Apple Working on 'Find My Watch' and Third-Party Watch Complications, 'TVKit' Dev Tools for Apple TV

[Rogifan]

No.

I truly believe that voice/Siri is a niche feature that hardly anyone uses and will remain so for as long as it exists. Not once have I seen or heard anyone use it. It's an incredibly slow and inefficient way to get things done. Touch and typing is quicker, easier and more reliable, and is possible 100% of the time, whereas Siri is possible only when no-one is near you and where it is quiet.

Handoff could become useful one day, but in its present state, it's far too buggy and slow. Again, though, it's terribly niche. How many people really need to urgently switch from their iPhone to their Mac? Emails and documents get saved automatically anyway; it's not like you save any time. If everything syncs via iCloud, there is no need for the clunkiness of Handoff.

Siri isn't just about dictation though. I'd like Siri to be able to do more things for me. When I'm in my car I'd love to be able to say 'hey Siri, play song [x] from my Spotify playlist. Siri can't do that because there's no 3rd party API. Or when I'm in the car and I ask Siri if the traffic is bad it doesn't tell me, it forces me to unlock my phone and then opens the maps app. How useful is that when driving?!? Why can't Siri tell me traffic looks good or traffic looks bad on [x] highway(s)? Or even better yet how about since my iPhone should know the route I drive to work every morning and about when I leave each day, providing me a notification when traffic is bad and telling me I might want to leave earlier or take a different route. This is about so much more than dictation.

As far as handoff goes I use it a lot (same with AirDrop). I might open a link on my phone, decide it's something I really want to read and use Handoff to pick it up on my iPad. I'd love it if Handoff worked with any app not just Apple ones. You might think it's niche I think it's super convenient.

 

[bugfaceuk]

Voice is a dead-end that will only ever be useful for the blind. It's one of the big minuses of the Apple Watch

Firstly, how something you don't use and otherwise doesn't get in your way can be a big minus I can't imagine.

Secondly, to your "only useful to the blind"... Reason enough for it to exist in my book then. Fingers crossed you never lose your sight.

 

[bushido]

am i the only one whos happy to NOT have to talk to technology after a day of work / classes? i got voice control on my fire tv and xbox but i have never used it, its just easier to use the remote imo. i dont feel like talking every so often.

i dont think i even have siri enabled on my iPhone 6. the only time i ever used it was to set an alarm. i just cant deal with talking to send messages. i spent twice as long correction what i actually wanted to say. may as well just type it.

siri please set an reminder "to eeeh uhm an reminder to buy groceries"

okay: "an reminder to buy groceries"

noooooo just groceries

okay "noooo just groceries"

f that

plus it aint multilingual so its utterly useless to me from the beginning

 

[ipedro]

Siri is far from perfect, but it has become useful enough to no longer be a novelty. Granted, we're not at the point of interacting with a human that can understand things like "Hey Siri, what was um, uh, that nifty drill bit index we saw at the hardware store?" ... "Oh that's right. Add it to the list for next time. No, actually, see if you can find it cheaper on Amazon, and if so, go ahead and order it for delivery to work by Tuesday if that's possible. Let me know."

Siri has gotten really good at ignoring "ahhh's" and "ummm's" and understanding "no, I meant". It's pretty impressive.

That said, I use Siri for almost everything on my Apple Watch and quite a bit on my iPhone.

It's the quickest way to get information on a subject and has killed the need for Googling something for all but the most obscure subjects. I ask something and Siri just straight up gives me the answer. No need to sift through pages suggested by Google where I might find the answer.

I use Siri to remind me of things (Remind me to dry the laundry when I get home), to set timers or alarms (Wake me up at 8am tomorrow... Never mind, wake me up at 9am instead).

Siri is also the best way to use Maps: "Take me home" or "Give me directions to my next meeting". Speaking of meetings: "Hey Siri, set a lunch appointment with Nadine on Friday at 1:30" ... "Hey, move lunch with Nadine to 2pm instead".

Siri is so fundamental to Apple that I expect that Apple Watch will eventually become a Siri device and take over iPhone's role as the ubiquitous personal computing device.

 

[sinsin07]

am i the only one whos happy to NOT have to talk to technology after a day of work / classes? i got voice control on my fire tv and xbox but i have never used it, its just easier to use the remote imo. i dont feel like talking every so often.

Not really a big deal. It's an option.

This is a repeated pattern here.

A feature exists.

People who don't want to use feature complain about it's existence.

Yet they are not forced to use said feature.

 

[RobertMartens]

WWDC is going to be jam packed.

It's actually be sold out for years.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Lol.
They don't have the content agreements in place to make anything other than the lame "watch crap like Hulu from a grid" that they currently have.
Also... NOBODY does. So....... your "getting pants beat off" statement is pretty asinine.
What current set top box allows users to cut ties with cable & pick and choose all their fave shows from any network, for a reasonable fee??
Oh yeah... none. There are NO compelling products in this space. NOBODY is winning in this area. NOBODY is "beating the pants off" anybody.
Cable is still the big unchallenged bully it has always been & it doesn't look like anyone has created a viable alternative.

If you think Apple is going to deliver what you are implying above, think again... unless your definition of "reasonable fee" is close to or higher than what you pay now. Nobody- Apple included- has interest in delivering everything we want at a huge discount. The math doesn't work except for us consumers locked upon a dream and ignoring the business realities.

What (I suspect) he's referring to is how much better other boxes are than TV in terms of content deals, etc. I own many TVs and think it's a GREAT product but there is clearly room for a lot of improvement relative to what even tiny competitors like Roku have been able to get done.

That said, anytime there are rumors of a new little box from Apple, I get excited. I hope they finally are going to take this thing seriously. If little players like Roku can seem to get to so much done, just think what the full muscle and innovation of Apple could accomplish if they would just get with it!

 

[Larry-K]

OH there it is!!! on my wrist!

Guess they need a "Find my Wrist" App, as well.

 

[chumpy34]

...noticed today at the local mall, there was a Coke vending machine so I thought I would try out my Apple Watch for paying. The machine had a sticker that said, cash/credit same price, so I thought this would include Apple Pay as Whole Foods, Foot Locker, etc. do not charge more for Apple Pay.

So the price of a 20 ounce Coke was $1.75 but when I used Apple Pay it billed me $2.25. Nice Anyone else experience this?

 

[JPSaltzman]

"…software AND hardware changes…."

Well, so much for that $17,000 gold rose Apple Edition's functionality.

This is why you should always wait for version 2 when Apple introduces a new product!

 

[dagamer34]

Do we not all believe that voice will be one of the primary input methods in the future? How does anyone expect to get to real-time voice interactions ala Star Trek if we don't have some pain first? Apple did not just suddenly jump from the Apple II to the iMac with Retina 5K Display in a single iteration. :roll eyes:

 

[sinsin07]

This is why you should always wait for version 2 when Apple introduces a new product!

Only if you can't afford it.

People who can afford it don't worry about what comes next.

They get that too.

 

[BillyTrimble]

Will Find My Watch work on the watch I ordered over a month ago that still isn't here yet?

Do you interpose your sadness at not having the watch yet in every conversation you have just to let people know you don't have your watch even though no one really cares? BTW, I have my watch. It's awesome. You'll possibly be happy if you get it. But you know how karma goes.

 

[Tech198]

i don't want technology telling ME when to stand up I already know that when my legs feels like it.. pushy technology...

I don't mind TVKit, but i wonder how clean all this will stay.

Find me watch and it alerting you u may have misplaced your iPhone too ? very

(unless bluetooth is disabled)

 

[ButteryScrollin]

It's actually be sold out for years.

huh?

 

[sinsin07]

i don't want technology telling ME when to stand up I already know that when my legs feels like it.. pushy technology...

I don't mind TVKit, but i wonder how clean all this will stay.

Another one.

No one is holding a gun to your head. Don't use the app, turn it off.

 

[alex2792]

Hopefully Apple can knock it out of the park with the new ATV. Mfi controller support and being able to use an iPhone or iPad as remote without the stupid home sharing junk is a must.

 

[usarioclave]

plus it aint multilingual so its utterly useless to me from the beginning

If you don't like it don't use it. Technology is funny that way - you actually have a choice to not buy it or use it.

 

[thefourthpope]

This comes up every time I see a discussion of the AppleTV. You can already hide channels. There are two ways to do it, both outlined here: http://www.imore.com/how-hide-channels-your-apple-tv-main-menu

(I actually only learned of the method from the main screen just now! I've always done it through the settings menu before!).

Other than that though I am totally in agreement, I REALLY want an updated AppleTV with an app store. They definitely need to step up their game there.

Thank you for sharing; this is great!

 

[indieshack]

Love this time of year...exciting times ahead.

Agreed. Getting the new ATV will be a no-brainer - looking forward to playing with the TVKit SDK and (perhaps) native watch app SDK.

 

[Bot4Hire]

Siri isn't just about dictation though. I'd like Siri to be able to do more things for me. When I'm in my car I'd love to be able to say 'hey Siri, play song [x] from my Spotify playlist. Siri can't do that because there's no 3rd party API. Or when I'm in the car and I ask Siri if the traffic is bad it doesn't tell me, it forces me to unlock my phone and then opens the maps app. How useful is that when driving?!? Why can't Siri tell me traffic looks good or traffic looks bad on [x] highway(s)? Or even better yet how about since my iPhone should know the route I drive to work every morning and about when I leave each day, providing me a notification when traffic is bad and telling me I might want to leave earlier or take a different route. This is about so much more than dictation.

As far as handoff goes I use it a lot (same with AirDrop). I might open a link on my phone, decide it's something I really want to read and use Handoff to pick it up on my iPad. I'd love it if Handoff worked with any app not just Apple ones. You might think it's niche I think it's super convenient.

You just described Google Now.
Sounds like you want an Android phone.

 

[Rogifan]

WSJ has a story up about Apple shelving plans for an actual TV set. Basically they couldn't find a compelling feature to make it worthwhile.

There's an interesting part about Apple working on a transparent TV that would project an image via lasers but it was scrapped due to the poor picture quality. Jony Ive does have a granted patent for fused glass. I wonder if that had something to do with this transparent TV idea.

http://tinyurl.com/n6osvty

----------

You just described Google Now.
Sounds like you want an Android phone.

No, I want Apple to make something as good or better than Google Now.

 

[CausticSoda]

I hate Siri, and now have it turned off at all times. The low point was when I was playing television from my iPhone, and Siri would "hear" something from the show and say, "Sorry, I didn't get that, are you looking for a weather map?", or whatever. This stopped the show, and I had to get up and go and deal with it. Yes, first world problems, I know, but it got so irritating that I shouted "Just f** off and go away", at which point it had the temerity to come back with, "Did I deserve that?" Had it been programmed more intelligently, on hearing words like that, it would turn itself off immediately with no more nonsense, instead of trying to be cute.

Enough is enough for me. Siri is off, and will stay off. When keyboards become redundant, voice recognition will have proved itself. We certainly aren't there yet.

 

[satcomer]

am i the only one whos happy to NOT have to talk to technology after a day of work / classes? i got voice control on my fire tv and xbox but i have never used it, its just easier to use the remote imo. i dont feel like talking every so often.

i dont think i even have siri enabled on my iPhone 6. the only time i ever used it was to set an alarm. i just cant deal with talking to send messages. i spent twice as long correction what i actually wanted to say. may as well just type it.

siri please set an reminder "to eeeh uhm an reminder to buy groceries"

okay: "an reminder to buy groceries"

noooooo just groceries

okay "noooo just groceries"

f that

plus it aint multilingual so its utterly useless to me from the beginning

How about telling Siri to play a certain Channel on the AapleTV starting at the time you get home? Wouldn't that be something you would like?

 

[mariusignorello]

Another one.

No one is holding a gun to your head. Don't use the app, turn it off.

No, you WILL use it an you will LIKE IT, or else, bad things.