The future of Apple starts with ‘Hey Siri’
“Hey Siri.”
It was a cutesy tag line for the Apple event invitation. The company even pre-loaded its digital assistant with canned answers to questions about what the company was going to unveil. But by the end of the never-ending shindig it became abundantly clear that Siri has become an important part of the entire Apple ecosystem. It’s the UI that begs not to be touched and Apple is going all in with Apple TV, iOS 9, HomeKit and iPhone 6s. But will users stop tapping and start talking?
“Voice has the power to cut through all that noise of platforms and services to get to quickly what you want. Who loves hunting and pecking a multi-tiered menu?” Jared Benson, co-founder and executive creative director of interface design company Punchcut, told Engadget. Benson would know; he’s worked with Toyota on implementing a next-generation voice-activated system and partnered with “a major technology company” on voice control home automation. While we’ve come to expect devices like new cars to support voice controls, for many the first time they interacted with a system like this was with Siri.
Siri made its debut at an iPhone event in 2011. The digital assistant answered questions about the weather and sports, gave directions and queried Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha. If you weren’t embarrassed to talk to your phone in public and it understood what you were saying, it was sort of useful. It ended up being more of a party trick seeing if Siri could answer a question or unravel your localized accent than a feature people actually used.
Siri did get better over the years at understanding folks while adding a few more tasks it could handle. But it was still relegated to primarily answering questions and giving you directions. Then HomeKit appeared.
Apple’s answer to the IoT fragmentation mess relies heavily on Siri to make your home easier to manage. Any device that supports HomeKit can be controlled via the virtual assistant. Plus, in your house you’re less likely to feel self-conscious talking to your phone. It also helps that the iPhone 6s supports voice activation of Siri without it being plugged in. Just say, “Hey Siri,” to launch and you can start turning lights on and off from across the room.
For any developers wanting to be part of HomeKit or CarPlay, Siri is now an incredibly important platform. Both of those systems are almost entirely run by voice commands. While the Siri integration on tvOS is currently limited to partners like Hulu, Netflix and HBO, there’s the potential for developers to create new and interesting ways for users to interact with apps that include voice. If you’re a developer, you should be thinking about Siri as a platform, because your competitors are.
CarPlay vehicles are making their way to showrooms and you can finally buy HomeKit devices. But it’s been slow going and it’ll be a while before a lot of people are driving those cars and using Apple’s system in their homes. For now, the company went ahead and launched its own voice-powered in-home device: the new Apple TV.
Like the Amazon Fire TV, you access the new Apple TV’s voice feature via the remote. Just press and hold the mic button to enable Siri and tell it what you want to watch. It’s the end of using the remote to navigate the onscreen keyboard. But it’s about more than just searching Netflix; ask, “What did he say?” and Siri will back up and replay the last 10 seconds with closed captioning on. It’s like having a friend sitting next to you (one that isn’t completely useless).
Nuance has spent the past 10 years enabling voice control in devices. Recently it’s noticed that its fastest-growing segment is the TV. “Using text on your TV is painful,” said Mike Thompson, executive vice president of Nuance’s mobile division. He notes that it’s much easier to say, “Movies by Harrison Ford,” than to try to type into the horrible onscreen keyboard.
As for a world controlled by your voice, it’s already here according to Thompson: “I think that’s upon us now actually. The phenomenon of voice-enabled capabilities and accuracy and its usefulness has crossed the threshold of mainstream popularity.”
Apple isn’t breaking any new ground with Siri. All the companies in this space are feeding off each other. After Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that apps are the future of TV, a representative from Amazon told Engadget, “We’ve thought that apps and voice are the future of TV since we launched Amazon Fire TV 16 months ago. We’re flattered that Apple agrees with us.”
Still when people think voice-controlled assistant, they think Siri. That marketing gives Apple a leg up and helps train users. It also pushes other companies, according to Punchcut’s Benson. “I certainly think Apple has done a really good job bringing people up to a certain standard,” he said. “Once Apple has come out with a technology, that sets the bar for others.”
And voice isn’t going away. Nuance told Engadget that its mobile cloud service processed 4.07 billion voice transactions in Q2 2015. That’s a roughly 49 percent increase from the 2.74 billion transactions during the same period in 2014.
So get ready for a future where you’re spending more time talking to Siri. Apple’s actual voice-assistant roadmap (in typical Apple fashion) is a bit of a mystery. But in the home, expect the voice assistant to take on an increasingly larger role as HomeKit and the Apple TV evolve and gain traction. CarPlay vehicles will become increasingly available to new car buyers and the iPhone will still tell you what the weather is outside.
Your voice is the new user interface and Apple is building a platform just to hear what you have to say. It was a cute tag line for an invitation, but the future of Apple could very well be distilled to the two words that will be uttered by the owners of almost all future Apple products: “Hey Siri.”
Filed under:
Misc, Household, Peripherals, Internet, Software, Mobile, Apple
Tags: apple, CarPlay, HomeKit, iOS9, mobilepostcross, Siri
AppleCare+ for iPhone 6s costs $30 more than iPhone 6 coverage
AppleCare+ covers your new iPhone in the event it breaks or is damaged, and for the iPhone 6, a year of service costs $100. AppleCare+ for the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, however, will set you back $130. Additionally, the charge for accidental damage is higher with Apple’s latest models, up from $80 for iPhone 6 or earlier versions to $100 for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
Here’s how Apple puts it, as spotted by iClarified: “Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee plus applicable tax ($79 for iPhone 6 or earlier models, $99 for iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus).”
During its event yesterday, Apple revealed a new iPhone upgrade plan that includes AppleCare+. In the program, customers can upgrade to the newest iPhone every year, starting at $32 a month for the 16GB iPhone 6s and topping out at $45 a month for the 128GB iPhone 6s Plus. After 12 payments, customers can grab the newest iPhone and start the program over again.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Misc, Apple
Via:
iClarified
Source:
Apple
Tags: apple, applecare, applecare+, iphone, iphone6, iphone6s, iPhone6SPlus
Ex-NBA player gets community service after stealing $15,000 from Apple Store
Former NBA player Rex Chapman has pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft after being arrested for stealing more than $15,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple Store in Scottsdale, Arizona last year. Chapman reportedly used a store’s self-checkout system on seven different occasions but left without paying each time. He then allegedly sold the items for cash at a local pawn shop. He has been sentenced to a 28-day substance-abuse treatment program at the Brook Hospital in Louisville as well as 750 hours of community service. He’ll also be placed on probation. He will also be required to pay the Apple Store more than $15,000 in restitution and be liable for up to $10,000 more should the store discover any additional incidents of theft.
[Image Credit: NBAE/Getty Images]
Via:
SlamOnline
Source:
Kentucky Sports
Tags: apple, applestore, crime, crimeandpunishment, rexchapman, Scottsdale, Arizona, theft
Apple’s iPad Pro has an unclear message at a big price
People from around the world shifted their attention to Apple on Wednesday afternoon as the company unveiled its latest round of hardware and software. Products given spotlight at Apple’s event included the Apple Watch, the new iPad Pro, a revamped Apple TV, and the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. The iPad Pro is probably the most unique item shown in San Francisco that day. It has a large 12.9-inch display and is meant to be paired with a stylus and wireless keyboard. The company that typically plays it safe is entering uncharted territory that has already been discovered by others.
Apple has finally decided to follow the trend in increasing productivity with the Pencil and Smart Keyboard. But you’ll need to spend big to get the same productivity that can be had elsewhere for much less. These two accessories, both sold separately from the iPad Pro, are priced not even remotely aggressively. The Pencil and Smart Keyboard cost $99 and $169, respectively. And the stylus is one that requires charging. Now remember that Apple wants you to use the stylus and keyboard with the iPad Pro. Otherwise you might as well buy the smaller, more affordable iPad. Or perhaps you should look at another form factor.
Realize that the iPad Pro runs iOS. So your productivity efforts, despite the operating system being tailored for split-screen use, are still going to be limited. File management on an iOS device is laughable compared to Windows, OS X, and even Android. Think about what will happen when you need to open a ZIP file or something else that iOS jumbles to figure out. Designers and work-focused individuals are going to be a little hesitant to purchase the iPad Pro due to iOS’ limitations. The processing power and productivity available through the traditional desktop or laptop is much greater than what the iPad Pro offers.
Outside of design, the iPad Pro’s purpose is confusing. There is no real reason for anyone to choose this tablet over Apple’s very own MacBooks. The iPad Pro’s pricing ranges from $799-$1079. The MacBook Air, with its $899 starting price, brings a normal physical keyboard and an Intel Core processor. If having a stylus is that important, Microsoft and Lenovo are among the companies there to help. The Surface Pro 3 matches the iPad Pro’s starting price and comes with a capable stylus. Lenovo, too, includes styluses with many of its devices that have varying prices. In fact, Lenovo’s upcoming Miix 700 will cost less than the iPad Pro and come with a wireless keyboard. The Miix 700’s stylus is a separate purchase, one that will undoubtedly be cheaper than Apple’s Pencil.
Apple has priced itself out of a market before even entering.
The iPad Pro’s position is unclear. Who should be buying this tablet? Is it even a hybrid tablet-laptop? The form factor tells you this is a tablet; however, the accessories make it a hybrid. See the price and the confusion is furthered.
Apple is finally accepting your fingers coming off of the display despite the late Steve Jobs once saying “if you see a stylus, they blew it.” Just let it sink in, though, that using the iPad Pro the way that Apple wants you to will cost over $1,000 while not changing the fact that the product is limited.
Visit our friends over at iPhone Informer for regular Apple coverage.
Come comment on this article: Apple’s iPad Pro has an unclear message at a big price
Watch the Engadget staff react to Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ event
Let’s start with the obvious: Engadget is not a newspaper, and we don’t have an editorial board. But what we do have are a video camera and a bunch of staffers with strong opinions about all things tech. Immediately following Apple’s “Hey Siri” event yesterday, we rounded up eight editors in our San Francisco office to sound off on everything from the new iPhones to the iPad Pro to the Apple TV. Here’s what they had to say.
Tags: apple, iphone2015, ReactionVideos, video
Apple’s Pencil looks great, but…
Apple’s big iPad Pro came with a big surprise — an optional stylus. It’s easy to dismiss the accessory — named Apple Pencil — as a reaction to Microsoft’s Surface and Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. Whatever the motive, though, the Pencil pushes the iPad and iOS in a new direction, away from regular consumers and toward Apple’s bread and butter: designers and creatives. We spoke with over a dozen professional artists, illustrators and designers to gauge the reaction to the accessory. Many use styli in their everyday workflows through options including dedicated Wacom graphic tablets, all-in-one solutions like the Surface series or capacitive options like FiftyThree’s Pencil for iPad — and they’ve got a lot to say about Apple’s entry into the market.
The general sentiment? “It looks great, but…”
How will it fit into my workflow?
“I’ve tried [Wacom’s capacitive] Bamboo stylus on my iPad and it was rubbish. This looks much better,” says an illustrator working at architecture studio Foster + Partners, who asked not to be named due to the firm’s work on Apple’s new headquarters. “I can’t see using it for sketching, though, because it’s missing the software. The iPad versions of Adobe’s Creative Suite aren’t as good. … I’d rather buy the [Wacom] Cintiq, and have full Photoshop with a sensitive pad.”
It’s a sentiment I’ve heard many times over in the wake of Apple’s announcement. “It doesn’t look to have many practical applications in terms of a professional design tool as it’s not possible to use full Creative Suite and other industry-standard applications on a tablet device,” says Mike Messina, senior UX/UI designer at [Engadget’s parent company] AOL. Messina uses a Wacom professional tablet and stylus for his work in combination with Adobe apps like Illustrator and Photoshop. “I don’t think [the Pencil] compares to traditional [graphics] tablets and is more of an expensive toy — albeit a nice one.”
Although Apple’s dedicated developer community will undoubtedly create great apps that support the Pencil, the chances of these apps being useful for more than the average consumer are low. Many creative industries are entrenched in Adobe software, while other studios, such as Disney, have their own tools like Meander, the program that was used for the Oscar-winning short Paperman. Adobe’s apps for iOS are useful for certain tasks, and they will sync through Creative Cloud to the regular desktop apps, making the iPad Pro a potentially useful companion device.
“Where I could see a big advantage is in this replacing my sketchbook,” explains artist/illustrator Dennis de Groot. “I like to go around the city and have a coffee while sketching out new ideas. The hassle with that is that I’m always carrying a variety of pens, pencils, rulers, a sketchbook, a lightpad, etc. If it’s as accurate as said, this could potentially replace that whole bag of tools for me.”
What about the Surface?
There’s a problem with a near-$1,000 companion device, though, and it’s called the Surface. Microsoft’s tablet series has access to full desktop apps, meaning designers can pick up exactly where they left off on the go, in the apps they’re already familiar with. Adobe is also making moves toward improving touch support in key apps like Photoshop for Windows, which should improve the experience significantly for those using tablets and convertibles with full apps.
“I’ve always been very fond of the Wacom Cintiq,” explains de Groot, “What obviously sets Apple apart there is that the iPad Pro is a fully functioning device, so it’ll be relatively easy to pack it up and take it anywhere along with the Pencil. On that same note, I’m not sure how it will compare to, for example, a Surface. Personally I find Apple’s displays more comfortable to navigate, as they “feel” as if they have more precision, but I do think this is a matter of personal preference. In that sense I think they’re kind of catching up with the other options on the market.”
That said, Microsoft actually moved away from Wacom digitizers with the Surface Pro 3. The digitizer was the thing that made the original Surface Pro and Pro 2 so good for drawing, and with that gone, the stylus had to be active, introducing significant lag. I’ve spoken with a number of designers who tried the Pro 3, but quickly decided to stick with earlier versions for that reason. The decision was obviously well-thought-through by Microsoft: Lose a minority of creatives, and produce a thinner and cheaper tablet for everyone. Whether Microsoft will opt for a more sensitive digitizer in future Surfaces remains to be seen, but if it doesn’t, moving away from the design community would represent a potential “in” for Apple. Unfortunately, the Pencil is also an active stylus, meaning there’s going to be some lag. Apple claims this is down to a bare minimum, of course.
Is it quick enough to replace traditional drawing tools?
“I’ll definitely try it, then compare it to the Surface Pro. It’ll come down to how it draws and whether or not it incorporates into my workflow or not,” says animator Jed Diffenderfer, who’s worked on projects like Wreck-It Ralph for Disney. “Many stylus devices seem OK ‘to a point,’ but fall short after the prosumer drop off. We don’t draw that tight or clean in [story]boarding, but we can get going fast, and most [styli] still don’t keep up with how fast I could draw on paper with traditional tools.”
Ryan McManus, design director at New York design agency Hard Candy Shell, has a similar view. “I’ve tried a few styli over the years, including a Wacom Bamboo pad for my Mac and stylus for my iPad. I bought both mostly for sketching out ideas, but the issue was they were never as fast or as readily available as a pen and paper.”
“The main problem I have with styli is a combination of latency and inaccuracy within the compatible applications,” De Groot adds. “The reason a device like [the Wacom Cintiq] works for me is because I’m able to use it in the same applications I do the majority of my work in, and it’s as accurate as I’d work in them with any other tablet. As an illustrator, I look for tools that could possibly replace a pencil and paper, which of course is a tough challenge, so latency of any kind really defeats the purpose of using a stylus in my line of work.”
It really depends, then. It’s virtually impossible for an active stylus to be as quick as a digitizer-based system, and even that’s not fast enough for some creatives. It could be “quick enough” for many, though, and the Pencil also makes the claim of accuracy down to the individual pixel. “I have seen amazing design work done with a stylus and screen, mostly in the automotive realm,” explains McManus. If the Pencil proves a more accurate tool, even with lag, it could gain traction in fields that require technical drawing. That doesn’t describe McManus, though, who says, “It’s just really not that useful in my current workflow. I like pens, besides.”
How will the additional features work?
Those unconvinced by top-of-the-range graphics tablets are unlikely to be won over by the Apple Pencil’s response time, but there are some additional benefits here. Rather than simply offering palm rejection, the iPad Pro can detect both finger and Pencil input at the same time. That opens up some interesting possibilities. Diffenderfer says this tool could be “awesome,” if used in the right way. Being able to rotate a virtual workspace rather than the tablet itself with the flick of a finger could seriously speed up an illustrator’s workflow. “It can get pretty annoying constantly rotating a Cintiq. I miss doing this with story pads.”
McManus notes its potential use for 3D work. “I could see manipulating an object in 3D space while carving with the stylus could be novel for modelmakers/3D artists.” That adds problems of own, though. “If you’re doing that, who’s holding your iPad for you? … Using two hands means you’re relying on either friction or balance to keep the iPad in place.”
So again, the usefulness of these additions is going to come down to software. The same is true with its tilt feature, which lets you change the type of stroke you’re making by tilting the Pencil. For the record, tilt is used to great effect in FiftyThree’s identically named Pencil stylus. (“[They] must be pissed,” notes McManus.) FiftyThree’s implementation works perfectly in its Paper app, but Apple’s Pencil is supposed to be app-agnostic, and the tilt functionality will need to be implemented well throughout all the apps that support it.
I’ll probably try it anyway
There are big questions looming over Apple’s little Pencil, then. The answer to the lag issue will arrive as soon as the iPad Pro launches this November, but the more important worries, most notably application support and value, will take time. If iOS is going to be a tenable singular device for professional creatives, Adobe has to get on board. It has a huge part to play, as it has almost the entire industry at its whim. It can do something about this though. With the increased power of the iPad Pro, there’s the potential for a full-featured, touch-enabled Photoshop and other Creative Suite apps to be ported over to iOS. Even if that’s impossible, it’s already laying the groundwork to stream Creative Suite apps to browsers. Why not use this in iOS as well? And if full, desktop-class apps are on iOS, then the value proposition changes entirely.
Despite the unknowns, the majority of creatives we spoke to really wanted to try the Pencil. Many use a Mac rather than a PC for their daily work, and words like “trust” and “quality” were common while describing Apple products. Only a couple say they’re definitely going to buy them, but the company has the benefit of the doubt among the community, and people seem excited to give the Pencil a shot.
Filed under:
Peripherals, Apple
Tags: apple, applepencil, design, ipadpro, pencil, stylus
Apple’s iOS 9.1 public beta is now available for download
While iOS 9 may be available for download in a few days, Apple is wasting no time getting the next version in the hands of beta testers. iOS 9.1 is now ready for download for folks who’ve signed up for Apple’s Beta Software Program. In addition to some new emoji, the build includes APIs for 3D Touch and Live Photos so devs can get busy building apps that support those features. If you’re not feeling too adventurous, the version of iOS 9 meant for public consumption hits next week.
Filed under:
Software, Mobile, Apple
Via:
BGR
Source:
Apple
Tags: apple, beta, ios, ios9.1, mobilepostcross, publicbeta, software
iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Priced Higher in Canada, Australia and Europe as U.S. Dollar Remains Strong
Apple has set higher prices for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in Canada, Australia and other countries to reflect a strengthening U.S. dollar and fluctuating currency exchange rates.
The off-contract prices for the iPhone 6s Plus in Canada, for example, are $1,029, $1,159 and $1,289 CAD for 16GB, 64GB and 128GB of storage space respectively.
Comparatively, the iPhone 6 Plus cost $969, $1,099 and $1,229 in Canadian dollars for the same capacities prior to Apple’s media event yesterday. That is $60 less for each model.
The off-contract prices for the iPhone 6s Plus in Australia are $1,229, $1,379 and $1,529 CAD for 16GB, 64GB and 128GB of storage respectively. Earlier this week, the iPhone 6 Plus retailed for $1,149, $1,299 and $1,449 in Australian dollars for the same storage sizes respectively.
Similarly, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have higher prices at launch than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in euro-based countries such as France, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands. The base 16GB iPhone 6 retailed for €699 last September, for example, while the 16GB iPhone 6s will debut for €739.
Not all countries have been affected by the exchange rate, however, as the iPhone 6s Plus is priced the same as the iPhone 6 Plus in the United Kingdom. iPhone 6 Plus was most recently priced at £619, £699 and £719 in the U.K. for 16GB, 64GB and 128GB respectively, while the iPhone 6s Plus will have equal prices.
The new iPhone 6s Plus retains the same pricing as the iPhone 6 Plus in the U.S.
Apple Releases First Public Beta of iOS 9.1
Following yesterday’s big media event, Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 9.1 to developers, and now the company has made iOS 9.1 available to public beta testers. iOS 9.1 includes features for the iPad Pro, adding support for accessories like the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, both of which were designed for the larger-screened tablet.
iOS 9.1 also includes support for Unicode 8, introducing a selection of new emoji like taco, burrito, unicorn face, hot dog, popcorn, turkey, cheese wedge, and more.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program appear to be receiving the iOS 9.1 beta as an over-the-air update, so it may be available to testers who were previously running iOS 9 beta 5.
People who want to be a part of Apple’s beta testing program can sign up to participate through Apple’s beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas.
iOS 9.1 will likely be released to the public alongside the iPad Pro in November.
Periscope Now Supports Landscape Broadcasts Ahead of New Apple TV App
The Twitter-owned live-streaming app Periscope today updated its app with a much-requested feature that will let users broadcast and view live streams in landscape mode. The move comes a day after the Periscope app was seen on stage during the “Hey Siri” event as an upcoming app for the brand new Apple TV.
Today’s update also introduced Facebook connectivity, allowing users to post the link to a current live broadcast, or the replay video of one that’s over, to their Facebook wall from directly within Periscope. The team has also tweaked the app’s social features and added in some accessibility modes, as well.
What’s New in Version 1.2
– Landscape: When a broadcaster holds their phone in landscape, the video will now be oriented properly for all viewers. Viewers can continue holding their device in portrait, or match the broadcaster’s orientation to maintain full screen video. Either way, you’ll never need to watch sideways video again!
– Share Indication: When someone you follow shares a broadcast, it appears in your home feed. In this update, we’ve added an indicator beneath the broadcast title explaining who shared it with you.
– Share on Facebook: You can now share the link to a LIVE broadcast or replay on Facebook. To see this option, you’ll need to log in to Facebook from the iOS Settings app on your device.
– Accessibility: We’ve heard from a lot of people that Periscope needs to be more accessible. In this version we’ve made large steps toward fully supporting our VoiceOver users.
Although there’s been no talk of the Apple TV app yet, that version of Periscope will no doubt allow users to view current live-streams and watch older re-plays with UI tweaks for the bigger-screened experience. Periscope can be downloaded for free from the App Store [Direct Link].
AIVAnet 