Siri Hard Button

[ks-man]

The more I read about Siri the more I feel there should have been a new hard button to activate it. I'm not sure if Apple is going to use the hold the home button to activate it or not, but even that takes an extra 1.5 seconds to activate and the key to Siri being useful is to accomplish tasks quickly.

A small hard button (maybe on top) where you can tap it once when the phone is unlocked or double tap it if locked (to prevent pocket clicks) would make it more useful and quicker. Siri is the ideal answer to not texting while driving. For that to work well you need a hard button to activate it.

Maybe I'm being too quick to judge on this as we'll wait and see how it works in practice, but all the videos of it show an individual with his/her finger tapping the microphone of Siri and sometimes missing it and needing to tap it again. Siri is about changing the input device from touch to voice so why require touch to be so prevalent in it's functionality?

Maybe the iPhone 5 will have a voice activated Siri even from the lock screen "Siri, please wake up...."

 

[Sith Vol]

Wish they could have somehow incorporated the lower volume button, like a setting in the phone where if you press it twice Siri activates. That home button is going to be taking a lot of abuse.

 

[Gatteau]

Wish they could have somehow incorporated the lower volume button, like a setting in the phone where if you press it twice Siri activates. That home button is going to be taking a lot of abuse.

That can be done in a iOS patch. I like the idea.

 

[Harvey Specter]

You can choose to activate it by raising it up to your face, which you would do anyway to use it.

 

[Gatteau]

You can choose to activate it by raising it up to your face, which you would do anyway to use it.

That should be epic!

 

[paulcdb]

Screw the buttons, I'd rather just have to say something like "Siri", "Siri, Wake up you lazy **" or similar

No buttons, no faffing about!

 

[Gatteau]

Screw the buttons, I'd rather just have to say something like "Siri", "Siri, Wake up you lazy **" or similar

No buttons, no faffing about!

Or give it a name, then you'd be like, "Hey, Siri.."

 

[haticK]

Siri, make me a sandwich.
Yes master!

 

[Gatteau]

Siri, make me a sandwich.
Yes master!

You: "Siri, make me a sandwich."
Siri: *places order..*
Siri: "Here's your tracking number."

 

[ks-man]

You can choose to activate it by raising it up to your face, which you would do anyway to use it.

Think about using it while driving where there are hands free laws. Raising it to your face isn't always a great solution.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Watching the videos, I think it's going to be fine. It's the same action as activating voice control on the iPhone 4, which has not been a big deal (I use it a LOT). Plus it will activate with a single tap on a Bluetooth or wired headset.

If they wanted to add a dedicated button, camera would be my choice - on the right side, at the bottom, so you can hold the phone more naturally (home button to the right, lens at top left) and have a hard shutter button.

 

[LagFighter]

Think about using it while driving where there are hands free laws. Raising it to your face isn't always a great solution.

You don't have to use it that way. You can use the FaceTime posture as well.

That said, I think the most popular option will be usage with bluetooth headsets. Can't wait to use this with my Jawbone.

 

[ks-man]

You don't have to use it that way. You can use the FaceTime posture as well.

That said, I think the most popular option will be usage with bluetooth headsets. Can't wait to use this with my Jawbone.

What is the FaceTime posture?

As more and more cars support bluetooth through the car's internal system I have to imagine headsets in cars have been declining. I haven't used one in my last two cars.

 

[Sith Vol]

You can choose to activate it by raising it up to your face, which you would do anyway to use it.

Forgot about that.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Apple tries to remove buttons not add them

 

[F123D]

I bet there will be a way to do this with jailbreaking. Press and hold down volume button or something..

 

[mrsir2009]

Thats a good idea. I wonder if they'll make it legal to use Siri while driving...

 

[ks-man]

Thats a good idea. I wonder if they'll make it legal to use Siri while driving...

It's still legal to talk to a co-passenger. How long before some Apple....fanboy, creates an inflatable female with an opening for their iPhone and calls her Siri? If she's sitting in the passenger seat it would have to be legal to talk to her, right?

 

[saccento]

i would love for it to be below the dock. swipe up similar to the new notification center.

 

[vitzr]

Wish they could have somehow incorporated the lower volume button, like a setting in the phone where if you press it twice Siri activates. That home button is going to be taking a lot of abuse.

Apples pretty good about silently correcting problems with their products each time they're refreshed. Hopefully they've incorporated a higher quality home button this time around.

I am very clean, careful, and vigilant about keeping dirt & debris away from the home button on my iPhones. Not until the Antennagate Special have I ever experienced button failures. I'm on my fourth iP4, all replaced by the local Apple store after confirming my home buttons failed completely.

I must say it's difficult having a phone that stops working when the button fails. Since this is so common I want to believe Apples fixed it, but only time will tell.

The saving grace for me is that I always carry an iPhone & an Android. This is the best solution of all. Two lines are not that much more expensive than one.