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Siri capabilities on the watch

chfilm

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,451
2,133
Berlin
Hey,

any devs here who can tell me what sort of capabilities siri has on the watch?
Is it as limitted as on the iphone? our could 3rd party devs program an app that could actually be used via siri commands?

Like let's say you're doing something, using both hands, but can do the wrist movement and could say: hey siri, please open that app. and then inside the app give another command?
 
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I hope it has Siri hand-off.

Siri gets it right about 50% of the time, the correction suggestions make it right another 20% of the time, and the remaining 30%, I have to type corrections to my text. I can't see doing this on the watch, but it would be okay if I could pull out my phone to make the corrections.
 
I was just thinking it would be cool to have the possibility while let's say cooking, to rais the arm and say: set a timer for broccoli, 5 minutes. Then a bit later "set another timer for potatoes, 10 minutes. And so on.
Just multiple timers after another by just talking to the watch. Would be so cool!!
 
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rhyme said:
I hope it has Siri hand-off.

Siri gets it right about 50% of the time, the correction suggestions make it right another 20% of the time, and the remaining 30%, I have to type corrections to my text. I can't see doing this on the watch, but it would be okay if I could pull out my phone to make the corrections.
Click to expand...

Siri gets what I say correct all the time.

It's just getting used to WHAT siri can do, and what it can't do, is what people need to understand.

Ask, 'How are the bears doing?'

Siri will assume you mean the Chicago Bears NFL team and give their record or the NFC standings. It won't give you the latest Chicago Bear stories, nor tell you about how the polar bears are doing at the zoo.

Even if you ask 'How are the bears doing at the zoo?' siri will either STILL give you the Chicago Bears standings, or give you directions to the zoo. It will NOT tell you how the polar bear cubs are progressing at your local zoo. Unless you say 'Siri - search Google for how are the bears doing at the zoo?'

So, knowing that Siri just picks words out of sentences and doesn't care about the other words helps when understanding Siri.

(OK Google and Cortana do the same things)
 
chfilm said:
Ei was just thinking it would be cool to have the possibility while let's say cooking, to rais the arm and say: set a timer for broccoli, 5 minutes. Then a bit later "set another timer for potatoes, 10 minutes. And so on.
Just multiple timers after another by just talking to the watch. Would be so cool!!
Click to expand...

Can anyone confirm that Siri on the Watch can do this?

Thanks
 
I pretty much just want touch less voice control like the moto x. And according to the product site you activate Siri by just raising your wrist.
 
rhyme said:
I hope it has Siri hand-off.

Siri gets it right about 50% of the time, the correction suggestions make it right another 20% of the time, and the remaining 30%, I have to type corrections to my text. I can't see doing this on the watch, but it would be okay if I could pull out my phone to make the corrections.
Click to expand...

Well... to be honest. I just tested out Siri on my iPhone after a long time. It got about 90% right. I have to say it has improved a lot. Are you sure you spell words correctly and clear enough?

I'm definitely gonna use Siri on my Apple Watch.
 
chfilm said:
Ei was just thinking it would be cool to have the possibility while let's say cooking, to rais the arm and say: set a timer for broccoli, 5 minutes. Then a bit later "set another timer for potatoes, 10 minutes. And so on.
Just multiple timers after another by just talking to the watch. Would be so cool!!
Click to expand...

FrankySavvy said:
Can anyone confirm that Siri on the Watch can do this?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Most of the "control" functionality of Siri (setting timers and reminders, sending texts, etc) should be available on the watch since it's really just passing that info on to the phone to handle. We already know you can use Siri to dictate texts, so it seems obvious to me that the other control features would be available as well (it's so easy to implement that I would be shocked if it wasn't). Obviously not an official confirmation, but I feel pretty comfortable assuming that it will work.

The big question in my mind is how the watch handles Siri queries that return additional information (i.e., who won the big game last night).
 
chfilm said:
Hey,

any devs here who can tell me what sort of capabilities siri has on the watch?
Is it as limitted as on the iphone? our could 3rd party devs program an app that could actually be used via siri commands?

Like let's say you're doing something, using both hands, but can do the wrist movement and could say: hey siri, please open that app. and then inside the app give another command?
Click to expand...

"Hey Siri" only works when you already within the 'Siri enviroment.'

That's how it works on iPhone (When the phone isn't charging). After you have asked Siri a question, you can initiate a second question by starting with "Hey Siri."

I don't think the watch is always listening.
 
jabingla2810 said:
"Hey Siri" only works when you already within the 'Siri enviroment.'

That's how it works on iPhone (When the phone isn't charging). After you have asked Siri a question, you can initiate a second question by starting with "Hey Siri."

I don't think the watch is always listening.
Click to expand...

Nope - you just have to raise your wrist and say "Hey Siri" - nothing else is required.
 
chfilm said:
Ei was just thinking it would be cool to have the possibility while let's say cooking, to rais the arm and say: set a timer for broccoli, 5 minutes. Then a bit later "set another timer for potatoes, 10 minutes. And so on.
Just multiple timers after another by just talking to the watch. Would be so cool!!
Click to expand...

It was mentioned at one of the events that you can have multiple timers...
 
jabingla2810 said:
Well that is a pleasant surprise!
Click to expand...

Yea I am surprised this wasn't promoted more at the keynote. Being able to access siri when my hands are dirty/wet/full has been something I've wanted for awhile.

I know you can access siri when your iphone is plugged in, but leaves a lot to be wanted.
 
Dmaynard83 said:
Yea I am surprised this wasn't promoted more at the keynote. Being able to access siri when my hands are dirty/wet/full has been something I've wanted for awhile.

I know you can access siri when your iphone is plugged in, but leaves a lot to be wanted.
Click to expand...

Lol - yeah, generally why I want to access Siri hands-free it's when my hands are dirty and my phone is in my pocket...
 
jabingla2810 said:
"Hey Siri" only works when you already within the 'Siri enviroment.'

That's how it works on iPhone (When the phone isn't charging). After you have asked Siri a question, you can initiate a second question by starting with "Hey Siri."

I don't think the watch is always listening.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Siri is always listening on the watch once the screen is activated. Raise your wrist, you have Siri. That is how the website portrays it, and that looks like a killer feature.

Oops, I see someone else already addressed this. Sorry!
 
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chfilm said:
Really? That would be great! So we wouldn't need a dedicated app for that?
Click to expand...

No, I remember Tim Cook cheerfully announced at stage that you could have multiple timers (seemingly through the clock app), after a slide with a timer was shown. Believe it was the first event in September.
 
Skylitfly said:
Well... to be honest. I just tested out Siri on my iPhone after a long time. It got about 90% right. I have to say it has improved a lot. Are you sure you spell words correctly and clear enough?

I'm definitely gonna use Siri on my Apple Watch.
Click to expand...

For me, it gets about 90% of the words right, which means about 50% of the total messages. Some examples or recent errors:
I ask "What's the forecast for Lismore?" and she hears, "What's the forecast for Liz Moore?"
I ask "remind me to effort log", she hears "remind me to log"
I say "call Nathan", she hears "call Mason".

She has been improving over time, but remember that her proficiency still varies depending on language settings and accent. I have her set to Australian English and my accent is half-way between what's known as "standard Australian" and "cultivated Australian". I imagine that people with "broad Australian" accents have much lower success rates.
 
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