Will Siri eventually be able to translate speech to text locally?

[mrat93]

I know that there's no definite answer, and Siri is still in beta, but does anybody see this feature in the near future? iOS 3 and 4 had it to some degree with Voice Control. I asked Siri to call my friend earlier, and it was unable to connect to the network, so it didn't work. It would have worked on iOS 3 and 4, though.

Do you think this is a priority for Apple?

 

[BlizzardBolt]

Really?

So ice cream sandwich converts speech to text without an internet connection?

 

[r.j.s]

It isn't really the conversion that requires the internet connection - it's because siri determines what you mean, rather than exactly what you say.

Without the internet, you'd have to revert to specific commands - rather than natural language.

 

[appleguy123]

I know that there's no definite answer, and Siri is still in beta, but does anybody see this feature in the near future? Android does it. Even iOS 3 and 4 had it to some degree with Voice Control. I asked Siri to call my friend earlier, and it was unable to connect to the network, so it didn't work. It would have worked on iOS 3 and 4, though.

Do you think this is a priority for Apple?

How were you planning on making a phone call without bars?

I would like Siri to work locally too, mainly to it would work faster when I'm in low bar areas to just transcribe text.

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It isn't really the conversion that requires the internet connection - it's because siri determines what you mean, rather than exactly what you say.

Without the internet, you'd have to revert to specific commands - rather than natural language.

Then why doesn't text transcription work locally?

 

[r.j.s]

Then why doesn't text transcription work locally?

Because it would be inconsistent for the user. How would the phone determine when you want it to do something or when you just want text?

 

[BlizzardBolt]

Because it would be inconsistent for the user. How would the phone determine when you want it to do something or when you just want text?

There should be an option from start to go down either path. Speech to text is ideal for writing documents on the go without a connection.

By the way one of the best signatures I have seen in months

 

[r.j.s]

There should be an option from start to go down either path. Speech to text is ideal for writing documents on the go without a connection.

It would be nice, but I don't really see it happening ... this is Apple.

By the way one of the best signatures I have seen in months

I know, right. I'm awesome.

 

[mrat93]

Really?

So ice cream sandwich converts speech to text without an internet connection?

My bad. I was wrong about this. Will edit original post.

It isn't really the conversion that requires the internet connection - it's because siri determines what you mean, rather than exactly what you say.

Without the internet, you'd have to revert to specific commands - rather than natural language.

True, but perhaps Apple should include the old Voice Control feature as a backup for basic commands like calling people when Siri isn't working.

How were you planning on making a phone call without bars?

I had full bars, but for some reason, Siri couldn't connect. Happens to me once every few days or so. Not a HUGE issue, but annoying nonetheless.

 

[appleguy123]

Because it would be inconsistent for the user. How would the phone determine when you want it to do something or when you just want text?

I'm actually talking about the microphone icon on the keyboard. I understand why Siri would be a networked app.

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True, but perhaps Apple should include the old Voice Control feature as a backup for basic commands like calling people when Siri isn't working.

It does, in the settings. Just turn Siri off and voice controls works in its stead.

 

[BlizzardBolt]

My bad. I was wrong about this. Will edit original post.



True, but perhaps Apple should include the old Voice Control feature as a backup for basic commands like calling people when Siri isn't working.



I had full bars, but for some reason, Siri couldn't connect. Happens to me once every few days or so. Not a HUGE issue, but annoying nonetheless.

ICS supposedly brought better speech to text integration, was really hoping that it would't require a data connection

 

[mrat93]

It does, in the settings. Just turn Siri off and voice controls works in its stead.

Well, yeah, but it takes half as much time to make a phone call through the Phone app than it would take to turn of Siri in Settings.

I'm imagining it where if the phone cannot connect to Siri for whatever reason, it tries to execute the command in Voice Control.

 

[appleguy123]

Well, yeah, but it takes half as much time to make a phone call through the Phone app than it would take to turn of Siri in Settings.

I'm imagining it where if the phone cannot connect to Siri for whatever reason, it tries to execute the command in Voice Control.

That would really be confusing to users. Because voice control revolves around preset commands, and doesn't have AI. This would tarnish Siri's satisfaction among people who often don't have bars.

Plus, let's just face it; voice control sucked!

 

[mrat93]

That would really be confusing to users. Because voice control revolves around preset commands, and doesn't have AI. This would tarnish Siri's satisfaction among people who often don't have bars.

Plus, let's just face it; voice control sucked!

It wouldn't be confusing if it were all automatic:

User: "Call John Doe."

*Takes a while to connect."

Siri: "Hold on a second..."

*Cannot connect.*

*Checks to see if command can be executed in Voice Control (While still showing Siri.)*

If it can:
Siri: "Calling John Doe."

If it can't:
Siri: "I am having trouble connecting to the network."