Stanford Cardinals. Nothing more useless than getting an NCAA football game score in the middle of the summer

 

[Supermacguy]

I don't give a poop about "better sports scores" on Siri. Siri needs so much work to make it even useful day to day, why bother with something lame and simple like reading off scores stats or dates? Make it parse my questions better! Return better results! Make it do USEFUL things for me.

 

[artfossil]

My prayers are answered. And on opening day!

As Van Morrison says, "Mama told me there'd be days like this."

 

[fenderbass146]

No one cares about Baseball apple. Siri needs to be able manipulate 3rd party apps

False: I care along with millions of others.

 

[iGeek2014]

At one time Siri (temporarily) answered football results for the likes of the Sky Bet Championship etc.

Was a short lived affair but I wish Apple would reintegrate it into Siri.

Least they could do if they've no intentions of being able to reserve a table at a restaurant etc!

 

[Trik]

Are you serious? Siri is borderline garbage compared to Google Now and even some 3rd party iOS apps (like Hound, that works much much faster and is much more precise, but because iOS is locked down, has no chance to compete with Siri).
I truly fail to understand how company with billions upon billions of cash laying around (Apple) can be really good at some products, but so behind its competition in so many other areas (like Siri, online services in general, music, storage space, timely updates to Mac products etc etc etc).

While this is accurate to an extent, it should be noted that Google knows SO much about you, and Apple is doing a lot of their work blindfolded (on purpose), because they put users privacy above functionality.

We're reaching the point where if you don't care what a company knows about you, and you just want it to tell you what to do because it knows where you live, where you work, etc. Then you should go with Google products.

Apple is a hardware / software company. Google is a search and advertising company. With Apple, they have to make Siri work with little user information. With Google, they have your email, your calendar, your GPS data, your pictures, etc. So yeah... They can tell you to leave 10 min earlier to get to the airport. Then they can serve you an ad for a new roller bag because they see the receipt for your old one is 5 years old and isn't TSA ready... Yay!?!

 

[IJ Reilly]

Siri users can also enjoy more detailed Major League Baseball career stats as well as additional information for 28 other leagues and minors.

The 28 "other" leagues include the Minors.

All baseball fans will know, baseball-reference.com is the place to go for comprehensive and detailed stats.

 

[69Mustang]

Now, if only Siri was smart enough to figure out that if I'm asking for Cardinals scores within 200 miles of the St. Louis area, I'm probably interested in the St. Louis Cardinals and not the Stanford Cardinals. Nothing more useless than getting an NCAA football game score in the middle of the summer

pedant alert [on] off It's Cardinal, no 's'. Stanford Cardinal. pedant alert on [off]

To your point, Siri could be a lot better with context. The catch is, for Siri to get better it needs more customer information. This bumps into the privacy issue. An option to give more information may be the answer. Right now Siri's sort of hamstrung.

 

[jhfenton]

I would personally love a bilingual Siri. So I could ask for titles in French with English Siri (or vice versa). I do understand the complexities, but link to "Hey Siri" vs "Dis Siri", you could easily switch.

I would love this. I use my iPhone and other devices in French, but I have to set Siri to English in order to dictate English text messages to my wife while I'm driving. (That is far and away the most common thing I do with Siri.)

 

[dwaltwhit]

Oh great sports scores, what a great thing no one asked for. Apple really just know how to develop crap that interests them and not what customers are calling for.. The list is getting endless - do I even need to say 16GB devices.

Baseball is pretty popular. It's the great American Pass Time. I am happy to hear this news. Just because it isn't something that interests you does not mean no one is interested.