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Apple's 'Assistant' Seen as Key Feature for New iPhone Hardware

I've had voice dialing and commands ever since my Siemens phone 10 years ago, never used it...
 
scoobydoo99 said:
Apple has repeatedly stated that they strive to ensure a quality user experience. If additional processor workload has potential to slow down older iPhones, they might restrict the feature to only the newest hardware. Not because the older phones CAN'T run it, but because the experience would be degraded.

Why assume it "forces" an upgrade?? I don't understand this logic. You assume that your existing phone should be "future-proof" and capable of doing every new task that later iterations of the iPhone can do?? It does what you were promised when you bought it!

Many other consumer products (TVs, cars, etc.) get annual upgrades that make the new models more enticing/functional, yet you don't complain that you HAVE TO get a new car every year just because the new one now has 10 more horsepower and better cup holders!
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Next time quote my full comment if it helps clarify what you are trying to say.

I didn't say anything about needing to future proof anything. I am questioning how they are going to implement Nuance's technology that would require additional resources locally, when the API is almost completely network based.

I also said that if the have valid reasons and share those, I would be willing to accept, almost at face value. But, if they don't then there will be people saying it is only meant to force an upgrade, as we are already seeing in this thread. I didn't assume anything. You just didn't read my comment properly.

You entire argument is arguing against things I never wrote and further based on just really poor reasoning. If they add a lot of local logic to enhance the Nuance services, then that could justify some of the additional hardware requirements, but it would have to be fairly heavy local services. You argument is a bit like saying that you should get a new FM radio in your car simply a station changed from playing oldies to playing alt rock.

My full comment was:
Why would this require an A5 and 1GB of memory? Nuance's speech services are almost completely driven through their servers. Yes there will be some code that has to run locally, but the heavy lifting is all done remotely. Demo Dragon Go or Siri to see how Nuance's technology works.

If Apple or anyone else can provide a legitimate reason for requiring this be limited to A5, I'll probably accepted it (being too much of a fanboy) but Apple will get a ton of bad press over it. Unless the really explain the limitations, there is going to be a lot of people howling that the limitation is artificial and meant only to force upgrades. Same as what happened when iOS 4 turned iPhone 3G's into steaming piles of sludge immediately after upgrading.

I guess I might have the excuse I needed to upgrade. Should probably start looking into how much unlocked iP4's are selling for soon.
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mdelvecchio said:
er, the mere fact that iOS taxed the 3GS just serves to prove that modern & new mobile OSes require improved hardware. kinda ruined your own argument there....
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A subsequent upgrade improved the situation for 3G owners, so the 'requirements' that killed the 3G weren't really required. Additionally, there were features that seem like the could have been supported very easily by the 3G but were not.
 
mdelvecchio said:
er, the mere fact that iOS taxed the 3GS just serves to prove that modern & new mobile OSes require improved hardware. kinda ruined your own argument there....
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no, not really, but I admit he didn't communicate his point well. Apple has had the following hardware/software support for iPhone/iOS devices:

iPhone: 1 - 3
iPhone 3G: 2 - 4(partial)
iPhone 3GS: 3 - 4
iPhone 4: 3 - 4

The hidden problem above is that the iPhone and iPhone 3G are essentially the same hardware internally. Apple had no business releasing iOS 4 for the 3G. However, with increased hardware capacity with the 3GS and the iPhone 4, there is much less argument there for upgrades, and indeed they have run new software better (though I'm worried about Apple allowing iOS 5 to run on 3GS and how well it will perform).

Here's how I'd like to see the table look for future devices and OSes:

iPhone 3GS: 3-4
iPhone 4: 4-5
iPhone 4S/5: 5-6

See how much more streamlined it is? No more partial support. No wondering "does my device support that feature"? If it is included in the OS and your device can run the OS, then you have it. If you get the top of the line model when it comes out, you will get one free OS upgrade when the next model year comes out. If you get the cheap model (current 3GS), then you shouldn't expect an OS upgrade (except for security updates of course).
 
medazinol said:
I, for one, look forward to this feature. I drive a lot and we have hands-free legislation so voice-control of this nature is really going to help me work while I commute.
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I'm pretty sure that hands free voicecontrol of phones is turning out, based on increasingly large numbers of studies, as being just as distracting to drivers as talking on phone with one hand on the phone. And this level of distraction is also turning out to be about as dangerous as drunk driving. So keep in mind that while you "work" during your commute, you have basically decided to become a drunk driver every day. :eek:

I hope you wear your seatbelt! :)
 
Reach9 said:
This will be the One More Thing..
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I don't know if Cook will do that schtick or leave it for Jobs. If Jobs makes an appearance, maybe. Personally, I think the breadth of the featureset they could enable through this is going to be to large to summarize in a quick 'One more thing'.

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Goratrix said:
I've had voice dialing and commands ever since my Siemens phone 10 years ago, never used it...
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Maybe that's why Apple is going to do it better. They have a habit of taking features and ideas that other have done badly (resulting in low/no adoption and usage) and redeveloping it in a way that makes it innovative and usable.
 
OptyCT said:
LMAO at all the people who think Assistant is just another speech-to-text app. Reading the full article over at "9to5", it seems to be a whole lot more than that. If it works as advertised, it will be a game changer with regards to the way we use our phones.
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Yes, if works as advertised. But we all have a long history of speech recognition software not being very useful. Very few folks use that type of service in their day to day life. I have dragon dictation on my current phone, probably for more than six months now. It is neat but I have never used it for a real purpose.

But Apple might be the one to crack this nut!
 
deftdrummer said:
Are you ****** kidding me!? I won't be able to use voice to text with my regular iPhone 4?

Man, I was just waiting for the killer feature that would only be able to work on iPhone 5 to crop up, but I didn't think it would be this. Dang it.
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Don't be fooled... the killer feature for the iPhone 5 (and this is top secret..) is that it does your laundry and rubs your back :)
 
cere said:
Maybe that's why Apple is going to do it better. They have a habit of taking features and ideas that other have done badly (resulting in low/no adoption and usage) and redeveloping it in a way that makes it innovative and usable.
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It's still "talking to your phone". Something that simply doesn't make sense for most people. It's the same as Facetime. Most of us smartphone users in Europe had front-facing cameras and cheap videocalling available for 5 years before Apple introduced it, and it has never caught on, and neither has Facetime.
 
cere said:
A subsequent upgrade improved the situation for 3G owners, so the 'requirements' that killed the 3G weren't really required. Additionally, there were features that seem like the could have been supported very easily by the 3G but were not.
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no, the fact that apple had to re-write the iOS4 code for 3G in order to make it usable just iterates what was originally said -- cutting edge software often requires cutting edge hardware. 3G clearly could not hang w/ iOS4, and thus they refactored it to work better. which, again, iterates the point -- newer OSes w/ new features will often require newer hardware. this has always been the case, will always be the case.

the features that seem like they could have worked easily were things like the wallpaper -- which was explained quite well. for ex: iOS4 wallpaper has a dropshadow blur radius around each homescreen icon, which allows them to be seen clearly over the background image. this effect is intensive and again, the 3G could not hang. jailbroken phones technically could show a wallpaper image, but w/o the dropshadow it didnt look as good as iOS4's native implementation.

remember, Apple has always been about superior UIX. if it doesnt work well, theyd rather not do it at all.
 
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Goratrix said:
It's still "talking to your phone". Something that simply doesn't make sense for most people. It's the same as Facetime. Most of us smartphone users in Europe had front-facing cameras and cheap videocalling available for 5 years before Apple introduced it, and it has never caught on, and neither has Facetime.
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You must be mistaken - FaceTime is revolutionary. Apple said so ;) Just like Apple created cut and paste on a mobile device... ;)
 
cere said:
Why would this require an A5 and 1GB of memory? Nuance's speech services are almost completely driven through their servers. Yes there will be some code that has to run locally, but the heavy lifting is all done remotely. Demo Dragon Go or Siri to see how Nuance's technology works.

If Apple or anyone else can provide a legitimate reason for requiring this be limited to A5, I'll probably accepted it (being too much of a fanboy) but Apple will get a ton of bad press over it. Unless the really explain the limitations, there is going to be a lot of people howling that the limitation is artificial and meant only to force upgrades. Same as what happened when iOS 4 turned iPhone 3G's into steaming piles of sludge immediately after upgrading.

I guess I might have the excuse I needed to upgrade. Should probably start looking into how much unlocked iP4's are selling for soon.
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I have a guess, but an educated guess.

Apple's big on "It just works". For the voice interaction to "Just work" as you describe, Apple, and it's users, would be limited to areas with WiFi or 3G. I think Apple wants this system to work even when the phone can't connect to 3G. Now, can a dual-core A5 with 1GB ram do all of this as seamlessly as the apps you describe do via remote servers? We won't know (if this is even the case) until there's a shipping product to test and review.

I suspect there will be two levels of voice features. Slightly upgraded voice control, available on any iPhone that will run iOS 5, and the "Assistant" level features likely limited to the new iPhone 5/4S...

Just a guess.. But, I think a very good guess.
 
Goratrix said:
I've had voice dialing and commands ever since my Siemens phone 10 years ago, never used it...
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Because it sucked?

iOS's current voice rec is rather horrible. I personally never use it because it is horrible.

If this new implementation is actually very good, accurate, etc -- then it's worth giving it a shot! :D
 
danielowenuk said:
I can't really see this being an iphone 4s/5 feature.

It's already clear that the 4 will get IOS5 - FACT

Apple have made it clear that IOS 5 will have ;

VoiceOver action support
Option to speak text selection
VoiceOver item chooser

I can't see them making these iphone4s/5 exclusive otherwise they would have saved them for the iphone announcement rather than announcing it in the IOS5 keynote.
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I suspect that there will be two levels of voice improvements in iOS 5. The first, will include all of what you list above, and will run on any iOS device that supports iOS5. The interactive "Assistant" features will likely be limited to iOS devices w/ the A5 chip.
 
jwdsail said:
I have a guess, but an educated guess.

Apple's big on "It just works". For the voice interaction to "Just work" as you describe, Apple, and it's users, would be limited to areas with WiFi or 3G. I think Apple wants this system to work even when the phone can't connect to 3G. Now, can a dual-core A5 with 1GB ram do all of this as seamlessly as the apps you describe do via remote servers? We won't know (if this is even the case) until there's a shipping product to test and review.

I suspect there will be two levels of voice features. Slightly upgraded voice control, available on any iPhone that will run iOS 5, and the "Assistant" level features likely limited to the new iPhone 5/4S...

Just a guess.. But, I think a very good guess.
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Probably a good guess. I am sure that there is lots that Apple would like to work without a network connection. But, the hardware required to really do it well would be monstrous. This is why Nuance is moving things to the cloud. Even without the compute requirements, looking at Siri as the basis, it was much more than voice control. It was a voice controlled concierge. While there is a lot it could do for you, if it had to, without a network connection, much of it's utility was derived from having access to online services (even ignoring the remote speech analysis).
 
Lepton said:
That's the current setup, but what if they could do it in the phone itself? Not possible? Perhaps not, but I don't think a hybrid system is out of the question.

Note current phones, even old ones, already have good built-in, speaker independent voice recognition. You can make calls and control the iPod software. How does it do that? By severely limiting the vocabulary - you can only say a few things. But consider the hardware difference between the first iPhones that had that system, and the iPhone 5 with a much, much faster, dual core CPU. I bet they could expand the vocabulary by a LOT at this point.

Still, you surely can't do the virtually unlimited dictation allowed by the server-based system. But you could probably do plenty. Add recognition of dates and times, and specific commands for the built in apps, and so on, all able to be done right in the phone even without Internet connections. It's likely you could send things like address book names and addresses to the Net for preprocessing and keep that data in the phone so it could recognize those items as well, offline. For the final touch, when you do have an Internet connection, send commands to the server when doing general dictation.

Some kind of hybrid system using iPhone 5 hardware could be powerful when the Internet is not available, and awesome when it is.
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Ding ding ding!

This would be the only *good* reason I can think of to limit the "Assistant" features to the iPhone 5/4S. To free the feature from being limited to areas w/ internet access.. Assuming the A5 is powerful enough...

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Roessnakhan said:
I don't understand (well I understand because its what Apple does) why it won't work on the iPhone 4 - considering Android devices have had similar voice recognition working for a while now (with lesser specs than the iPhone 4).
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Again, the rumor isn't that the voice commands (slightly improved over iOS 4) will require any speed bump..

The rumor is that the "Assistant" level voice interaction will require the A5.. I suspect that this is to allow the feature to work when the device isn't connected to the internet, so the features won't require a connection to remote servers doing the heavy lifting...
 
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Seriously? This is one of the features of iOS 5 that I was really looking forward to having on my iPhone 4 (can't upgrade til late next year). Well, hopefully it'll be something that can be "unlocked" by jailbreaking.

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Goratrix said:
I've had voice dialing and commands ever since my Siemens phone 10 years ago, never used it...
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The iPhone has voice control built in right now. This article is about the voice-to-text conversion.
 
tasset said:
That is Apple's M.O. Every year iterate a couple hardware features (better camera, better connectivity) and a couple software features that "can't" be ran on previous gen devices. See: MMS, the original voice control, tethering, even for god's sakes wallpaper on the 3G. Jailbreaking has proven these features are perfectly functional with existing hardware.
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Maybe if instead of using servers its actually done on the phone. Any some of that stuff while yes doable on older hardware, it was abysmal and Apple doesn't like abysmal.

The wallpapers required more compositing than it did before. So that's a pretty big speed hit. MMS, no clue - maybe more memory. Voice Control is done via hardware so.., tethering is based on speed too as it requires running an extra router in software and those are not CPU lenient.
 
See I knew they would have nuance speech restricted only to the iPhone 5, its the classic "we didn't like the performance" bit. I was hoping this wouldn't be the wow factor advertised in the new iPhone. O well
 
destroyboredom said:
This sounds interesting.

As a side note. I find it humorous that people doubt a re-designed iPhone because the lack of part leaks, yet the original iPhone was kept under wraps forever without issue. After last year's fiasco I'm sure they are doing everything they can to hide this thing until keynote day.
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You are totally right, making a handful of prototypes for the original iPhone press conference in a lab in CA is the same as having millions of iPhone 5 ready for a launch week or two after this coming press conference made in a chinese factory with hundreds of workers that would sell or leak anything for a quick buck.

Same thing :)
 
tharoc said:
Nuance is ok but not essential....Give me a faster processor, better battery life and a 4" screen and I'm happy...
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^^^^ that is the bottom line.. but it seams like we will not get that .. instead apple wants to "wow" / distract us with fancy soft ware that is too good fro the iphone 4...llo...lol we have heard that before and as soon as we jailbreak and flip a switch we will have all the features working on iphone 4 ...

apple you better give us a redesign and a bigger screen or you will be sorry...

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Dr Kevorkian94 said:
See I knew they would have nuance speech restricted only to the iPhone 5, its the classic "we didn't like the performance" bit. I was hoping this wouldn't be the wow factor advertised in the new iPhone. O well
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one word... JAILBREAK
 
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