Apple is keeping its string of device reveals going, first revealing a pair of new iPads on Monday and then updating its line of iMacs yesterday. Though some rumors claimed that we'd see a new iPod Touch today, we're actually getting a new pair of AirPods. An AirPods follow-up has been rumored for quite some time, so the fact that we're seeing them now shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.
Apple seems to want to expand the speed at which Siri is implemented in 3rd-party products. At least that's what it'd seem, given their acquisition of the group called Pullstring. This group is in the business of assisting with the building and designing of voice apps for physical products. Oh, they've got their own conversational AI, too.
Apple has experienced a big change behind closed doors, at least according to a recent report citing insider sources. According to the leakers, Apple's now-former Siri lead Bill Stasior, who joined Apple from Amazon in 2012, has been moved to a different part of the company. In his place is reportedly John Giannandrea, Apple's machine learning and AI strategy senior vice president.
Today brought the release of iOS 12.2 beta 1 for developers, and with it came a new feature: a 'Hey Siri' interface believed to be for the upcoming (and unofficial) AirPods 2. The setup screen is said to appear when setting up the device, enabling users to summon Siri using AirPods in addition to an iPhone and the 'Hey Siri' phrase. The feature's appearance indicates the next AirPods iteration is near.
There might be an overabundance of connected appliances these days but not all of them speak the same language. For that, you would need a gateway that would act as a hub and translator for the myriad connected products you may have at home. Although its name doesn’t always come up in IoT news, abode’s gateway is one of those that can speak multiple languages and integrate with multiple AI assistants. And with the abode Gen 2 gateway, it is getting more capable with the promise of one important integration coming soon.
Loup Ventures has published its annual smart speaker IQ test results, revealing how the four big personal assistant AIs performed when asked 800 questions each. Compared to the previous year, three products saw the biggest gain in IQ points and were able to answer a substantially higher percentage of questions versus 2017. However, Google Assistant still beat them all across the board.
Siri may be a mainstay of Apple devices, but if you're a fan of the Google Assistant there's now a sneaky workaround to tap into that instead. Google's Assistant has until now been far more clunky to interact with on iPhone and iPad than on Android, but support for Siri Shortcuts cuts out a lot of the headache.
VW and Siri are ganging up to remotely control your car, with Apple's voice assistant now able to start and stop the engine, set the climate control, and more. The update brings Siri Shortcuts to the VW Car-Net App, which works with compatible Volkswagen infotainment systems in models like the Tiguan crossover.
Remember when Apple acquired Beats by Dre, and they suddenly cornered the headphones market worldwide? Since that happened, the company released a pair of wireless earbuds - not Beats earbuds, but Apple-branded. It's not as though Beats was ever the biggest brand in earbuds, but still - now Apple sells their own earbuds in the same store as Beats brand audio equipment. Now it would seem that Apple's readying themselves to release their own version of the Beats flagship: over-ear headphones.
Wemo's WiFi Smart Dimmer light switch is gaining Apple HomeKit support, with a new update bypassing the need for a hub to integrate with Apple's smart home system. Launched back in 2017, the WiFi Smart Dimmer is intended to replace a traditional light switch in the wall, and thus enable remote-control access to the light that it operates.
While Apple’s recently concluded event focused on the new iPhone X generation and Apple Watch Series 4, that wasn’t the only big things the company had prepared. Outside of the spotlight, Apple announced an update to the HomePod that might make its $349 price tag finally worth it for some interested buyers. In addition to things like being able to make and take calls, the smart speaker is finally getting a whole lot smarter thanks to the addition of Siri Shortcuts.
If you're in the mood to combine your Amazon and Microsoft-made smart assistants on any one device, today's your day. Alexa can open Cortana and Cortana can open Alexa. Because there might be a very rare instance in which you want one or the other, this particular tie-in is live. It's just live in preview mode when this article is first published, but live nonetheless.