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I dispute the claim that this tech has been around for years. Speech
Recognition in Android is nowhere near comparable.

Back in 2008 when I bought my first iPhone (iPhone 3G), there were a slew of phones (running Windows Mobile) that had this feature. I was on Sprint at the time and decided to change to AT&T the get the iPhone. This was back before the first Android phone was even released. From what I can recall, this feature worked fairly well.

As for you last sentence, "comparable" to what exactly?
 
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andiwm2003 said:
so if this AI was so revolutionary why did it not get implemented in desktop computers first? why is it implemented in the devices with the least processing power first?

i guess we will be very underwhelmed with this feature........

Because a portable device is where it would have the most impact and usefulness. It is literally an assisstant that goes where you go.
 
Voice Commands + Speech Recognition ≠ AI Personal Assistant

I doubt it will be an actual "AI" that "lives in the phone" though. That implies it can be all things to all people, and I certainly don't buy that guys hyperbole. He was the creator after all. It's easy to believe in your own hype just a bit too much.

How often would this be used anyway? The things people are saying here implies that it would be one of the most powerful pieces of software EVER devised. Yet, the Siri app on the app store has 3.5 stars at this point. That would suggest it's far from "great". Of course Apple has been working on it a bit since that version was posted, but still...do people REALLY think Apple has some kind of world beating AI/Voice recognition system waiting in the wings to be announced tomorrow? I'm sure it will be cool, but Apple is a tiny tiny fraction of the tech world. I seriously doubt they are going to reveal something we haven't seen before in some fashion, it will just be more tightly integrated into the device.

From my personal perspective, I never want to be seen talking AT a device in public. Either way we will see tomorrow, but I imagine the rhetoric will be bigger than the reality.
 
I don't understand what's the deal with the "talking to a phone in public"? Who'd have thought 15 years ago that people will talk to a box in public? Hasn't anyone ever had a conversation on their mobile phone at an airport, mall etc.? Or do all the people complaining about this use their mobile phone only when they're alone/in their car?

Even people need to change along with technology.

Fact is, people may not choose to share their private phone doings with the public, but many attention seekers will do exactly that.

I don't want to hear about your crappy life unless it affects me.
 
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That is the point. You don't have to learn the commands. You will speak to your phone in normal English and it will be able to accomplish what you want.

How people dont see this as a revolutionary change is beyond me but it will be the talk of most media by tomorrow afternoon.

I understand your point.

I hold the view (and I think others do as well) that all voice commands that I've ever used are very lacking, very much so including the iPhones.

I have my doubts that apple will release an "AI" that could easily understand complicated speech and deliver accurate information is efficient ways. I understand the ability of Apple, and I will not be surprised if they prove they were up to the task tomorrow.

BUT, I will also not be surprised if it still is limited enough that it can't be considered the first true personal AI.

If it is a balla AI, Apple will have done it again!
 
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thejadedmonkey said:
I still don't understand how this differs from WP7...

"Call Molly"

Molly Smith or Molly Doe?

"Smith"

Home or mobile?

"Cell"

Calling Molly Smith, Mobile


Of course I could have just said "Call Molly Smith Cell" and saved a lot of needless back-and-forth between me and my phone.

Because here you will say, "please send Joe the entin file abd let my wife know I will be home late tonight. Also confirm lunch with Steve and remind me to pick up my prescriptions on the way home."

It will them take that and assist you in doing all of it. This is not your dads voice recognition.
 
Well here's your reason to buy the new phone. I can't understand why it won't work on the i4...
 
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Because a portable device is where it would have the most impact and usefulness. It is literally an assisstant that goes where you go.

And does what for you? What is it assisting you with? Is it buying your groceries for you? Running errands? I don't need voice additions to the Calendar, I don't even use the built in Calendar because it's not that great. So will it work with all apps, everywhere? (No, it won't). What is the "real" AI component? It appears to basically offer search from voice commands.
 
I can already picture the Starbucks crowd asking it for directions to the closest Louis Vuitton store to look even more pretentious but never actually going
 
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Mjmar said:
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Am I the only one who thinks this is a big deal? Much bigger than a .5" addition to a screen.

Since google and Microsoft will be scrambling to copy it in the next 12-18 months, I think it will be a big deal. Also explains the delay.
 
Call me skeptical but I don't think a software featured is going to drive gazillions of sales to a phone that looks identical to existing models. The average consumer likes Apple because their products are sexy and it's easy to tell them apart, an iPhone 4S with some new software is too geeky to differentiate for the average Joe.

Yeah, I hear the "new" MacBook Airs were a miserable failure at back-to-school time. :rolleyes:
 
I thought this, then I was walking down main street looking for my friend. He told me what restaurant he was parked by, but I wasn't quite sure what block it was on.

I had to:
1. open entertainment folder
2. open yelp, wait for it to load
3. Type in the restaurant, let it search
4. Select the restaurant
5. click directions to business

an alternative route would be google, but that would still take multiple steps and I chose yelp.

OR:
1. "Assistant, where is the restaurant?"

I was by myself on a social street, and wouldn't have felt awkward.


You might feel a little awkward saying the same name over and over to your iPhone at increased volume levels as it continued to offer directions to the wrong restaurant.

Voice command has never been reliable enough for me, and I'm skeptical that this version will be any different. It can have all the functionality in the world, but if it can't correctly recognize my words 9 out of 10 times then it's just not something I'll use. For example, using voice command to select music is terrible, almost worthless unless you physically can't reach the phone (while jogging, or if you're strapped to a chair with a time bomb).
 
you: look up closest medical clinic
assistant: what is your ailment?
you: I think I have genital herpes
assistant: I'm sorry I could not hear you, please repeat
you: genital herpes
assistant: can you please repeat that, I still did not hear you
you: genital herpes
assistant: one more time please
you: DAMMIT I SAID I HAVE GENITAL HERPES
(crowd around you stares)
 
Back in 2008 when I bought my first iPhone (iPhone 3G), there were a slew of phones (running Windows Mobile) that had this feature. I was on Sprint at the time and decided to change to AT&T the get the iPhone. This was back before the first Android phone was even released. From what I can recall, this feature worked fairly well.

As for you last sentence, "comparable" to what exactly?

sIt works beyond well on android phones(even the cheap ones)...But these people think the voice command thing on the iphone now is grander so don't expect much from hater's....I guess i will wait til the next nexus to come out
 
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Because here you will say, "please send Joe the entin file abd let my wife know I will be home late tonight. Also confirm lunch with Steve and remind me to pick up my prescriptions on the way home."

It will them take that and assist you in doing all of it. This is not your dads voice recognition.

I highly doubt it will be that capable. The Siri app doesn't function like that at all. Do you honestly think you can tell your phone "send Joe the file" and it will know exactly what file, via what protocol (we would assume email I guess), and to the specific Joe you want (you didn't specify a last name)? I think there would be HUGE BUZZ around tech like this. You're greatly overstating things.
 
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Because here you will say, "please send Joe the entin file abd let my wife know I will be home late tonight. Also confirm lunch with Steve and remind me to pick up my prescriptions on the way home."

It will them take that and assist you in doing all of it. This is not your dads voice recognition.

What's funny is that you keep asserting information as if it were fact and you know exactly how it will work. And then you use that "against" people as if it's an argument.

ALL SPECULATION. You have NO idea what or how it's going to work and what it's capable of. So for anyone saying it will be amazing - it's just as OK for someone to say "meh"

Start your preaching tomorrow after the announcement. Until then - you're opinion isn't worth any more or any less.
 
I thought this, then I was walking down main street looking for my friend. He told me what restaurant he was parked by, but I wasn't quite sure what block it was on.

I had to:
1. open entertainment folder
2. open yelp, wait for it to load
3. Type in the restaurant, let it search
4. Select the restaurant
5. click directions to business

an alternative route would be google, but that would still take multiple steps and I chose yelp.

OR:
1. "Assistant, where is the restaurant?"

I was by myself on a social street, and wouldn't have felt awkward.

You can already do something similar in Windows Phone though, and I would guess Android has similar functionality.
 
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Because here you will say, "please send Joe the entin file abd let my wife know I will be home late tonight. Also confirm lunch with Steve and remind me to pick up my prescriptions on the way home."

It will them take that and assist you in doing all of it. This is not your dads voice recognition.

A good example of what I figure (or hope) the Assistant will be. And if it's really what I figure it is, it'll will be another ground-breaking game-changing feature/device.
 
Once Tim Cook demonstrates that the new virtual assistant makes using an iPhone like the Star Trek computer, AAPL will shoot up instantly to $400.

The computer on Star Trek worked the way it did because it was dramatically expedient -- it was easier to have a character interact with the computer orally (where the audience could hear what he was doing and hear the outcome in the computer voice) as opposed to via a keyboard or touch-screen where there would have to be dialogue explaining what was going on -- creating long and awkward scenes of characters monologuing about their computer actions.

Voice tech is impractical in the real world. The ability to do everything Siri / Assistant does has been around for over a decade -- it doesn't exist because there is no consumer demand for it. People prefer using mice and keyboards / touch screens.
 
I thought this, then I was walking down main street looking for my friend. He told me what restaurant he was parked by, but I wasn't quite sure what block it was on.

I had to:
1. open entertainment folder
2. open yelp, wait for it to load
3. Type in the restaurant, let it search
4. Select the restaurant
5. click directions to business

an alternative route would be google, but that would still take multiple steps and I chose yelp.

OR:
1. "Assistant, where is the restaurant?"

I was by myself on a social street, and wouldn't have felt awkward.

Ironically, needing many steps (or apps) to accomplish a simple task is one of the major flaws of iOS. The apps do not work together seamlessly and seemingly menial tasks end up taking many steps using many apps. Apple manufactured this "problem" by undercooking iOS and leaving developers to fill in the many holes (which they've done excellently, btw) with sandboxed apps that don't seamlessly work together. So, now Apple's the hero for finally cleaning up their own mess?
 
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Lennholm said:
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I have been saying this... People comparing this to google voice commands in android simply dont understand what this is.

You will literally talk to your phone like it is your human assistant and it will be able to parse from that and execute a massive number of behaviors.

This will be see new cutting edge technology not previously seen in consumer devices.

No one (outside Apple) understands what this is, not me, not you, not anyone. All we have are unconfirmed rumors and in this specific case, someone boasting his formerly own technology without having any knowledge about what Apple has done with it for the last two years.
As the quotes in the article indicates, he, just as every one else, can only guess what development has taken place since his own last, official release.

Wrong. We have been hearing about this technology for a while.
 
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Because here you will say, "please send Joe the entin file abd let my wife know I will be home late tonight. Also confirm lunch with Steve and remind me to pick up my prescriptions on the way home."

It will them take that and assist you in doing all of it. This is not your dads voice recognition.

I am dying to know what kind of voice recognition breakthrough Apple and Siri have made that would allow your phone to correctly recognize this sentence in the first try. Given millions of people who speak differently, many of whom barely have control over the english language themselves, I find it hard to believe the sentence you describe above would be accomplished using voice recognition in a smaller amount of time than it would take to do it manually.

I can see it now.....

"please send joe the entin file and let my wife know i will be home late tonight"

"police end rank'n file inlet wifi know I welcome eight tonight"
 
not to the extent proposed, no, no they're dont.

To the extent proposed? Care to give me a link to what Apple is officially claiming this can or cannot do? Knowing Apple, they're likely to severely castrate this feature.
 
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