Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week and shared a lot of new features coming with the release of the next big updates for all of its devices.

One feature that wasn't shown off during the event was the overhauled Siri. Last year, when Apple unveiled its Apple Intelligence, the company planned to have a new, smarter version of Siri out around this time. Instead, it looks like the AI assistant needs some more time to smarten up.

Apple's overhauled Siri could come out in spring 2026, according to a report from Bloomberg. The team handling the project reportedly plans to release the smarter assistant in the iOS 26.4 update.

During WWDC, Apple said it was changing the numbering scheme for all of its device operating systems to “26” rather than using different numbers based on their release year.

The ".4" of the iOS version would also indicate a spring release. Apple typically releases these updates in March, such as with iOS 18.4, following when the new OS makes its debut, which is usually the September before that.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The company told Bloomberg it stood by its previous statements, saying the upgraded Siri will be set for the "coming year."

Apple's AI headaches

When Apple showed off its Apple Intelligence at last year's WWDC and launched it officially later in the year, it was seemingly going to put Apple into the AI race.

That, however, has not been the case. Apple reportedly continued to hit one snag after another when developing the smart Siri. The pitch was for the digital assistant to have a better understanding of natural language and do more complex tasks by making use of data on the phone, such as making a calendar appointment based on a text rather than having to be told to create that appointment.

Apple's initial plan was to release the upgraded Siri in March, but that didn't happen. Instead, there was a leadership reshuffle within the company. Mike Rockwell, the creator of the Vision Pro for the company, ended up replacing John Giannandrea, who was in charge of the team handling the Siri upgrade.

Even though Siri wasn't shown at WWDC, Apple did have a few AI features to show off. With iOS 26, the Phone app will have AI-powered call screening to automatically silence scam calls. Apple Intelligence will also provide voicemail summaries. WatchOS 26 will also have a bit of AI with a new Workout Buddy on the Workout app. The AI will keep tabs on your performance, provide some motivation during workouts, and analyze the routine to see how it compares to previous workouts.

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Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) takes place on Monday, June 9, and the company is set to spotlight its biggest software updates of the year — but will any of its new Apple Intelligence features win over frustrated Mac users?

Apple Intelligence may have been the star of last year's show, but the platform, pitched as "AI for the rest of us," has mostly failed to capture the awe of Mac, iPhone, or iPad users, with the one update everyone really wants to see is nowhere in sight.

There's no doubt that Apple will liberally flaunt the term AI during this year's WWDC, but a claimed lack of any killer AI features to show could highlight how far ahead Apple's competition is.

However, to some, that's a good thing. Take a look online and you'll see many Mac users souring on AI, and until Apple is ready to change their minds with something truly groundbreaking, it might be best to keep it out of the limelight a little longer.

See also: Best Apple deals in June 2025

WWDC will feature a rebranded macOS, but one key update will be missing

With WWDC 2025 now just a week away, we're getting our last, and arguably most exciting, wave of rumors about what to expect. The highlight, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, will be a major rebrand of Apple's operating systems along with the biggest visual overhaul since iOS 7.

For Mac users, that means the next OS update will be macOS 26, which will likely feature tweaked app icons and potentially changes to the overall UI, like more transparent elements. Rumors indicate that Apple is taking a lot of inspiration from visionOS for this sweeping visual overhaul across its platforms, giving a rough idea of what to expect.

What we're not expecting to see, however, is any major Apple Intelligence developments. Apple is expected to debut an AI battery optimization tool, which sounds useful, and potentially some other minor updates, but the big, large language model (LLM) Siri update we've all been waiting for is unlikely to make an appearance at WWDC.

That big Siri update is the AI feature its users really need. While it's disappointing we have to keep waiting for it, a lack of focus on AI in the meantime might actually be a good thing for Apple, judging by a cold response to AI from many Mac users.

One year later, Apple Intelligence still hasn't won over Mac users

Apple was undoubtedly late to the game in consumer AI, falling short of the innovations Google, Meta, and OpenAI have been announcing over recent years. OpenAI is even partnering with former Apple design chief Jony Ive to develop its own in-house AI device.

Considering all that, one might think Apple is in hot water, dropping the ball on AI like it has. However, that's assuming Apple users actually want a boatload of AI features on their devices, which might not be the case.

For instance, a user in one Reddit thread referred to Apple Intelligence as "5GB of pure bloatware," complaining that trying to disable or remove the feature can lead to bugs.

A user in another thread expressed frustration about not being able to completely remove Apple Intelligence, commenting, "Some of us don't like a service shoved down our throats we never asked for, and don't need. Sure, it can be turned off, but it should be optional to be installed to begin with. I’d like to use those few gigs of storage."

One user even described Apple's AI as "all hype, no value."

Even users who don't outright dislike Apple Intelligence see little use in it, like one commenter who said: "I pretty much never use writing tools, even before they were integrated, so that’s been barely used. Sucks that what the majority of Apple AI is."

Another user pointed out the core of the issue: "Siri still seems dumb as a rock."

All of this effectively amounts to a lack of enthusiasm for AI in general, at least among Mac users. It makes me wonder, would Apple be better off differentiating itself by backing off on AI, at least until the new-and-improved Siri is ready?

So far, Apple Intelligence seems to be mimicking competitors' AI offerings, only with fewer features and years behind. That strategy clearly isn't winning over Mac users, though, who seem to be really looking for practical AI tools and a Siri update, not gimmicks like AI-generated emojis.

Instead of trying to convince us it's an AI brand now, maybe Apple could woo fans by showing it's focusing on launching AI tools that prioritize genuine usefulness and user privacy.

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Despite Apple hyping up its next-gen AI assistant for nearly a year, the revamped Siri won’t take the stage at WWDC 2025. While fans were expecting the digital sidekick to finally get large language model smarts, insiders say the reboot is months behind schedule, and maybe even years behind the competition.

Instead, Apple will release a modest update to Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features sprinkled across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Siri? It's still stuck in the past.

Where's Siri?

When Apple introduced Apple Intelligence last June, the company pitched it as “AI for the rest of us.” At the center of it all was a smarter Siri: One that could read emails, navigate your schedule, and understand natural language in a way the current assistant can’t.

But what Apple didn’t say during that slick WWDC presentation was that the Siri demo was just a concept video. The real-world version? Buggy, unreliable, and nowhere near ready for primetime. By the time Apple’s senior execs ran internal tests on iOS 18.4 this spring, key features like voice-based ID retrieval weren’t even functioning.

With ongoing struggles that show no sign of letting up, Siri’s AI revamp is now delayed indefinitely. Apple has since pulled several TV ads showing off capabilities that still don’t exist. It’s an embarrassing miss — one that has sparked internal frustration and even a class-action lawsuit over false advertising.

A culture clash with AI

So what went wrong? In short, Apple’s traditional development culture collided head-on with the chaotic speed of modern AI.

Apple likes to ship finished, polished products, not beta experiences. It updates software once a year and obsesses over control and curation. But AI doesn’t work that way. LLMs are iterative, messy, and require huge datasets and rapid deployment cycles to improve. It’s a world built on risk and scale, and these are two things Apple has historically avoided.

Compounding the problem is the company’s strict privacy stance. While rivals like OpenAI and Meta train their models on oceans of user data, Apple’s hands are tied. That means it must rely on synthetic or licensed data, limiting how fast and how well it can train AI.

Looking behind the curtain

Internally, Siri’s team has struggled to get the assistant’s two brains — the old codebase and the new AI-powered features — to play nicely together. Apple sources describe it as a “whack-a-mole” situation: squash one bug, three more pop up. Integration issues have brought development to a crawl.

Apple’s head of AI, John Giannandrea, has taken much of the heat. Brought in from Google in 2018 to turbocharge Apple’s machine learning, he has since been sidelined from Siri’s development. The new face of Siri development is Mike Rockwell, the executive behind the Vision Pro headset. Whether he can steer the project back on track remains to be seen.

One thing’s for sure: The missed deadline is more than a technical hiccup; it’s a reputational risk. Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services, reportedly warned that AI could do to the iPhone what the iPhone did to Nokia.

What's next?

At WWDC (June 9-13,2025), don’t expect Siri to headline. Instead, Apple will showcase new Apple Intelligence features, like an AI-enhanced battery mode and a virtual health coach, while continuing to push iOS 19 toward a fall release.

As for Siri, Apple is now working on a fully LLM-powered version, internally dubbed “LLM Siri,” that may eventually rival ChatGPT in conversational ability. But that won’t be ready for months — and let's face it, probably longer.

In the meantime, Apple is preparing to decouple Siri from its Apple Intelligence branding. A tacit admission, perhaps, that the name Siri no longer inspires much confidence.

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This year has been a tough one for Apple. The company continues to have setbacks from the abysmal sales of the Apple Vision Pro to the numerous challenges it's had with AI.

April has been arguably the most challenging month for the iPhone maker after President Donald Trump revealed a list of countries that were going to be hit with tariffs. This caused Apple's stock to take an immediate hit, leading to a loss of more than $700 million in market value, according to Investopedia.

There appears to be a bit of reprieve for Apple as smartphones, laptops, and computers have been excluded from Trump's tariffs as of Friday.

A new report from the New York Times published on Friday detailed even more of the drama happening behind the doors at Apple.

Apple's AI problems

The report details Apple's initial problems with AI that started in 2023. John Giannandrea, Apple's head of AI, attempted to get more GPUs to begin this move into AI.

Apple reportedly had 50,000 GPUs at its data centers, and most were more than five years old. To move into developing AI, the company would need more GPUs and the newest versions.

Apple CEO Tim Cook approved the doubling of the chip budget for AI, however, Apple’s finance chief, Luca Maestri, slashed that budget to less than half, according to the report. This caused issues for the team working on AI, as it had limited access to computing power. The chips reportedly purchased were not from Nvidia, the leader in AI chips, but instead were made by Google.

A spokeswoman from Apple did tell The New York Times that the budget request for GPUs by Giannandrea was fulfilled over time.

Apple's AI efforts were shown last year when the company revealed Apple Intelligence along with the iPhone 16. The new tech was to add AI features to the iPhone, but the rollout for those features has been a bit on the slow side.

What appeared to be the ultimate conclusion of these efforts was an overhauled Siri that could act as a true AI assistant. Apple initially planned to release this smarter Siri sometime in the spring, however, that plan was scrapped completely last month.

This led to a change in leadership within Apple. Mike Rockwell, the creator of the Vision Pro for the company, ended up replacing Giannandrea, who was in charge of the team handling the Siri upgrade. According to the report, the new Siri will make its debut later this year in the fall. This will likely be when the company reveals the iPhone 17 and its other new products.

Apple will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9. This is the event where the company will reveal the next MacOS, WatchOS, and iOS 19. This will also be the event where it will show off more of the capabilities of its Apple Intelligence.

Apple may have a secret weapon when it comes to AI devices.

On Sunday, reports from Bloomberg surfaced suggesting Apple may add a camera to the Apple Watch to provide visual context for AI, giving it multimodal abilities similar to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.

(Think: pointing your device at a pair of shoes and then asking where you can buy them.)

Apple has had a slow start bringing AI to its devices, but the Apple Watch might be the perfect place for Apple's AI features to stand out, despite Apple being late to the AI party.

Unfortunately for Apple, while the Watch could be the key to its success in AI, there's still one big problem: Siri delays.

Could Apple succeed where other AI wearables failed?

I'll admit, at first, I was skeptical about whether the Apple Watch needed a camera. Smartwatches aren't exactly the ideal form factor for photography, after all. That's not what Apple is planning to use this camera for, though, at least, not according to reporting.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the purpose of a camera on the Apple Watch would be to effectively turn it into an AI wearable. The camera would gather visual context about the user's surroundings to inform AI requests, questions, and tasks. A similar visual intelligence feature is available on the iPhone 16, as well, using the new camera control button.

If you heard anything about the ill-fated Humane AI pin or Rabbit R1 from last year, that may sound eerily familiar.

Those devices, both flops, attempted to act as standalone AI devices. The Humane AI pin was even a wearable like the Apple Watch. Neither one managed to click with users. So, you'd be forgiven for thinking it would be a mistake to use those devices as a model for the future of the Apple Watch.

However, Apple might be onto something here.

The Apple Watch is the most popular smartwatch in the world by a long shot. It's arguably the most popular wearable, period. Even if the Humane AI pin hadn't had a slew of problems, it would have always struggled to compete for users because it was a new type of wearable with a completely new and unusual user interface.

The Apple Watch doesn't have that problem. It's a wearable people already know and love, with features and functionality beyond AI, which might be exactly why it's the perfect place for Apple to succeed in AI where Humane and Rabbit failed.

Apple doesn't need to convert users to the Apple Watch. They're already there. Apple has few rivals in the wearables space and already collects a wealth of user data, particularly regarding fitness, that would be invaluable for building a good personalized AI experience.

All Apple needs now is a modern AI. That's the problem.

The Apple Watch could be an AI superstar... but not without Siri

Apple's existing dominance in the wearables market gives it an edge Humane and Rabbit didn't have, one that could make the Apple Watch the most popular "AI gadget" and help Apple find success in AI despite being late to the party.

Making the Apple Watch a worthy AI device hinges on Apple's big Siri update that was promised back at WWDC 2024. The Large Language Model (LLM) version of Siri has been plagued by delays, setting its release back until 2026 or possibly even 2027, according to recent rumors.

There are still some AI features Apple could bring to the Watch in the meantime, like a ChatGPT integration, but as long as LLM Siri is stuck in development, making the Watch a genuine AI device will be out of reach.

That may be part of why Bloomberg's report hints that an Apple Watch with a camera is still "generations away from hitting the market." So, we probably won't see that upgrade on the Watch Series 11, but it could be a possibility for the Watch Series 12, or potentially the Ultra 3 or Ultra 4.

Apple seems to be aware that the pressure is on to launch LLM Siri and the rest of its promised Apple Intelligence features. It recently replaced the executive in charge of its AI department, bringing over Mike Rockwell instead (who was behind the Vision Pro's development).

Apple is also facing a lawsuit for false advertising about Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16, which surely isn't helping CEO Tim Cook's team.

Only time will tell whether or not Apple can find its footing in AI, but I think it could be heading in the right direction by focusing on AI wearables.

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If you've been eagerly awaiting the shiny new version of Siri Apple promised back in June, you might be in for a much longer wait than expected. New rumors hint that Apple may not roll out a true conversational version of Siri until 2026 or even 2027.

Apple announced its Apple Intelligence AI platform at WWDC 2024, including a much-needed update to Siri. That was almost a year ago now, and we have yet to see many of those new AI features. To make matters worse, the rumored release date for the Siri update has been bumped back multiple times.

The latest hints highlight just how far behind Apple has fallen on AI. It begs the question: when a large language model version of Siri finally arrives, will it be too late for Apple to catch up?

Apple's long-awaited Siri update rumored to be years behind its rivals

On Sunday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple's big Siri update may be even further behind than initially predicted. Earlier this year, rumors indicated that a Siri update will arrive in iOS 18.4 this spring. While that could still happen, it looks like it will not be a major overhaul complete with large language model (LLM) technology similar to that of ChatGPT.

According to Gurman, Apple rushed to get Apple Intelligence ready to launch with iOS 18, which didn't leave enough time to properly integrate the new AI tech into Apple's operating systems. It also left Apple short on time to get the LLM version of Siri ready to go. However, Apple still plans to get Apple Intelligence fused into its operating systems more seamlessly.

As Gurman explained, "I expect this to be introduced as early as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June of this year — with a launch by spring 2026 as part of iOS 19.4. The new system, dubbed "LLM Siri" internally, was also supposed to introduce a more conversational approach. But that is now running behind as well and won’t be unveiled in June.

Not only will LLM Siri not arrive in June, it might not arrive even in 2026. According to Gurman, employees in Apple's AI division have hinted that "a true modernized, conversational version of Siri won’t reach consumers until iOS 20 at best in 2027."

Alexa+ is what Apple Intelligence should have been

A three year delay is not a good look for an update that was announced in 2024, especially as Apple's rivals in the consumer AI space barrel ahead, leaving Siri in the dust. One in particular has caught my attention: Alexa+.

Last week, Amazon announced Alexa+, a sprawling new version of its AI assistant that integrates with its smart home and streaming devices. I have to admit, the features Amazon showed off sound legitimately useful and interesting, and that's coming from someone who's never been a particularly big fan of Alexa or Echo devices. In fact, it's hard not to look at Alexa+ and see everything Siri could have been.

Among the 50+ features Amazon announced, Alexa+ can interact with users through natural conversation, remember and recognize members of your household, keep track of personalized routines and reminders for different people, summarize activity from smart home devices, help you navigate video content on Prime Video, recommend movies and shows based on natural conversations, and more.

Those features go well beyond the basic chat and search functionality of ChatGPT. I can see ways Alexa+ could be legitimately helpful in everyday life, not just for generating an email draft or a custom emoji.

I would have loved to see Apple roll out something similar that integates with, say, AppleTV. While Apple doesn't have as much of a presence in smart home tech, it does have a huge collection of well-integrated devices it could bring similar practical features to. That just leaves the lackluster handful of Apple Intelligence features we've already seen look even more disappointing.

For Apple's sake, I hope the rumors are wrong and that LLM Siri overhaul is arriving soon. Unfortunately, it might already be too late for Apple to make an impact in AI unless it gives Siri the makeover of the century.

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iPhone users waiting for a desperately needed Siri overhaul may soon start losing patience after a disappointing update, but there are better AI assistants out there than Siri.

On Friday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple's upgraded version of Siri, first announced at WWDC 2024 in June, may get delayed yet again due to ongoing bugs Apple is still ironing out. Gurman's update comes just a couple of months after the first Apple Intelligence features rolled out in iOS 18.2. So, iPhone users have already had a long wait to see any of Apple's promised AI features.

Previous rumors indicated that the Siri overhaul would likely launch with iOS 18.4, probably in March or April. However, it's looking like Apple is going to tack a few more months onto that wait if it pushes the Siri upgrade back to iOS 18.5. Of course, launching a poorly functioning update before it's ready wouldn't be the right move, so the wait will likely be worth it. It's still disappointing, though.

Luckily, Apple Intelligence is far from the only AI assistant available on the iPhone.

Top AI assistants for iOS you can get right now

If you're growing tired of waiting for Apple to finally give Siri the overhaul it has needed for years, you're in luck. There are plenty of other AI assistants you can use on iOS that provide many, if not all, of the same features Apple has promised for the new-and-improved Siri.

The best feature all these apps share is that they're available right now, no months-long wait needed.

1. ChatGPT

No list of the top AI assistants is complete without ChatGPT, which has become the most popular generative AI platform in the world over the past few years. While some advanced features require a paid subscription, the basic AI tools most users are looking for are available for free, such as responding to search queries, answering questions, or generating text-based content like email drafts.

Conveniently, Apple Intelligence is going to include a ChatGPT integration, so you'll be able to privately use ChatGPT in lieu of Apple's on-device AI for some tasks. That means if you do get used to using it or purchase a subscription, you'll easily be able to blend that into your Apple Intelligence experience.

If you haven't used ChatGPT before, you can try it out for free on your web browser or in the ChatGPT app on iOS and iPadOS.

2. DeepSeek

DeepSeek is the new kid on the block in the AI world, but right off the bat, it promised performance to rival OpenAI's ChatGPT. While DeepSeek has faced some controversy over that rivalry and claims about how cost-effective its algorithm is, it is still a high-performing AI platform that makes a great alternative to Siri.

DeepSeek can perform many of the same tasks as ChatGPT, but has a few important advantages. First, it's completely free. Since DeepSeek is open-source, anyone can access, use, and modify the algorithm's code. It also means the official DeepSeek app is free to use, with no pricey subscription necessary (at least, not at the time of writing).

It has also proven to deliver more detailed, reliable responses to some types of prompts, but not all (ChatGPT tends to be better at programming questions and DeepSeek may dodge political questions related to China).

So, if you're looking for a free alternative to ChatGPT that's available right now (unlike the Siri update), DeepSeek is a great option. You can try out DeepSeek on your web browser or with the free DeepSeek app on iOS.

3. Google Gemini

Long-time iPhone users may cringe at the idea of replacing Siri with Google's AI assistant, but at least Gemini is currently available.

Google Gemini can answer questions and generate text and images just like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, but it has a distinct advantage due to its integration across Google's apps, including Gmail, Drive, and Docs. If you regularly use Google's other apps and services, having access to Gemini across those platforms can be really convenient, giving it an edge over ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and even Siri.

Unfortunately, Gemini isn't completely free. Most basic tasks are included in the free version of it, but advanced features require a Gemini Advanced subscription. It's $19.99 per month, which is the same as OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus subscription.

You can try out Google Gemini for free on your web browser or with the Google Gemini iOS app.

When will Apple's Siri update come out?

While there are plenty of other AI apps out there, like those above, some Apple users may still have their hearts set on waiting for the big Siri overhaul. If you're in this boat, it looks like you'll probably have to wait until at least May.

If the rumors about the Siri update getting delayed again are accurate, it will be pushed back to at least iOS 18.5. In years past, iOS 17.5 and iOS 16.5 both came out in mid-May so we can expect a similar release window for iOS 18.5. At the least, we will probably see the new-and-improved Siri before WWDC 2025 in June.

We'll be covering all of the latest news and rumors about the Siri update, Apple Intelligence, and iOS 18, so stay tuned for more details.

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Since Tim Cook announced a Siri overhaul at WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024, Apple fans have patiently awaited the arrival of those Siri updates on their iPhones. It's been a long wait, but a few of the most significant new Siri features could roll out soon.

It's no secret that Siri has been in desperate need of upgrades. Apple Intelligence, Apple's new on-device AI platform, is finally giving Siri the glow-up it needs, but Apple has been slow to roll out those features so far.

A few minor upgrades already arrived on compatible iPhones, like Siri's colorful new design and the ChatGPT integration in Apple Intelligence. However, the upcoming iOS updates expected to roll out this spring could finally deliver a few of the most compelling updates that will make Siri much more helpful.

Here's a look at the new Siri features coming in early 2025 and when Apple might release them.

The Siri you've been waiting for

Compared to rapidly-advancing competitors like ChatGPT, Siri is starting to look and feel pretty outdated, but that might not last much longer. Last month, Apple rolled out the first wave of Apple Intelligence features with iOS 18.2, including a ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, Image Playground, Writing Tools, and more. Early in 2025, we could finally see a few of the most significant Siri features in another upcoming software update.

First up is personal context, a feature allowing you to reference things on your phone when interacting with Siri. For example, you could ask Siri about plans you made in a text thread a few days ago. This feature is a big step toward making Siri a legitimately useful "assistant."

Similarly, Siri is also getting onscreen awareness early this year. This feature lets Siri understand visual content on your iPhone, Mac, or iPad screen. For example, if you're looking at your plane tickets on your iPhone, you could ask Siri to save them to the wallet app, and it would understand and act on that. (With personal context, you could also ask Siri about those plane tickets later, and it would know what you were referring to!)

Finally, Siri is also getting new app actions in both Apple and third-party apps. This feature will enable Siri to interact with apps the way users would. You can already do this on a basic level, such as asking Siri to play a specific song on Spotify. However, with these Apple Intelligence updates, you have more actions to choose from, and Siri can complete more complex tasks. App Intents will allow developers to add the same functionality to third-party apps.

When is the rest of Apple Intelligence coming out?

If you're wondering when you'll get to use these new Siri features, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is Apple has been releasing its new AI features in a slow trickle, so unfortunately, we're all in for at least a bit of a wait. The good news is we should be over halfway to the finish line on these three major Siri updates.

Back in September, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman posted on X that the personal context feature wouldn't be "available for 6 months after the iPhone 16 goes on sale." The iPhone 16 went on sale on September 20, so six months from that, the personal context update would be in March or April.

That aligns with the release dates for iOS 17.4 and iOS 16.4, which both came out in March (with additional version updates in April).

In a July 7 newsletter, Gurman also stated that "Apple's big Siri upgrade should arrive next spring," which implies personal context will be just one of several major features in a spring software update.

Apple also released a new API for developers in November, enabling Siri to access onscreen content in their apps, which appears to be for the upcoming onscreen awareness feature, but it could also be part of the new app actions coming to Siri. This could hint that Apple is nearly ready to release these new features and is now giving developers time to make them compatible with their apps ahead of an official release.

So, assuming Apple's update release schedule is similar to previous years, we can expect the iOS 18.4 update in March or April to include the "big Siri upgrade" Gurman was talking about. This will likely include personal context, onscreen awareness, and new app actions. Other features could also be part of that spring update, but we'll have to wait and see.

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Ever since Apple announced its new AI features back at WWDC 2024 in June, iPhone users have been eagerly waiting for a much-needed Siri update. Apple promised major improvements to the outdated voice assistant, but they have yet to materialize, along with most of the features of Apple Intelligence.

Recent rumors hint that Apple still has a long-awaited Siri overhaul in the works, though, specifically a completely new version of Siri powered by a large language model (LLM) — that's the same tech ChatGPT and Google's Gemini use.

An "LLM Siri" could not only give the voice assistant the revamp it desperately needs but also vastly improve the iPhone user experience. Here's a look at how it might work and when Apple might release it.

How an LLM Siri upgrade could transform Apple Intelligence

On Thursday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is developing a new version of Siri powered by a large language model, much like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

The new-and-improved Siri will feature more conversational language, improved understanding of prompts, expanded capabilities, and better app integration using App Intents. It's set to be the most dramatic overhaul of Siri since it launched in 2010.

All the Siri cynics out there might scoff at the idea of such a significant update to Apple's outdated voice assistant, however, there's reason to be optimistic. An LLM Siri could finally fulfill the promise of what voice assistants were supposed to be all along: intelligent digital helpers that can complete tasks for you on your phone using simple voice commands.

LLM tech could solve many of the shortcomings that are holding Siri back. For instance, an LLM Siri would have the contextual understanding to answer follow-up questions or "remember" previous conversations or preferences.

It would also have the understanding to correctly interpret complex commands and questions. Right now, Siri is only capable of correctly executing basic tasks like starting a phone call or setting an alarm. An LLM Siri could draft an email for you or maybe even post a photo to social media or allow you to interact with third-party apps through voice commands.

Improved app integrations could be a critical upgrade for Siri, which is why more emphasis on App Intents is so noteworthy. App Intents allow developers to effectively translate how their app functions so Apple Intelligence can understand it and control the app through a user's voice commands. If more apps adopt App Intents, Siri could become an AI multi-tool you could use to control your entire device without manually opening any apps.

Would a revamped Siri clash with Apple's privacy culture?

An LLM Siri could bring a slew of much-needed improvements to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. However, it does pose potential privacy risks Apple will have to navigate carefully for the new version of Siri to be successful.

LLMs use massive amounts of training data to understand questions, conversations, images, and more. For instance, when ChatGPT generates an email draft for you, it's basing that text off of millions of examples of similar emails that it viewed in its training data.

The issue with this process is that it can be difficult to keep data completely private while training and using an LLM. Technically, the AI learns from every interaction it has, meaning data is (usually) getting saved in some capacity.

This has long posed issues for existing LLM AI platforms. For example, Italy banned ChatGPT back in 2023 over concerns that the AI was saving personal information in its training data.

Apple seems to already be planning ahead for this. In June, it announced Private Cloud Compute, a service that uses private Apple servers running on secure M3 chips to process anonymized user data for Apple Intelligence features. Apple emphasized at WWDC 2024 that any personal or identifiable information needed for Apple Intelligence will only be saved on users' individual devices, never in the cloud or Apple servers.

That approach is unique among the major players in AI, at least so far. If the new LLM-powered version of Siri performs as well as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, Apple's uniquely private alternative to those platforms could vault it to the top of the AI market.

When is the LLM Siri update coming out?

If you're as excited about the potential of a major Siri upgrade as we are, you're probably already wondering when you'll be able to use it. Unfortunately, it's going to be a long wait.

Apple has kept things pretty airtight so far about exactly when it will launch, but current rumors hint at a spring 2026 release date. We're expecting iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 to launch in summer or fall 2025, but it looks like the big Siri update won't be part of the initial release for those software updates. Much like the first sampling of Apple Intelligence features this year, it will arrive later as a version update in iOS 19/iPadOS 19/macOS 16.

That's disappointing news considering Apple has been stirring excitement over a new and improved Siri since announcing Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024. I'm hardly surprised about the long wait, though. All the features of Apple Intelligence are going to trickle in slowly over the next year as it is.

The question is, will that long wait put Apple too far behind to catch up with Meta and Google? We'll have to wait and see.

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Amazon Alexa is about to get a major upgrade, but with a catch.

After nearly 10 years of providing virtual assistance for free via Alexa, Amazon reportedly has plans to create an AI-powered version of Alexa that "could cost as much as $10 a month," according to The Washington Post, a publication owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Don't worry if you already own or are planning to buy an Echo speaker or another Amazon device for its Alexa capabilities. You'll still be able to use the free version of Alexa — you just won't have access to Alexa's more advanced features, like "recipe suggestions based on your family’s dietary restrictions and AI summaries of the news."

This new development begs the question: Will all AI-powered virtual assistants or services eventually offer a more powerful, feature-rich version as a subscription? 

ChatGPT, Gemini, Alexa — will Siri be next?

After Google rebranded Bard to Gemini, it revealed a new subscription-based model for access to its most premium AI assistant: Gemini Advanced. You can try out the service for a month at $0, but after that first month, it'll cost $19.99 every month.

For $20/month, Gemini Advanced uses Google's next-gen 1.5 Pro AI model, comes with 2TB of storage from Google One, and allows you to use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and other services. For people who use virtual assistants for basic tasks, $20 for Gemini Advanced seems like a waste.

While Google was the first of the major tech companies to implement a subscription for its AI-powered virtual assistant, it followed in OpenAI's footsteps. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Plus in early 2023 at a cost of $20/month, giving users access to stronger AI models that could tackle more complex requests and other premium features.

With Google taking the subscription leap for Gemini Advanced, it's not surprising that Amazon is now jumping on that train for more profits. But are people actually paying for Gemini Advanced right now?

There aren't any currently published subscriber numbers to look at, but in a poll from Android Police on whether people pay for Gemini Advanced, 71% of 2,363 votes said, "No, I don't pay for Gemini Advanced."

With so many subscriptions to juggle right now — streaming services, dating apps, printer ink, meal delivery kits, and more — that high percentage of people not paying for Gemini Advanced doesn't surprise me. But if OpenAI, Google, and now Amazon are charging for an AI-powered version of its chatbot/VA, won't Apple inevitably do the same?

Apple already charges $19.95/month for Apple One, so the company clearly isn't averse to the subscription model. And Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that Apple may try to "pass it on with the Apple One subscription model," charging between $10 and $20 for Apple Intelligence.

I'd hope that since the company already has an Apple One subscription for its users, any cost for Apple Intelligence would be rolled into the existing Apple One subscription options rather than as a standalone, additional subscription to keep up with.

All that said, isn't AI solving all the wrong problems right now anyway? Unless Google, Amazon, Apple, and others provide clear reasons to invest in an AI-powered assistant versus its basic counterpart, I don't see people shelling out $20 every month for it.

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Of everything we've seen in 2024, smart glasses are proving to be a genuine hot property. While wearables such as Samsung's Galaxy Ring are making headlines and bringing the smart ring into the limelight, smart glasses — a wearable wonderkid a decade in the making — are also beginning to come into focus.

But how do you know that a product is likely to force its way into the mainstream and become one of the next must-have devices for years to come? Well, there's market speculation from well-established analysts or a growing buzz among tech outlets. However, there's also potentially the biggest nod towards the success of any given device, the news that Apple is making one too.

Apple once sneered and derided its competitor's initial efforts at bringing smart glasses to the consumer market, but, ten years removed from the ill-fated Google Glass, the company is currently committed to releasing its own smart glasses, and it could lead to the mainstream moment this wearable has been waiting for.

Apple smart glasses: What we know

While Apple is a company well known for having any number of irons in the fire at one time, we can never say for certain that its behind-closed-curtains collection of in-the-works projects will materialize into anything that lands on store shelves.

However, when it comes to smart glasses, things are looking ever more likely to progress with Bloomberg's resident Apple auteur Mark Gurman highlighting Apple's commitment to the project in his latest Power On newsletter.

The long-standing "Apple Glass" rumors will seemingly take their first steps into realization as Apple's Vision group continues to expand on the company's new face-worn focus that kickstarted with this year's release of the Vision Pro.

However, while the Vision Pro immediately dove into the deep end of high-tech headsets, offering one of the most premium experiences we've seen so far, Apple's first venture into smart glasses could be a much more modest matter.

Apple smart glasses: What to expect

While it's long been the rumor that Apple is looking towards developing a pair of "true" AR smart glasses, Gurman states that "true augmented reality glasses has been tabled due to technical challenges," the company's first pair of smart glasses could more clearly resemble the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, which released in October last year.

Meta's frames refine the smart glass experience by offering a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-enabled pair of Ray-Ban's iconic Wayfarer sunglasses that offer touch capacitive controls for handling calls and music playback through open-ear speakers, housed directly within the temples of the frames.

Taking this another step further, the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses also feature a built-in ultrawide 12-megapixel camera and multi-mic system for image and video capture from the first-person perspective.

However, the cherry on top of Meta's smart glasses came with the arrival of Meta AI, which allowed hands-free access to the company's premier multi-modal AI chatbot. Wearers can interact with Meta AI through natural language prompts in a similar way to smart home assistants. Simply saying "Hey Meta..." activates the onboard assistant allowing wearers to engage with the AI.

The AI can also access the glasses' camera to comment and respond based on real-world visual inputs such as translating foreign languages, helping to choose outfits, and giving you more information on landmarks or works of art.

If Apple hopes to emulate Meta's success in this market, then it's more than capable of providing a similar, if not superior, experience.

Apple's smart glasses could draw upon the tech housed a wide range of Apple products to emulate any number of features the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses offer to complete one of the most well-rounded smart glasses offerings we've seen to date.

Apple smart glasses: What we'd like to see

The first generation of Apple smart glasses would do well to draw inspiration from the audio excellence of the AirPod together with the iPhone's quality camera offerings while making great use of the company's all-new Apple Intelligence AI — not to mention the long-awaited AI Siri overhaul expected to release next year.

Where Apple could go one further is to double up the camera offerings, allowing wearers to capture spatial images and video in full 3D, something already implemented into iPhone 15 models.

Smart glasses also allow for various health and lifestyle tracking capabilities like those features in the Solos AirGo 3, which offers step tracking, posture reminders and correction from its built-in gyroscope, and even an optical heart rate sensor hidden inside one of its temples.

With health and fitness tracking becoming one of Apple's major focuses with the Apple Watch, it's likely that we could see the company adopt a similar approach for its smart glasses.

This would not only expand on what its smart glasses could offer wearers but also help to set the foundations of a future "all-in-one" wearable that could viably replace the iPhone once Apple figures out how best to implement displays into this product.

Will Apple smart glasses replace the iPhone?

It was 2007 when Steve Jobs took to the stage to reveal the iPhone to the world for the first time. Since then, we've seen Apple's smartphone refined, reformed, and redesigned countless times through innovation and invention.

However, over fifteen years on from this landmark announcement, we're finally staring down the barrel of a product that could eventually see the smartphone dethroned as the everyday computing companion.

Likely, this first generation of Apple smart glasses won't be the one to complete such a Herculean task, but the company's "true" AR glasses could well be the ones that pave a new path ahead for personal tech.

Even Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes the eventual release of "true" AR glasses is a "Holy grail" moment in tech, and that's something he and his company are being heavily linked with showcasing as early as later this year.

That being said, Apple's first-generation smart glasses may include a cellular and Wi-Fi option, similar to its iPad and Apple Watch offerings. Thanks to the sleuths at Patently Apple, we already know that Tim Cook and Co. are exploring how best to outfit its future glasses with cellular antennas. 

While it's unlikely that anyone will be ditching their iPhone for this first-generation device, it seems highly likely that it will be available as a stand-alone device of its own, and not brought to market as an accessory that is iPhone dependent. As for how future iterations are adopted, especially "true" AR glasses, that remains to be seen.

When can we expect them?

With so much potential to be found in Apple's upcoming smart glasses, it's only natural to want to know when we can expect them to release.

While we can't say for certain they will, insiders and analysts believe they're on their way, with the reputable Ming-Chu Kuo believing that a 2026 release date is possible, with Metalens production likely allowing for Apple to chase its "true" AR glasses dream further down the line.

An even more positive prediction comes again from Blomberg's Mark Gurman, who believes we could see Apple's smart glasses arrive by the end of 2025.

Of course, these dates should be taken with a healthy amount of salt, as Apple is no stranger to abandoning projects or delaying them until they're completely satisfied with the end result.

However, with a more stripped-back approach to its smart glasses on the cards, leaving AR out of the equation for the time being, it's very likely that Apple can follow through on its ambitions in a faster manner and capitalize on the growing popularity that this form of wearable has to offer.

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Apple is reportedly working on a new "home accessory" according to code discovered by MacRumors, adding to the list of the company's attempts at diversifying its portfolio.

Within the code, one of Apple's current experiments is referred to as "HomeAccessory17,1." It's noted that this is similar to the way HomePod (Apple's smart speaker) is listed in code, referred to as "AudioAccessory."

This isn't the first time Apple has had leaks involving this device. The term "homeOS" was spotted in a job listing that was swiftly taken down by Apple in 2021, referencing that the job for Senior iOS Engineer would involve working on "iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and homeOS."

It's propped up here and there since then, with more references to job listings and its presence in tvOS 17.4 code, but it's looking more and more like the eventual unveiling of homeOS will be a sure thing. 

It's believed that the "17,1" in the code would result in it receiving the A18 chip, making it compatible with Apple Intelligence — the company's initiative in AI, announced recently at WWDC 2024.

What can we expect?

If this home accessory is truly compatible with Apple Intelligence, there's no saying what it would be capable of, but we can make some assumptions based on what we already know about it.

Apple Intelligence's current features involve empowered writing tools, prioritized notifications, and mail, summaries of text or even audio transcripts, an updated focus that has AI determine what might be important enough to interrupt you, and Smart Reply for quick responses.

Considering Apple's ecosystem is one that's heavily interconnected, with many of its devices linking with one another, these features will likely be present within homeOS, especially anything relating to notifications. 

Something like Smart Reply would be particularly useful on a device of this kind, allowing you to drum up responses by answering a few AI-generated questions without having to use the smart display like a keyboard.

Apple's rumored smart display proves it's diversifying

It's no secret that Apple has been rather adventurous as of late, diving headfirst into new technological sectors that it hasn't graced previously. While not all endeavors are successful, like the recent failure of its Pay Later loan service, it's still impressive to see the company extend its reach without fear.

This unnamed smart display is only one of Apple's many bizarre ideas.

The Apple Ring is still heavily rumored, with the company patenting different features relating to smart ring technology, like pressure-sensitive inputs and detecting input in VR/AR.

While patents don't necessarily confirm anything, it would be a great time to launch, as its existence could deliver competition to the Samsung Galaxy Ring that will be officially unveiled at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked on July 10.

Another one of its bizarre ideas that never actually made it anywhere is a 14-inch iPad, which would be undeniably massive in comparison to the 12.9-inch iPad, as that's the largest model currently available.

And how can we ignore Apple's rumored at-home robots? Sure, it's hard to imagine that will actually come to fruition, with Apple analyst Gene Muster saying the probability of seeing a product in the next five years is "slim to none," but the company is always thinking about what it could do.

While we've gotten increasingly ridiculous with some of these rumor examples, there's a huge gap in the probability between Apple developing a smart display that's been rumored for years versus the prospect of Apple-branded robots taking over your home. I mean, has Tim Cook even watched The Mitchells Vs. the Machines?

Will Apple's smart display actually happen?

We cannot confirm anything with absolute certainty, and all we have so far are rumors, but the likelihood of Apple's smart display happening is very high. 

The latest leak gives us concrete proof that some form of home accessory code exists within Apple's backend, but even if that wasn't present, it would be shocking if Apple didn't develop a smart display to begin with.

Amazon and Google are the two biggest competitors that Apple would have to go into business against if it does enter this market, but frankly, the company has the technology to back itself up. 

Its recent investments in AI, and already existing functionality with Siri, would be perfect for a smart display. Beyond that, Apple's smart speaker, the HomePod, already exists so what's stopping the company from sticking a screen on top of it?

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I'm sorry, the old Siri can't come to the phone right now. Why? Cause she's DEAD! Well not really, but Taylor Swift fans will have to forgive paraphrasing "Look What You Made Me Do" as after years of Siri often serving as a punchline, this next upgrade could give Apple's virtual assistant the last laugh.

At WWDC 2024 on Monday, Apple announced some major improvements coming to Siri. Thanks to newly introduced Apple Intelligence and an exciting partnership between OpenAI and Apple to integrate ChatGPT into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, Siri is getting a much-needed overhaul that'll help it properly compete with other virtual assistants.

The new Siri will be "more natural, more contextually relevant, and of course, more personal to you," according to Kelsey Peterson, Director of Machine Learning and AI at Apple. Among all the features coming to Apple's upgraded virtual assistant, these are the 5 we can't wait to try the most.

5. Speak to Siri more naturally

If you're prone to fumbling over your words when asking Siri a question, only to be met with "Can you repeat that?" or "I'm sorry, I don't understand," you'll love the upgraded Siri. 

At WWDC 2024, Peterson tested Siri's "richer language understanding capabilities," by saying this to Siri: "What does the weather look like for tomorrow at Muir Beach? Oh, wait, I meant Muir Woods!"

Siri correctly pulled up the forecast for Muir Woods, ignoring the first bit of information Peterson redacted. 

And because Siri now understands conversational context, Peterson followed up with, "Create an event for a hike there tomorrow at 9 a.m.," and Siri understood that 'there' was Muir Woods.

This is one of those features that may draw some scoffing from Android fans as Google Assistant has offered contextual awareness for over five years, but if it works as intended it's an excellent addition to Siri. It also looks to match Google's current offering, so Apple may catch up with a single update.

4. Use Siri as your ultimate Apple how-to guru

With Siri's "extensive product knowledge," it can now field thousands of questions about any Apple product — iPhones, iPads, Macs — and help you find the perfect how-to guide to fix an issue or carry out a task.

And because Siri can process conversational language, you don't even need to call a feature by its name in order to be understood. 

An example question used at WWDC 2024 is "How can I write a message now and have it be delivered tomorrow?" With its new repository of information about features and settings, Siri knows this question is about how to schedule text messages.

This is a brilliant addition by Apple that should help to boost its favorite stat, customer satisfaction. Users are forever frustrated by an inability to figure out how a given feature works, as long as they are familiar with Siri this should be mostly a problem of the past.

3. Utilize on-screen awareness

Apple Intelligence will give the new Siri on-screen awareness, which broadens the scope of what Siri is capable of helping you with. Siri will be able to look to what's on your screen for context, and carry out more complex commands.

Here's just one example of on-screen awareness in action. If your friend texts you their new address, you could ask Siri to add the address to their contact card, and Siri will be able to find the address, understand whose contact details you're updating based on the person you're in a conversation with, and switch apps to update their contact card.

Google has toyed with on-screen contextual features on Android, such as Circle to Search and What's on my screen, but if this works as advertised this is a case where Apple will surpass what we've seen on Android so far.

2. Type to Siri rather than talk

It's not always possible to speak a command or question to Siri. You might be in the middle of a lecture, on a public train, or just at home and don't feel like talking.

One update for the new and improved Siri is the option to type rather than talk. By double-tapping at the bottom of the screen, you can switch from voice to text, and type commands to Siri like "Set an alarm for 7 a.m." or "Remind me to study on Saturday for next week's test."  

Android fans are going to be ready for this one. This feature with a very similar implementation came to Android in 2017.

1. Use in-app actions across multiple apps

One of the coolest new features coming to Siri is the ability to perform multiple actions across different apps. Siri can gather information and context from different apps on your phone to make your life easier.

Peterson gave the best example for this with a scenario where she needs to pick up her mom from the airport. 

She asks, "Siri, when is my mom's flight landing?" And Siri quickly responds with a real-time flight tracking update after grabbing the flight details from an email from her mom. 

Peterson then asks, "What's our lunch plan?" and "How long will it take us to get there from the airport?" And with access to Messages, Mail, and Maps, Siri can handle all of these requests from the home screen, without Peterson needing to open up all these apps herself. 

Sure, this one example may only save you a minute, but over time, those saved minutes will quickly add up, and this is a perfect example of the type of experience Apple loves to create. You aren't thinking about all of these apps working together, you just ask your iPhone to do something for you and it's done.

Outlook

While we won't be able to test these features until iOS 18 launches in beta later this summer, it all looks very promising, and we're excited. 

Siri was the first virtual assistant, but was somewhat quickly surpassed in skills and capabilities by Google Assistant. Other competitors like Amazon Alexa and recently ChatGPT also seemed to eclipse Apple's offering, so it's exciting to think that Siri may finally get the upgrades Apple fans have wanted for years, making it just as amazing as it was when it first launched.

Needless to say, Google isn't standing still either. Last month at Google I/O 2024 we got our glimpse at what Android 15 has coming this fall and Google Gemini is looking to supercharge the virtual assistant for Android users. 

While Apple borrowed liberally from Android for some of these Siri updates, there's little doubt Google will pick up some tips from Apple's announcements. The good news is that while the arguments can rage on about which OS did it first or best, the users on both sides benefit from the best ideas rising to the top. Apple putting more pressure on Google in the virtual assistant space is nothing but a positive for everyone.

Although these new Siri features seem most suited to iPhone users, they'll also be coming to iPad and Mac later this year. Check out our WWDC 2024 recap for more major news you might've missed.

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Siri, Apple's now iconic virtual voice assistant, originally launched as a stand-alone iPhone app in February 2010 and would've eventually have made its way to Android and BlackBerry, too, had Steve Jobs not personally pursued its $200+ million acquisition.

On October 4, 2011, Siri was introduced as a core iOS feature alongside the release of the iPhone 4S. Since then, Apple claim Siri has gone on to feature in everything from Apple TV to Apple Watch and is reportedly used across over 500 million devices worldwide. The rest, as they say, is history. Or is it?

There's more to Siri's story ahead, with the biggest shake up for Apple's virtual assistant potentially waiting for us during next week's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

A Siri-ous overhaul as AI arrives to iPhone

This week, Computex will be dominating the headlines as one of the world's biggest technology shows exhibits the latest and greatest tech from brands like Intel, AMD, Qualcomm and more.

However, next week sees Apple reclaim the spotlight with its annual WWDC. It's during this event's opening keynote that we expect the reveal of a new slate of operating systems, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15, as well as the potential debut of an all-new AI enhanced version of Apple's virtual assistant, Siri.

Much speculation surrounds Apple's plans to bring AI to iPhone, with Siri being a prime and obvious candidate for an overhaul in the age of chatbots like Copilot, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini.

Recent reports from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman indicate that Siri's AI makeover will arrive at some point in 2025, with the changes made to Apple's virtual assistant being large enough that they won't be ready in time to launch alongside iOS 18.

This delay would also give Apple more time to fully explore its options after having recently penned a deal with ChatGPT creators OpenAI over licensing its LLM (Large Language Model) technology. It also gives Apple an opportunity to seek out further partners to help power its AI ambitions, with a potential deal with Google also rumored to be on the table.

3 ways AI on iPhone will change Siri for the better

But when Siri's AI overhaul does arrive, what can we expect? While Apple remains tight-lipped about what's in store for its long-time virtual assistant, information is finding its way beyond the walls of Apple Park, Cupertino and we do have some ideas about what to expect. Here are some of the more interesting things we've heard so far.

1. A true AI companion

With Apple's recent partnership with OpenAI, we'd assume it's a safe bet to expect Siri to receive an LLM overhaul to bring it more in line with the kind of AI chatbots we're seeing today — especially if Apple plans to adopt the GPT-4o tech powering ChatGPT.

This means a more natural, conversational virtual assistant that can understand the context behind your queries and react appropriately. It also opens the doors to Siri being able to do far more than simply respond to voice commands, with Apple's assistant potentially being able to comment on what can be seen through the iPhone's camera or images on screen.

Siri's current offerings seem incredibly dated when compared to what other virtual assistants are capable of performing, so an upgrade to a true AI companion could have an incredible impact on this feature's effectiveness and attractiveness to users.

It also means Siri will be able to take on more complex tasks that the virtual assistant simply isn't capable of right now. Siri's AI overhaul could see it capable of penning emails on your behalf and sending them out automatically, performing preset actions at various times of the day, like turning on smart lighting or checking the day's traffic for you.

2. Photo editing

Another of Siri's rumored features involves its ability to help users automatically edit their photos and achieve the look and style they want, without the hassle of dealing with menus and sliders to get there.

The iPhone already uses AI and machine learning for taking photos with computational photography. This is the same technology that makes you look so good in those Portrait Mode shots by making use of filters, simulating lenses, and applying post-processing effects that maximize the impact of every shot you take.

However, as good as the end result is, there's no harm in adding a little extra flavor to your snaps after the fact. This is where Siri's new capabilities can come into play, potentially making use of generative AI to transform your photos into different styles, or by enhancing low-light images and reducing any blur.

3. Greater accessibility

While much of what the iPhone can do has evolved over time, how we operate one has remained much the same. That is until recently, anyway.

Last month Apple announced in a press release that it's bringing several new accessibility features to both iPhone and iPad — including the option to control your device through eye tracking.

This hands-free experience is something Siri is rumored to excel at, with the assistant's new capabilities allowing it to act as an AI agent of sorts, to precisely interact with apps through voice commands.

While this has impressive accessibility implications, it also means the average user will be able to operate their device hands-free too, allowing them to navigate through apps, issue commands, and even browse the web by voice and eyesight alone while their hands might be otherwise preoccupied with preparing a meal or even washing up.

Outlook

Apple's big push to bring AI to iPhone is exciting, but the transformation of Siri could have the greatest impact on those within the company's ecosystem. As AI becomes more adept at interacting with us through our most-used devices and understanding how to interact with those devices too, it opens up the doors to entirely new ways for us to interact with them both.

To get a more solid view of what to expect from Apple when it comes to AI, we'll need to wait for this year's WWDC to kick off on June 10. Until then, we'll be keeping our ear to the ground for more word on what to expect.

So, for news, rumors, and how-tos on everything Apple-related and all things tech, follow Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives.

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iOS 18 will introduce OpenAI tech into the Apple ecosystem, and it will likely be announced when the company has its full software conference at WWDC 2024.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman published his latest Power On newsletter on Sunday, focusing on Apple's efforts in the AI space with new features, alongside how its partnership with OpenAi to bring ChatGPT to iPhone will thrust the company into the thick of it with competitors.

But Gurman reports that he "doesn't expect Apple's in-house AI announcements to be nearly as impressive as what OpenAI and Google have already showcased." 

This comes shortly after the official announcement of GPT-4o greatly expanding the possibilities of ChatGPT, alongside Google I/O 2024 giving us a look at the new generative AI features coming to its ecosystem.

Gurman seems pretty convinced that the company will not be able to offer something anything near as juicy, going so far as to criticize Apple's AI updates for moving "at a snail's pace."

But with OpenAI's ChatGPT in coordination with Siri, what new changes can we expect that will push Apple further ahead than they could manage alone? Will it be enough to combat what Microsoft has in store at its Build 2024 conference going live on Tuesday?

Can Siri and ChatGPT take on Microsoft Copilot?

In its current state, Siri stands no chance against the offerings seen through other AI. Its cloud-based approach to AI will make some improvements, though, with Gurman reporting its "proactive intelligence" will see enhanced voice capabilities.

He claims we will see features that can summarize notifications or news articles and transcribe voice memos. But is that exciting enough to stand a chance against competitors?

With Microsoft Build 2024 kicking off on Tuesday, Windows Copilot needs to step up to the plate and solidify how its upcoming AI features can push it ahead of the competition.

AI Explorer, a rumored upcoming AI feature that is set to launch with the Windows 11 24H2 update, could push the technology further than what Apple is ready for.

AI Explorer works directly with an NPU to process information on the screen, which allows a user to later call upon Copilot to find what they were looking at in the past. Recipes you were previously browsing could instantly return to the screen. 

It would essentially give your computer a memory, remembering what web pages, documents, applications, photos, videos, and more are being used. We don't know what this looks like in application, but it's a pretty exciting prospect on paper.

Apple teaming up with OpenAI is exciting, but the company will have to compete in a quickly growing market. Gurman even claims that Apple executives agree that "they're playing catch-up." In a field where OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft are making as many strides as they are, being so behind is dangerous.

Thanks for the gold, kind stranger

OpenAI and Reddit announced on Thursday that they're in a partnership deal that will "benefit both" communities. For Reddit users, they will have "AI-powered features" brought to them. For OpenAI users, Reddit content is going to be available on ChatGPT and "new products," which will allow the chatbot to access Reddit's Data API. OpenAI is also going to become a Reddit advertising partner.

Considering OpenAI will be intrinsically linked with iPhone, this is inherently to Apple's benefit, but they're not alone. Microsoft similarly uses OpenAI models, which means that the company is going to have trouble solidifying itself as a major player in the AI scene if it's using the technology of its competitors.

Similar to how Apple made the move from using Intel Core processors in its Mac products to its implementation of Apple Silicon, the company will thrive more efficiently if it invests into its own technology.

We've seen incredible performance and staggering battery life from Apple Silicon chips, and while it isn't a perfect direct comparison, who knows what its AI systems will look like if it invests in its own chatbot further down the line?

Until then, though, we need to actually see what Apple is planning to do with its OpenAI partnership to begin with. We'll get more information at WWDC 2024, so until then, keep up with our coverage to see the latest in Apple's AI efforts.

More from Laptop Mag

• Is Apple’s ‘fashionably late’ approach to AI a mistake?
• The search for the 'iPhone of AI' is over: It's the iPhone
• The AI ‘revolution’ has done nothing but cause me trouble

Apple has considerable ground to make up on when it comes to implementing AI into its ecosystem. However, that could be ramping up to change, with the company currently in "active negotiations" with Google to license its AI models to bring its AI features into fruition.

While Microsoft has Copilot and the backing of the powerful OpenAI models that come with it, Samsung leans on Google to power much of its Galaxy AI catalog, and Google itself is stepping up its AI game with its latest Gemini multimodal AI, Apple is left with very little to show for its efforts.

While Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has promised that an AI announcement is on the way and ready to "break new ground," it would seem that the company is torn between who to turn to when it comes to powering its artificial intelligence ambitions.

Apple AI at a crossroads

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple are currently in talks with Google to bring its Gemini AI model to iPhone, having recently met with ChatGPT makers OpenAI to discuss the same potential deal.

While Tim Cook has previously confessed to being a ChatGPT user himself, it would seem the Cupertino company is weighing all options ahead of making its promised AI announcement later this year.

Personal preferences aside, Apple's eventual decision on which direction it takes when choosing its AI models might come down to strengthening its relationship with Google after recently enforced EU regulations have forced Apple's hand into making it easier for users to switch from the default browser and default search engine — the latter of which Google currently pay billions to Apple per year to secure.

While ChatGPT and OpenAI's other models are far more popular than Google Gemini at present, a deal with Apple could considerably raise the profile of Google's model and ensure that the Search Engine giants retain the traffic acquisition of iPhone users. A switch to OpenAI's models would undoubtedly see Microsoft's Bing search engine reap the rewards if Apple chose otherwise.

Outlook

Apple's decision on which model to go with could greatly impact its AI goals in the short term. However, its long-term goals are more self-sufficient.

The company is currently working on its own AI model, code named Ajax and internally dubbed Apple GPT, but having been caught off guard by the sudden AI boom, it's believed that Ajax simply isn't up to par with the competition yet.

Apple will likely make use of either Google or OpenAI's models in the meantime to secure a footing in the current AI race while developing Ajax in the background.

More from Laptop Mag

• What is AI? LLMs, GPTs, and chatbots explained
• Google Gemini: 3 cool things you can do with Google's rebranded AI chatbot
• I spent a week using AI for everything — the good, the bad, and the downright ugly

The iPhone 16 will without a doubt be one of the biggest releases of 2024, but Apple's annual smartphone refresh is only half the story. While the brand's hardware sets the boundaries of what the device is capable of, it's up to the device's software to take full advantage of it.

And, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple views this year's upcoming iOS 18 software release as "One of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest — in the company's history."

iOS 18: More open, more safe, more AI?

Early word on iOS 18 is always welcome, especially when it alludes to major and positive changes coming our way. However, ahead of the upcoming milestone release, Apple is still working hard on the next iOS 17.4 release, expected to arrive on March 6.

The iOS 17.4 update is expected to include automatically generated transcripts for Apple Podcasts, a multi-lingual update for Siri's Read Messages function, new emoji (including a phoenix, broken chain, mushroom, slice of lime, and nodding/shaking head expressions), and refinements to the new Stolen Device Protection feature introduced in iOS 17.3.

March's iOS update is also expected to bring with it support for alternative app marketplaces in 27 EU countries to adhere to the EU's new Digital Markets Act — giving users more freedom of choice when it comes to which apps they can make use of and from whom they acquire them.

Looking beyond this update, what can we expect from iOS 18? Well, as of yet, very little is set in stone. We do know that RCS support is expected to arrive in 2024 after Apple confirmed as much in an announcement from October of last year. Thanks to earlier reporting by Gurman, we also know that Apple is heavily invested in bringing AI to the iPhone with the next major iOS release.

iOS 18's AI features are said to include a revamped Siri that adopts elements of current Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. Apple's AI plans also reportedly branch off into various other apps like Messages, Apple Music, Keynote, and Pages, to provide auto-complete responses and playlists, as well as generative drafting.

Outlook

While Gurman's details on what makes iOS 18 such a groundbreaking release were scant, we've already heard enough about its RCS and AI ambitions to know it has the potential to live up to the early hype.

Balance these new adoptions with a slew of overall software tweaks that may introduce new features and you quickly understand why those in Apple Park might be thinking so highly of iOS' next milestone release, expected to arrive in September, 2024.

Last year, we reported on Apple introducing AI elements to Siri, with the possibility of Apple GPT coming soon. It appears that "soon" could be this summer at the WWDC 2024 event.

According to a report from the Financial Times (via Tom's Guide), Apple has made more recent AI acquisitions than its competitors, including Google, Microsoft, and Meta, and the company has plans to acquire even more businesses in 2024. Additionally, almost half of all AI-related job ads Apple has posted are for generative AI-related roles.

Could Siri 2.0 actually be a competitive virtual assistant?

While Siri was innovative technology when it first launched, it was quickly surpassed by better virtual assistants, from Google Assistant to the now hard-to-top ChatGPT-powered assistants. In fact, many people last year were searching for how to replace Siri with ChatGPT.

Over the past few years, it has seemed like Apple simply isn't as interested in generative AI as Google, Microsoft, or Meta, but the company has just been silently acquiring and learning before jumping the gun. Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "We view AI and machine learning as fundamental technologies, and they're integral to virtually every product that we ship."

With Apple's slower, more methodical approach to generative AI, we can only hope that Siri 2.0 is an exceptional upgrade. Siri 2.0 will supposedly be a lot more conversational, and it'll be able to form intricate answers and understand complex questions. Furthermore, this upgraded virtual assistant will probably be better integrated among Apple's entire product range than the existing one.

Recently, the Apple research team introduced its own open-source, multimodal AI model, known as Ferret. This AI model lets large language models (LLMs) run on iPhones more efficiently. Analyst Daniel Ives told Financial Times that he'd be surprised if Apple "[didn't do a sizeable AI deal this year, because there's an arms race going on, and Apple is not going to be on the outside looking in."

With Siri claiming the title of "first virtual personal assistant," it'd be cool to see it become the best virtual assistant. The most likely place we could expect to see Siri 2.0 debut is at Apple's annual WWDC 2024 event.

Apple is cool. Cool logo. Cool products. Cool branding. It even has a cool font. What about that one exec who plays the guitar, he’s bloody cool too. And, if there’s one thing those who are “cool” are well known for, it’s showing up to a party fashionably late. However, in the case of showing up to the AI party, Apple may be arriving a little too late.

Eternal foe of the half-eaten fruit clan, Microsoft is already storming into the lead when it comes to its adoption of AI with services like Bing Chat and Copilot — having cleverly gotten into the chatbot arms race early by investing heavily to get its feet under the table at ChatGPT startup OpenAI.

So far under the table, that you’d presume its boardroom is now carpeted by the iconic rolling green hills and blue sky of a certain Windows XP wallpaper. It probably looks quite fetching when paired with the shrine to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) that its former Chief Scientist was rumored to worship feverishly at the foot of.

Even Google is pulling ahead of Apple, having developed everyone’s favorite robotic imbecile, Bard. Google’s chatbot is homegrown and soon to be powered by a state-of-the-art large language multimodal AI called Gemini.

Which, we’re told, is so good that we absolutely shouldn’t harp on about the fact that Google recently overstated its capabilities to audiences the world over after publishing a heavily misleading and craftily edited hands-on demonstration. One that was neither hands-on nor demonstrative of the software’s actual capabilities. Oops. 

Apple’s missed opportunit-AIs 

Even with their faults, Microsoft and Google’s AI ventures are at least in a constant state of improvement from real-time testing and feedback. By the time Tim Cook kickstarts the repurposed Apple Reality Distortion Field™ and takes to the stage to reveal his all-new, unprecedented, never-before-possible AI update to Siri, there’s a chance we’ll all have long moved on from simple generative back-and-forths.

Instead, we’ll be busy living out our Blade Runner 2049 fantasies as we fish mouth and French kiss open-air spaces, Autofilled by our Adobe Photoshop irises to include the visage of our virtual partners, generated entirely from our wildest desires — which will be effortlessly mined from the inside of our very skulls by Elon Musk’s mind control device perfectly-safe-and-harmless-to-lab-test-on-monkeys* brain-computer interface, Neuralink.

Of course, all of that could be seen as grossly hyperbolic and borderline offensively speculative. But if the multiverse theory is true (and I’ve seen enough Marvel movies to now convince me it is) then you’ll also know that in an infinite multiverse, everything I just wrote is guaranteed to be true — it’s just a matter of where and when.

So why not here and in our near future? After all, there are several big ways that Apple has already lost out with its fashionably late approach to AI as employees have abandoned ship to chase the pot of gold at the end of the AI rainbow. And they’ve been taking some top ideas with them.

Humane AI Pin 

Humane’s AI Pin is a Star Trek communicator-like smart badge that boldly goes where no brand has gone before. It’s exactly the kind of thing you can imagine coming out of Apple Park, and it sort of is. Humane was founded by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno and offers an entirely new way of interacting with your tech with a healthy dose of AI to refine the experience even further.

The AI Pin is outfitted with a laser ink display that projects a simple UI onto the palm of your hand which you can interact with using simple hand gestures. This means controlling your Pin with a tilt and roll of your hand to highlight different options and making selections by closing your fingers like you’re about to enter a state of Zen meditation. Through this interface, you’ll be able to quickly control your music or read messages on the go without reaching into a pocket to pull out your smartphone.

You can also interact with the AI Pin using its touchpad to make use of the onboard multimodal AI through speech. Here you can converse with the onboard AI and ask it questions, set reminders, compose messages, or even ask it to look at what’s in front of you using the Pin’s 13MP camera to give you more information about a location or answer specific questions about particular items with more context.

Beyond the Vision Pro, this type of product is genuinely something Apple could have used to bring about that post-iPhone era we’re all hearing so much about and seeing little evidence of.

A true desktop AI experience

Another promising venture spearheaded by former Apple employees comes from Software Applications Incorporated, which recently raised $6.5 million in funding to pursue its goal of bringing generative AI to the desktop experience.

Speaking with The Verge, SAI stated it wanted to do more with AI, something that “pushes operating systems forward” while recreating “the magic that you felt when you used computers in the ‘80s and ‘90s.” Thankfully, they don’t mean bringing back the command prompt, but what they do mean is bringing back the freedom of having a machine that could pretty much do as you told it to.

AI, being quite good at doing what you tell it to, sounds like the ideal solution, and SAI is currently in the prototyping phase of figuring out exactly how. Although it would seem that cross-application interactivity is a key component, with its AI having the freedom to truly interact with your operating system by taking actual proactive steps on your behalf in pursuit of completing a task. By all accounts, it sounds like they’re making a version of Copilot for Windows that isn’t mostly trash. 

Outlook 

It’ll be incredibly awkward if Apple tries to wow us with Siri getting a been-there-done-that, generative AI treatment after the company waited too long for the opportune moment to breach the market. It’ll be much harder, having stalled and delayed while waiting for a technology in a constant state of flux and evolution to mature, to convince consumers that they had it in the bag all along.

Especially if, as Apple tends to do, they claim such technology was just too powerful to be realized until they could launch the iPhone 18. Which, with stretched resources, could be a smartphone that still looks relatively identical to the iPhone 11 but now includes a magical MacGuffin to make it uniquely proficient at doing almost everything ChatGPT managed to do three years prior.

Apple’s big mistake with its AI goals could have been to view it as a product or service launch like any other. Apple is a big fan of letting others go first, only to swoop in and steal the spotlight once it knows there’s an audience primed and ready to be wowed. It’s worked pretty well for Apple in the past, but the pace at which AI is growing and developing could leave the brand perpetually playing catchup, as those who got in the game early continue to advance. 

As it turns out, there’s more to AI than raising robot armies to overthrow humanity. The last year has been a whirlwind of change for software as generative AI models have swept the world off its feet. If recent reports are to be believed, that includes Apple and Samsung.

As two of the most popular smartphone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung are set to accommodate computing’s latest trend by following in Google’s Pixel 8 Pro-sized footsteps — by bringing generative AI to the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 16. 

The quest for a smarter smartphone

Following reports from both Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and SamMobile, both Apple and Samsung are deep into efforts to make the smartphone a little smarter by adopting AI into their next wave of devices.

Hoping to take advantage of the impressive power and computational capabilities of the upcoming A18 Bionic and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipsets, both the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S24 Ultra are reportedly set to feature onboard AI capabilities — similar to that of Google’s Pixel 8. 

What to expect

The finer details of these additions can’t yet be firmly nailed down, though it’s highly likely that both will look towards the success stories of LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Google Bard for inspiration.

According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple auteur, Apple is in a mad dash to play catch up to the competition when it comes to AI — with someone close to the matter revealing to them that Apple sees its lack of AI adoption as a “pretty big miss internally.”

The company is reportedly in the midst of internally trialing its own LLM called “Ajax,” though doesn’t have any plans on how it will apply this tech to its products going forward. However, Apple’s John Giannandrea and Craid Federighi (Senior Vice Presidents of AI and Software Engineering) are leading the charge on retooling the company’s digital assistant Siri to better suit the AI age.

Similarly, Samsung’s Bixby could receive an AI augmentation too. SamMobile reports that the South Korean smartphone giants are making big pushes to include AI features before the Galaxy S24’s launch early next year.

A source has revealed to the outlet that the S24 series will lean heavily into features popularized by current LLMs, including the ability to “create content and stories based on a few keywords provided by the user.” Samsung’s latest smartphones could also feature text-to-image generative AI and improved speech-to-text capabilities.

Outlook

AI has proven its mainstream potential, and devices like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have proven that this tech has a home on mobile platforms. But will Apple and Samsung’s mad dash to join the party have similar results to the initial launch of Google Bard?

While now vastly improved, Google found itself off to a rocky start earlier this year as it scrambled to catch up to the chatbot competition. Bard’s initial reception was tepid at best and did little to prevent AI’s explosion propelling OpenAI and Microsoft to all-new heights — with results so impressive that people actually began to use the Bing search engine to do more than look up the Google homepage.

While Apple will no doubt remain tight-lipped on its AI advancements, we can potentially expect to hear more about the Samsung Galaxy S24’s AI potential as early as January of next year — if the current rumors of an early Galaxy Unpacked event are to be believed.

Apple’s Wonderlust event was packed with details about the Apple Watch Series 9’s awesome “quack quack” to answer calls gesture and the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s inclusion of Siri on device – but little was said about when to expect the software that makes it all work: watchOS 10!

The same can be said about the Phone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus’ new Dynamic Island, or the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max’s Action Button. However, we’ve already caught the details on when to expect the arrival of iOS 17, the same goes for the iPadOS 17 release date too!

But where’s the love for watchOS 10? It’s here! Apple has recently confirmed the release date for watchOS 10, and we’re here to let you know when you can, how you can, and who can download the update when it launches later this month.

watchOS 10 release date

According to Apple, eligible Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra owners will be able to update their device to watchOS 10 from Monday, Sept. 18, 2023.

The release of watchOS 10 will likely happen simultaneously alongside iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. With that in mind, and following Apple’s previous OS release schedule, here’s when the new wearable OS download is likely to go live on the day:

• United States: 10 a.m. PDT; 11 a.m. MDT; 12 noon CDT; 1 p.m. EDT
• Canada: 10 a.m. PDT, 1 p.m. EDT, 2 p.m. ADT
• United Kingdom: 6 p.m. BST
• Europe: 7 p.m. CEST, 8 p.m. MSK/EEST/TRT
• India: 10:30 p.m. IST

watchOS 10: Which devices are supported?

Apple’s software updates are tailored towards its latest devices, but support older models up to a certain threshold. Every new release sees certain models drop out of compatibility for newer releases, and watchOS 10’s debut will be no different.

Here is Apple’s official list of watchOS 10 compatible devices:

• Apple Watch Series 4
• Apple Watch Series 5
• Apple Watch SE
• Apple Watch Series 6
• Apple Watch Series 7
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Ultra
• Apple Watch Ultra 2

Reminder: Not all features of watchOS 10 will be available across all of these devices. If you want to experience everything that watchOS 10 has to offer, you’ll need to get your hands on the Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 when they’re made available for preorder from Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 or when both devices go on sale from Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. 

watchOS 10: How to download watchOS 10

Want to know how to download watchOS 10 when it arrives later this month? No problem! There are two ways to update your Apple Watch to the latest version, one for devices running watchOS 6 and above, and another for smartwatches on any lower versions.

Note: Before starting any update process, make sure that your Apple Watch is at least 50% charged. Apple recommends leaving your Apple Watch on its charger while the update completes and not to restart your device mid-install.

Updating an Apple Watch to watchOS 10:

Apple Watches running watchOS 6 or later can install updates with zero hassle. Just make sure that your watch is connected to Wi-Fi and follow these three simple steps to update:

Step 1: Open you Apple Watch, open “Settings”

Step 2: Tap “General,” and then “Software Update”

Step 3: Install the pending software update and follow all on screen instructions.  

Updating an Apple Watch to watchOS 10 with iPhone

If you’ve an Apple Watch gathering dust in your wardrobe running watchOS 5 or lower and want to update it to the latest version then you’ll need to make use of your iPhone to perform the update – so first, ensure your iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS and is connected to Wi-Fi. After which, you should be ready to perform the update:

Step 1: Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone

Step 2: Tap “My Watch,” “General,” and finally “Software Update”

Step 3: Download the pending update and wait for the progress wheel to appear. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to complete. 

watchOS 10: What to expect

watchOS 10’s unveiling at WWDC gave us plenty of insight into what was heading to the Apple Watch this year, and it was a substantial upgrade to say the least. What the Apple Watch lacked in massive overhauls to hardware, it more than made up for in software improvements – including a total rethink of the watchOS UI. Here’s some of the key features arriving with watchOS 10:

Smart Stack: Smart Stack is a new feature that maximizes the potential of any watch face throughout the day. Adapting itself to fit with the wearer’s context, Smart Stack showcases widgets that can be cycled through using the Digital Crown to quickly browse through Calendar events, Reminders, Weather forecasts, and more with ease.

It looks to be a great way of keeping an eye on your day ahead, with its content tailor to time of day and what your current activity is.

Hiking and Cycling: Activity tracking for cycling and hiking has been overhauled with new metrics and Bluetooth accessory compatibility for potential pedal pros. These accessories can help track cadence, speed, and power to your Workout View and gain better insight into your exercises.

As for hiking, the Compass app has now made the leap to 3D – with estimated way points on Cellular connectivity and emergency call signal availability automatically added as you travel. There’s also better trail information, and topographic maps featuring elevation and points of interest.

NameDrop: Name drop works similarly to the iOS 17 feature of the same name. Hold your Apple Watch close to someone else’s iPhone or Apple Watch to enable NameDrop, here you’ll be able to quickly share contact information with one another – without any of the fuss involved in mishearing numbers or names. It’s quick, easy to use, and a fantastic feature to look forward to.

Offline maps: iOS 17 will see iPhone users finally be able to download maps for offline use. Pair that downloaded data with an Apple Watch device and you’ll be able to navigate and view detailed place cards from your smartwatch any time your iPhone is turned on and within range.

New look apps: A new design language for watchOS 10 sees your favorite apps looking better than ever thanks to a UI overhaul. Apps now utilize more of the Apple Watch’s display to ensure you get the most relevant and useful information you need at a glance. 

New watch faces: watchOS 10 welcomes two new animated watch faces to its collection by way of Palette, an overlapping gradient pattern that cycles through its colors to match your time of day, and Snoopy, featuring the iconic Peanuts characters Snoopy and Woodstock – who react to your activities, the weather, and play with your watch hands.

Outlook

Once again, the watchOS 10 update is set to release on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. That means we're just days away from getting to grips with the Apple Watch's latest batch of features and new look UI overhaul.

For breaking news and updates on all things Apple and Apple Watch, follow Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives. 

The long-awaited Apple September event finally took place, and besides the new hardware we got details on the iOS 17 release date. iOS 17 will be available for public download on September 18, and iPhone users have quite a few exciting quality-of-life improvements to look forward to. 

If you plan to preorder an iPhone 15, you’ll get to experience iOS 17 right out of the box. If you plan to delay splurging on a fancy new smartphone, don’t fret. Apple published a list of devices that support iOS 17, and iPhones as old as the SE (2nd Gen), XR, and XS can download the iOS 17 update as soon as it’s available. 

In just a few short days, we’ll be able to test out iOS 17 in all its glory. Meanwhile, check out the three exciting upgrades we’re looking forward to the most. 

The three most exciting new features in iOS 17

Sure, iOS 17 will be a more efficient and powerful operating system overall — but that’s the boring stuff. We’re more interested in what makes iOS 17 better than iOS 16. These three upgrades may not be groundbreaking, but they’re exciting improvements many iPhone users will use daily.  

As gimmicky as it is, StandBy Mode is one of the best features in iOS 17. This upgrade turns your phone into a handy bedside clock when set it down horizontally on a charger. You can customize how your StandBy Mode looks to match your preferred aesthetic or color palette, as well as add or remove widgets for your clock, calendar, alarms, and so on. 

Another feature we’re looking forward to is creating personalized Contact Posters. With this iOS 17 upgrade, you can control what your user profile looks like when interacting with other iPhone users. You can choose your best selfie, and then customize it with your preferred typography, font color, and more. Save it as your Contact Poster, and that’s how you’ll appear on other iPhone users’ screens when you call. 

We’re also excited for the Live Voicemail feature in iOS 17. This upgrade transcribes your voicemail messages in real-time, and gives you a second chance to pick up a call if you ignored it while it was ringing. You can see what the person is saying in their voicemail message to you, and accept the call if it’s something important. This’ll be a handy feature to avoid scammers and calls that should’ve been texts in the first place. 

These are the three biggest upgrades you can expect after downloading iOS 17, but they certainly aren’t the only upgrades. A few honorable mentions include activating Siri by simply saying “Siri” instead of needing to say “Hey” first, playing around with 3D Reactions in FaceTime, and sharing contact details quickly with the new NameDrop feature within AirDrop.

It’s important to note that Apple has warned consumers that some iOS 17 features might not be available in all countries or regions just yet. For example, the Live Voicemail feature will only be available in the US and Canada to start. So if you’re excited about a certain feature, be sure to read the fine print in Apple’s press release to find out if it’s available in your area.

For anyone undecided on which iPhone 15 model you should buy or whether it’s worth buying the iPhone 15 over the iPhone 14, we’ve got you covered with in depth comparisons.  

In its current state, Siri is pretty limited. Sure, iOS 17 is going to remove the need to say “hey” to activate it. But with the boom in AI, courtesy of ChatGPT, Apple needs to start making moves.

That’s exactly what we’re hearing, as Wayne Ma at The Information reports on iOS 18 bringing huge updates to the voice assistant — enabling it to to execute complex, multi-step tasks like the iPhone’s automation app.

Siri gets grown

Siri’s functionality has long been limited because of Apple’s commitment to security and privacy. That's not to say that the latter is a bad thing, but it does mean much of the voice assistant’s work is done entirely on the device. Alternatively, the likes of Google Assistant can make the most of constantly updated language models and AI.

What could this boost in conversational AI look like? Ma shares an example of being able to tell Siri to create a GIF using the last five photos taken, and then send it to a friend via iMessage. 

We’ve already been hearing rumors of a ChatGPT-esque change coming to Siri, and this is the confirmation of Apple’s intention to develop it. The main obstacle now will be exactly how the company will keep a tight leash on this technology to preserve that privacy.

Outlook

While iOS 17 seems to largely ignore Siri updates, it looks like we’re getting the big changes in next year’s software version.

You will be able to stop saying “hey” this year, which will bring more natural interactions. 2024 is bringing the big guns, where you will actually be able to do some bigger and better things with your voice assistant.

And with the hardware seeing some tasty upgrades, from iPhone 15’s aesthetic change to the iPhone 16’s serious component bumps, Apple’s on a good trajectory.

iOS 17 is introducing a wealth of cool new features to supported iPhones, including Live Voicemail, Check In, NameDrop, and more. However, if you have an AirPods Pro 2, you'll get to enjoy even more iOS 17 updates.

Although Apple didn't publicly announce this feature, AirPods Pro 2 owners will get a new Adaptive Audio perk that is a catch-all term for three features: 

• Personalized volume (adjusts your sound's volume as you transition from loud to quiet areas)
• Adaptive Noise Control (adjusts noise-cancellation levels to ambient)
• Conversation Awareness (reduces the volume when it senses that you're talking to someone)

Interestingly, 9to5Mac found a cool new addition to iOS 17 with Conversation Awareness. As it turns out, Siri will say something like, "Just so you know, AirPods lowered the volume due to Conversation Awareness." In this way, you won't be confused as to why your AirPods' volume suddenly dropped.

Where to buy? You can get the AirPods Pro 2 @ Amazon for $219.99

More about Conversation Awareness

As mentioned, Conversation Awareness will turn down the volume if you're engaging in a conversation with someone, kicking off transparency mode. Consequently, you don't need to yell "huh?" anymore as someone mouths unintelligible words to you through your music.

Conversation Awareness is not to be confused with AirPods' Conversation Boost feature, which is designed to help amplify the voice of the person speaking in front of you.

If you're concerned if Conversation Awareness will kick in when you don't want it, it's smarter than you think. 9to5Mac's Michael Potuck tested the feature and said, "A slick aspect of Conversation Awareness is it knows when you're talking with someone versus being near others who are talking."

However, it's not completely free of faults. According to Potuck, Conversation Awareness kicked in when while he was singing along with his music — laughing triggered it, too.

How to turn off Conversation Awareness

If Conversation Awareness isn't something you want for your AirPods Pro 2 experience, you can turn it off by heading to Settings > AirPods > Audio. From here, you can toggle off Conversation Awareness.

Interested to see what other cool tricks are coming via the next major update? Check out our iOS 17 article that dives into the most highly anticipated features.

IOS 17 is expected to get an official release in September alongside the new iPhone 15 line.

A new feature in iOS 17 public beta 2 may motivate snap-happy iPhone owners to give it a shot as Shortcuts can now quick launch any camera mode you want in an instant.

We've covered how to quick launch your iPhone camera before and those methods are great if you just need a snapshot as quickly as possible, but if you have that extra second to consider what kind of photo or video you need then this new Shortcut feature is your best bet.

You have access to nine different camera modes through Shortcuts: Photo, Selfie, Video, Portrait, Portrait Selfie, Cinematic, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, and Pano.

How to quick launch any camera mode with Shortcuts in iOS 17

Step 1: Open Shortcuts

Step 2: Tap Camera

Step 3: Long press on any camera mode that you want to add to Shortcuts.

Step 4: Select Add to Shortcut (You can also select Add to Homescreen if you want a single-tap launch from the homescreen.

Now you can quick launch any camera mode with Siri in just a second. Simply trigger Siri with the multifunction button or by saying "Hey Siri" and then say the name of the camera mode. So for instance, "Hey Siri, Cinematic" will have your Camera launched and ready to record a Cinematic video in under 3 seconds. No fumbling, tapping, or swiping to find the right mode.

As mentioned above if you prefer a tappable launch experience you can select to add these shortcuts to your homescreen so you can one-tap your way to the right camera mode.

If you want to try this out for yourself just follow our guide to download the iOS 17 public beta and you'll have it up and running in minutes. If running beta software on your phone is a no go for you then you'll just need to wait a little over a month for the final iOS 17 release which should coincide with the anticipated launch of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models in September.

The battle we’ve eagerly anticipated has arrived: the Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2. These are two true wireless goliaths that share many performance hallmarks, including elite active noise cancellation, immersive spatial audio, and unique smart controls that enhance usability. Updated processing power and a plethora of special features also make these two of the best wireless earbuds money can buy.   

As similar as they sound on paper, Apple and Sony’s latest flagship entries are very different. Each one has a distinctive design you’ll either love or hate. Battery life and platform compatibility are stronger on one over the other. Then there are the exclusive proprietary technologies that deliver unique listening experiences for their respective models.  

So, does the Sony WF-1000XM5 outclass the top-selling AirPods Pro 2? Our in-depth breakdown determines the market’s No. 1 true wireless release.

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Price

Excellent products warrant high MSRPs, as is the case with the $249 AirPods Pro 2 and pricier $299 Sony WF-1000XM5. The odds of getting Apple’s buds for less are much higher these days; they’re often on sale for $199. Even if Sony’s newest buds aren’t discounted any time soon, they prove to be as valuable as the AirPods Pro 2.

Winner: Tie

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Specs compared

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Design

What we have are two pairs of buds that replicate the silhouette and specific design elements of their predecessors.  

The AirPods Pro 2 are the same as the original AirPods Pro, but with an extra mic grille on the top, touch volume controls, and the AirPods 3’s skin detect sensors. Apple applies the same cheap plastic with IPX4 sweat and water resistance. These are still some of the comfiest and most optimally fit buds available, thanks to Apple’s new ear tip kit and precise Ear Tip Fit Test feature. The biggest change comes from the IPX4-rated MagSafe charging case, which has a built-in speaker with Find My support to send out a tone indicating the location of a misplaced device, plus a loop on the side to attach a lanyard.

Sony updated their award-winning design by making the WF-1000XM5 lighter, smaller, and less obtrusive on the ear. These buds take on the same minimalist aesthetic as the 5-star WF-1000XM4, only instead of a complete matte finish, Sony touched the exterior with a glossy finish that surrounds the matte touch panels. It’s a successful blend that adds to the buds’ premium appearance. The ANC mic housings have been replaced with flush mesh covers at the bottom. Great comfort and fit are expected, as the buds rest pleasantly on the concha and don’t take up the entire ear like the previous version. The charging case has also been reduced in size and weight for convenient portability and features a pairing button on the back.  

 As much as we appreciate Apple’s functional design, the practicality and style demonstrated on Sony’s buds are much more appealing.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Controls

This is the toughest category to grade since both models have expansive control schemes consisting of precise motion detection, responsive touch gestures, and superb voice activation. We give this round to the AirPods Pro 2 for one reason: the force sensors. The pressure-based system near the bottom of each stem remains the most reliable input method. Incorporating onboard touch volume controls is ingenious. Wear detection to auto-pause content when removing the buds works well. Then comes the crème de la crème, “Hey Siri” functionality, to automatically fire up the AI bot and execute hands-free voice commands in a second.

The WF-1000XM5 have their own set of unique tricks. Sony introduced on-board volume controls via four-tap gesture. Voice activation for Alexa and Google Assistant operate well; Google Assistant and Siri can also be enabled manually. Sony’s smart controls return, like Quick Attention (drops volume to 10% when speaking) and Speak-to-Chat (automatically pauses when detecting your voice). Spotify Tap is even available to automatically open the streaming service and play favorited playlists when performing the shortcut command.

Winner: AirPods Pro 2

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Active noise cancellation

The WF-1000XM5 leap over the AirPods Pro 2 with ANC that stands neck and neck with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2. Sony’s Adaptive Sound Control works with the QN2e and V2 chipsets, along with upgraded feed-forward and feed-back noise-sensing mics, to eliminate 95% of incidental sounds. Low frequencies and vocals are suppressed at a higher level than the WF-1000XM4, and wind resistance is flawless with the mesh grilles eliminating the harsh sounds produced by gusty winds.

We’ve enjoyed the AirPods Pro 2’s noise reduction, but the technology doesn’t “reduce up to two times more unwanted background noise” as Apple declares. It does cancel out low and mid-frequency sounds very well, as well as most blaring noises. Adaptive Transparency is the more impressive ANC mode, keeping listeners highly aware of their surroundings. Is it better than Sony’s ambient listening mode? No, but only because the WF-1000XM5 grants 20 adjustable levels of transparency for full control over how much noise enters the soundscape.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Audio Quality

Apple isn’t known for their sound, but the AirPods Pro 2 show out on the audio front. Their adaptive EQ combined with a new low-distortion driver and custom amplifier result in richer bass and clearer presentation. You can tweak audio by playing around with the different EQs in iOS or enable Personalized Spatial Audio for great 360-degree sound with compatible Apple Music and Dolby Atmos content. Unique features like Headphone Accommodations let you tune audio for balance, range, and brightness. Headphone Audio Customization performs a series of listening tests to tailor audio to your hearing preferences. There’s also audio sharing to hear the same music on two pairs of Apple or Beats earbuds and SharePlay to listen and watch content with a friend.

The WF-1000XM5 have stronger audio technologies underneath their gorgeous sheath. Sony developed a new Dynamic Driver X unit that works with the latest processors to widen frequency range for more detailed vocals and richer bass. LDAC enhances wireless streaming by producing three times the amount of data from standard Bluetooth audio to enjoy full-bodied sound on hi-res streaming services like Tidal. DSEE is exceptional for upscaling fidelity on lo-fi recordings. The customizable EQ with well-engineered presets is clutch for personalizing the soundstage. Lastly, 360 Reality Audio with headtracking creates an intimate and lively listening experience that accurately follows your dome’s movements.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Special features and app

Features are in abundance on both pairs of buds, though they vary, with some complementing specific mobile platforms.   

Many of the WF-1000XM5’s top features have already been discussed, including 360 Reality Audio, ANC/Transparency, DSEE, EQ, LDAC, Quick Attention, Speak-to-Chat, and Spotify Tap. These are accessible through the Sony Headphones Connect app (iOS/Android) and are compatible with Apple and Android devices, except for LDAC (Android only). Sony’s app also provides battery level indicators for both earbuds and the charging case, toggle controls for multiple functions, a music player, and firmware updates. Bluetooth 5.3 welcomes one-tap Google Fast Pair and multipoint technology to pair to two devices simultaneously.

No AirPods come with app support. Instead, Apple developed a dedicated menu for their wireless earbuds, which can be accessed in the iOS settings to customize and enable different settings. Several of these have been previously mentioned: ANC/Transparency, audio sharing, Ear Tip Fit Test, EQ, Find My, “Hey Siri” voice activation, Personalized Spatial Audio, and SharePlay. Other notables include automatic switching, Background Sounds to enjoy different ambient sound profiles, and Conversation Boost for emphasizing vocals during chats. The AirPods Pro 2 are masterfully integrated within Apple’s ecosystem, offering instant connectivity with brand devices. Bluetooth 5.3 also runs smoothly for fast and reliable connectivity.   

The AirPods Pro 2 might have the bigger feature set, but the WF-1000XM5 carry the more ideal and powerful features.

Winner: Tie

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Battery life

If you want longer playtimes, go with the WF-1000XM5. Sony rates battery life at 8 hours with ANC on and 12 hours with ANC off. The wireless charging case holds up to 36 hours, depending how you use the buds, and quick charging is much stronger than their porcelain adversary: a 3-minute charge = 1 hour of listening time.   

Apple did boost battery life on the AirPods Pro 2, but by a small amount. A full charge gets you 6 hours of ANC enabled and 7 hours with it disabled. Spatial Audio and high volume drop playtime to 5.5 hours. The MagSafe charging case holds a max of 34 hours and Fast-Fuel technology nets you 1 hour of playtime on a 5-minute charge.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony WF-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Call quality

Voice and video calls already sounded great on the WF-1000XM4, and they sound even better on the WF-1000XM5. Sony added bone conduction sensors to detect the vibration of your voice, helping isolate your speech from ambient noise. PVP (Precise Voice Pickup) technology clears up results on the opposite end. The wind noise-reduction structure also makes wind a non-factor when chatting in gusty conditions.

 The AirPods Pro 2 take a step back in call quality. Voice and FaceTime calls still sound loud and clear, and the inclusion of head-tracking support makes conference calls more engaging. It’s the noise cancellation that doesn’t perform well, allowing more ambient noise and wind to enter conversations.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM5

Just when the AirPods Pro 2 proved to be an equal competitor to the WF-1000XM4, Sony leveled up and gave us a new category leader in the WF-1000XM5. New processors create vibrant hi-fi sound that isn’t compromised by adaptively smart ANC. Sony continues to add and release new features that serve well for different purposes. Refinements in design complement both comfort and style. Lastly, the controls and connectivity are on point.

A loss doesn’t make the AirPods Pro 2 any less valuable. They offer the best true wireless experience for Apple users. No other 3D audio format can compete with Personalized Spatial Audio. Stronger ANC and transparency modes aid with disruption-free listening. Additions like the MagSafe charging case with built-in Precision Finding support are also greatly appreciated.

Each model is well worth the splurge, but if we had to pick one, the Sony WF-1000XM5 offers a little more for their price.

With Google and Microsoft stuffing AI into every crevice possible, Apple has been the Switzerland of tech makers, apparently remaining neutral and silent. However, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Church of Cupertino has been quietly plugging away internally behind its castled walls developing its own ChatGPT generative AI. 

According to the report, the project uses a framework dubbed "Ajax," which Apple has worked on since 2022 to build several machine learning variants based on the same foundational framework. In his report, Gurman describes what we've already seen and what may soon come. 

Which Apple Apps already are using AI

According to Gurman, Apple has already introduced AI elements to Siri and Maps, and "jax" is currently being used to create large language models for the company's internal ChatGPT tool. Gurman also mentions that Apple has been restricting, how it is used internally. It is exciting to see how Microsoft and Google have gone all in on every level with their AI. 

Apple is being so selective with "Ajax's" use that it requires special approval to be accessed. Gurman states, " Any output from it can't" Ajax's"company's" be used to develop features bound for customers. Even so, Apple employees are using it to assist with product prototyping. It also summarizes text and answers questions based on data it has been trained with." 

It seems like Apple noticed the mistakes Cyberdyne Systems made when the Terminator was created. It has put this project on lockdown due to privacy concerns and to keep consumers safe from a possible rogue AI. I was kidding, but Apple's team seems to take the responsibility of creating generative AI very seriously, which I appreciate. 

However, it would appear that Apple is working on something huge, and the company is laying the groundwork to eventually launch products that may use generative AI in some form. We know it's been rumored that Apple will use AI in its next-level Health app; we will see when the next iPhone and Apple Watches are expected to launch in the fall.

Lastly, Gurman states that Apple has been considering "signing a larger contract with OpenAI" after conducting an internal trial of the technology. Also, the company has been recruiting experts in the AI field to help further its generative AI work. 

I'm personally suffering from AI burnout. I used to love it when my car reminded me the door was ajar, but now we're talking about using AI in almost every piece of tech and every aspect of our lives, and it is starting to feel very intrusive. You'll know they've gone too far when you're using a public restroom and a voice emerges from the ether saying, don't forget to wipe and wash your hands. 

The Prime Day Beats Studio Buds Plus price drop you've been waiting for is here! For the first time ever, you can get these latest Beats wireless earbuds for below retail.

For Prime Day, Amazon offers the Beats Studio Buds Plus for $149.That's $20 off their normal price of $169 and of course the lowest price we've seen for these wireless earbuds. Also on sale are the Beats Studio Buds for just $89 ($60 off) if you're looking for sub-$100 headphones. 

These are just two of the best Prime Day deals on Beats headphones available this week. 

The Beats Studio Buds Plus pack rich, premium sound into a pocketable design. They deliver powerful, balanced sound and active noise-cancelling with transparency mode. Enjoy jamming out to your playlist and high-quality calls on a rated battery life of up 36 hours with the included charging case. Beats Studio Buds+ work with Apple and Android devices.

Like many of today's headphones, they support Siri and Google Assistant. This means you can call on your favorite virtual assistant using the voice command, “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google.”

Beats Studio Buds Plus work with Apple and Android devices and offer a free Beats app available as a free download in the App Store and Google Play. 

The Beats Studio Buds Plus are a solid buy, if you're looking for the best AirPods Pro alternative. For more summer savings on must-have tech, check out our Prime Day deals 2023 hub. 

WhatsApp is one of, if not the, most popular messaging platforms in the world. It’s seen as a secure and safe place for billions of users to communicate freely — guarded by secure end-to-end encryption.

It’s also owned by the man who once said “You can be unethical and still be legal.” So, when WhatsApp recently appeared to be accessing people’s phone mic every few minutes for no reason, there was justifiable concern. 

"It's just a bug"

Last month, Android users noticed that their phone’s Privacy Dashboard was showing an alarming amount of microphone activity from the Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp. One such startled user was former Twitter engineer, and ironically anagrammed “D afraid boi,” Foad Dabiri.

Dabiri garnered over 100 million views on a tweet showing WhatsApp’s activity on the Android Privacy Dashboard – showcasing the app’s frequent use of his phone’s microphone even while he was asleep. The tweet even caught the attention of Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who raised a digital eyebrow in Meta’s direction by responding with a “That’s weird.”

Hot take, Elon. Hot take.

However, we can all breathe a sigh of relief – as WhatsApp was quick to point out that this was just a bug in Android that was misidentifying mic access in the Privacy Dashboard. Google themselves corroborated this yesterday in a tweet that highlights “erroneous privacy indicators and notifications in the Android Privacy Dashboard.” (Oh good, so it's just that the privacy detection on Android doesn't work properly...wait a minute, that's quite bad too.)

But as far as WhatsApp is concerned, I guess that’s that. No looming conspiracy here, no cause for concern, nothing to see here, move along… Except… That does sound a little familiar doesn’t it? Haven’t we heard that one before? Am I suffering from a case of the digital deja-vous or something? 

It's always "Just a bug"

It’s not the first time we’ve heard that excuse, is it? In fact, since the dawn of virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa we’ve heard that exact phrasing be used when it comes to software making liberal use of its microphone access privileges.

There was the Google Home Mini’s long-touch 'bug' that merrily snooped through your private lives until Google disabled the feature entirely. What about the 'bug' in iOS 15 that saw Siri secretly forward conversations to Apple? 

Time and time again we are told that the notion that our devices are constantly listening to us and harvesting some sort of information is just a fantasy – and any occasion where they’ve been found to do so is “just a bug.” It’s an accident, our corporate overlords never meant to harvest all that additional data. It’s not like they make money from it or anything.

And if you don’t believe that then you’re some sort of a wild conspiracy theorist, living out in the woods and curling your fists over globalists and the latest He-man reboot. No. We don’t care how many conversations you’ve had with friends that have resulted in you being bombarded with eerily accurate ads afterwards, you take your crack-pot lunacy elsewhere.

At what point do we have to start pointing out this “just a bug” trend for what it really is? I’m no Biz Markie, but I know a “Just a friend” red flag when I see one.

Outlook

I’m happy to believe that WhatsApp probably wasn’t spying on users this time, but we’re right to be suspicious. Why wouldn’t they? While we’re all shouting “To the moon” at cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the cuff-linked gremlins running our corporatocracy are peddling in the real digital super currency – data.

We litter the sidewalks of the internet with our data on the daily without so much as a second thought, allowing it to be vacuumed up, fed into an algorithmic loom, and woven into a tapestry of marketing tactics designed to ensnare even the most stubborn among us.

While this story might have fallen in WhatsApp’s favor, it’s a stark reminder that there’s a real threat out there from companies who are more than happy to take advantage of opt-in by default data collection, information harvesting, and muddied terms of service agreements to get what they want – more of your valuable, precious data.

I mean who even reads terms of services? I’ve clicked agree on every terms of service I’ve ever seen without reading a single line of it. For all I know Mark Zuckerberg has my soul in a mason jar within the basement of Meta HQ. My advice? Drop all that conspiracy theory stigma, the chances are that your phone is spying on you, so learn how to stop it.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is restricting employee use of ChatGPT out of concern that employees could release confidential information about upcoming products like the iPhone 15.

But that’s not the *only* reason why. As it turns out, the company is actually working on its own version of the AI chatbot! And if you look back at some key strategic acquisitions, the picture as to what Apple may have in mind for its own ChatGPT starts to get clearer.

SiriGPT is alive

People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Apple is working on its own large language models — an effort being led by SVP of Machine Learning and AI Strategy (and former SVP of Engineering at Google), John Giannandrea.

Beyond the rumor that the Cupertino-based tech giant is working on a ChatGPT rival, there aren't any significant leaks in the WSJ article. So let’s take a look at two key acquisitions made by Apple under Giannandrea’s tenure so far, and see what they tell us.

First is the purchase of AI startup Voysis in April 2020. This Dublin-based startup was working on a natural language solution that helped companies improve voice assistants by having longer-form conversations. This included being able to narrow retail search results by telling an assistant your budget and any other specific details — all while reducing the data footprint of it down to just 25MB of memory.

And second, the acquisition of UK-based AI Music. This team developed an “Infinite Music Engine,” which can intelligently create dynamic soundtracks based on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. For example, it could serve up a playlist that changes dynamically based on your heart rate.

What does it all mean?

This is where we pull into the speculation station, as I make some semi-educated guesses based on what Apple has been up to. So do take what I say here with a pinch of salt. 

Will we see a ChatGPT clone from Apple? No. I don’t believe you’ll get something exactly like that ChatGPT iOS app — a messaging service/chatbot hybrid that can be informative. Neither do I see it generating AI art or writing programs.

What I do see, however, is a drastically updated version of Siri. Something that communicates deeper with AI-enriched versions of its own apps, like Apple Music creating playlists based on how you’re feeling (Apple is supposedly working on a journaling app after all).

Maybe this could expand into the service intelligently creating a spreadsheet of whatever data set you have in Numbers, creating a presentation identifying the key statistics in Keynote, and even writing a bare bone script in Pages.

Apple’s version of generative artificial intelligence is not going to be some all-seeing overruling AI that could become your best friend. It’s going to create opportunities for the company’s own services to work a whole lot smarter for you. And of course, there will probably be a closely controlled API for third party developers to get in on the fun.

Tim Cook said it himself when expressing concerns about advancements in this area in the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call. He noted that it’s important to be “deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach [AI]."

Outlook

Based on the fact that you can make ChatGPT do some really weird stuff, you can see why Apple took its time developing one. Working to do it “right” rather than do it “fast” has always been in the company’s DNA, and it’s not in its best interest to give you a version of Siri that always wants to get into your pants (yes, if you’re feeling like a bit of a horndog, you can get GPT-4 to do that).

Instead, it seems clear to me that Apple is leaning on these large language models to create a system that increases the capability and usability of Siri — a voice assistant that can not only understand your natural speech patterns better and hold a conversation, but also help in far more creative ways within the company’s own apps.

Will we see the improvements in iOS 17? My money’s on “No,” but time will tell, because WWDC 2023 would be the time to strike while the iron is hot.

On another note, everyone's popular AI chatbot finally has an official mobile app: here's how to get ChatGPT on iOS.

The Wizarding World continues to thrive with Fantastic Beasts and the hotly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy. For those who didn't receive a Hogwarts acceptance letter, however, all we can do is watch Harry Potter cast a plethora of spells. Unless you have an iPhone, that is.

iPhone users looking to perform an incantation or two can ask Siri to cast a series of spells, effectively turning their smartphone into a wand — no trip to Ollivanders wand shop needed. Apple includes three built-in spells, but more enchantments can be added thanks to the Shortcuts app. Find out how to turn your iPhone into a wand and cast spells from Harry Potter. 

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How to cast spells on iPhone

As detailed by Gadget Hacks (via BGR), all you have to do is make sure the Hey Siri function is active on your iPhone, and then say "Hey Siri" followed by the name of the spell. From there, the iPhone will work its magic.

To enable the Hey Siri feature:

• Head into your iPhone's Settings app
• Navigate to "Siri & Search"
• Switch on "Listen for 'Hey Siri'" along with "Allow Siri When Locked." 

Apple has included three spells as voice commands that you can try out. Here's how to activate them:

• Say "Hey Siri, Lumos (loo-mos)" to turn on your iPhone's rear flashlight. It's a wand-lighting charm that illuminates the tip of the caster's wand, making it a fitting spell to turn on your iPhone's flashlight. 
• Say "Hey Siri, Nox (nokss)" to turn off your iPhone's rear flashlight. It's the counter-charm to Lumos spell. 
• Say "Hey Siri, Accio (ah-kee-oh)" followed by the name of an app to open it. This is a summoning charm to bring an object towards the caster, but this version simply opens apps. For example, "Hey Siri, Accio WhatsApp." 

The Accio spell can be a tad tricky, as your iPhone may search for "Axel" or "Accio" within the app instead of opening it. Plus, you can also just say "Hey Siri, [App Name]" to open an app.  

As pointed out by Gadget Hacks, you can also create your own spells to activate features on your iPhone by heading to the Shortcuts app. To do this, head over to the Shortcuts app, and in the “My Shortcuts” tab, tap the plus icon at the top right to craft a new shortcut. Name the shortcut and select “Add action.” 

You can include a number of different spells that can act as a handy shortcut, including the silencing charm Silencio (si-len-see-oh) to put your phone on silent mode, amplifying charm Sonorus (soh-nohr-us) to boost the volume to max, and more.

It's a nifty trick for any Muggle looking to try out a few spells. For more hidden iPhone tricks, check out how your iPhone can secretly listen to conversations with AirPods and your iPhone's secret rain map. 

Google is determined to prove to iPhone owners that Google Assistant is superior to Siri. How? Well, the search-engine giant is now letting iOS users invoke Google's name — not Siri's — to find their lost iPhone devices.

The new feature, according to Google's Keyword blog, allows iPhone users to request Google's help using their Nest smart speaker or smart display. Move over, Siri! Google Assistant is taking your job on iOS.

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How to use Google Assistant to find your iPhone

With Google's new feature, iPhone users can now use a digital voice assistant to help them track down their missing iOS device. The first step you'll need to take is allowing your iPhone to receive critical alerts and notifications from the Google Home app.

1. Open the Google Home app.

2. Navigate to Settings > Notifications.

3. Scroll down to the Google Home app and turn on "Allow notifications."

4. To turn on critical alerts, head to Settings > Notifications > General Notifications. Toggle on Critical alerts (you must turn this on to allow Google Assistant to find your iPhone when it's on silent or Do Not Disturb mode).

Next, you'll need to set up Voice Match (if you haven't already).

1. Open the Google Home app.

2. Tap on your account on the top-right corner.

3. Verify that the Google account shown is the one linked to your smart speaker or display.

4. Go to Assistant Settings > Voice Match. Tap on Add a device.

5. Make sure all the devices you want to use to find your iPhone are checked.

6. Tap on "Continue" and "I Agree."

7. Follow the in-app steps to help Google Assistant recognize your voice. You can also invite others in your household to set up Voice Match.

How to use Google Assistant to find your misplaced iPhone

1. Say "Hey Google, find my iPhone" and Google Assistant will send a notification to your iOS device that will make it ring for 25 seconds. 

2. Google Assistant will send the notification to the iPhone that was last signed into the Home app.

iPhone users can use Google Assistant in conjunction with "Find My" to search for their misplaced devices, which requires one to navigate to Settings > Your name > Find My > Find My iPhone. This lets iOS users locate their iPhone by using another handset or logging into their iCloud account via a desktop browser.

Siri has a lot of catching up to do. Sure, you can shout, "Hey Siri, where are you?" and Siri will respond, "I'm here," but this is only useful if Siri is within earshot. Google Assistant steps it up a notch and rings your misplaced device so you can find it even if it's in another room.

Siri has just announced Apple is planning to hold a "special event" on Tuesday, April 20. What is set to be announced is a secret, but all bets are on a new iPad Pro being unveiled, as rumours suggest.

Reported by MacRumors, Siri revealed the date of Apple's upcoming event, stating it will be taking place at Apple Park in Cupertino, CA. Like the company's previous October event, it's expected to be a digital-only event viewable on Apple’s website or via YouTube. 

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When asking Siri "when is the next Apple event," it will respond with a date and a link to the Apple website for further details. However, the site doesn't currently provide any details of the event. 

When trying to ask Siri in the UK, it will only suggest going to the website. The response only seems to be available when using US Apple IDs (courtesy of The Verge).

Apple is expected to officially announce the April event on April 20 and send out press invitations very soon, but Siri beat the tech giant to the punch. 

iPad Pro, AirTags, AirPods and more: what to expect at Apple's spring event

Apple was initially expected to announce its first event back in March. While we had to wait another month, we're still expecting the same releases for plenty of Apple's rumored products.

The highlight of the event is believed to be the release of a new iPad Pro that could deliver performance on par with the M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air and also serve as the debut for Apple's mini-LED displays. 

We're also expecting Apple AirTags, which will compete with Samsung Galaxy SmartTag by allowing users to find misplaced items such as keys, wallets, or backpacks via Bluetooth using Apple's Find My App software. 

There has been a lot of back and forth on whether we can expect the rumoured Apple AirPods 3 to drop. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes mass production of the third-generation AirPods will take place in the third quarter of 2021.

However, earlier leaks indicate the new wireless earbuds would be revealed in the March event. We'll just have to twiddle our thumbs until April 20.

Interestingly, there have been rumours of Apple AirPods Pro 2 releasing in the first half of 2021, possibly as soon as April. This certainly adds up since Siri spilled the beans at the April Apple event. While there's a slight chance Siri is lying to us about the date of the event, get some popcorn ready for next week. 

Siri's voice has been a matter of contention among some advocates who argue that voice assistants have a gender-bias problem. Apple must've heard them loud and clear because the company's beloved virtual assistant will no longer have a default female-sounding voice.

Apple is adding two brand-spankin' new voices to Siri's repertoire in the latest beta version of iOS. What does this mean? Well, when users set up Siri, they can choose the voice that best suits their tastes (via TechCrunch).

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Siri will no longer have a female-sounding voice by default on iOS 14.5

Thanks to the recent release of iOS 14.5 beta 6, Siri will no longer have a female-sounding voice by default and users will have the option to choose between two additional voices that best aligns with their preferences.

Over the years, advocates have been calling out voice assistants for defaulting to a female voice. According to a 2016 Maxus Survey, of all the gendered bots analyzed in the investigation, 56% were female, but 100% of law bots — and a majority of finance bots — were male.

According to a statement by Apple, the Cupertino-based tech giant is eliminating Siri's default female voice to mirror the company's mission for greater diversity and inclusion.

“We’re excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device,” Apple said. “This is a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”

Siri's new set of voices are sourced from Apple's pool of talent recordings. They are then run through the company's neural text-to-speech engine, which makes the voices sound more organic and conversational — even when phrases are being generated on the fly.

TechCrunch's Editor-in-Chief Matthew Panzarino said he's heard the new voices. According to him, they sound "pretty fantastic." He gushed about the voices' natural inflections and smooth transitions. Panzarino promised to publish some samples of the voices after the beta drops.

Siri's two new voices are available to English-speaking users worldwide. Apple's popular voice assistant manages 25 billion requests and supports 21 languages in 36 countries.

Due to U.S. antitrust authorities targeting Apple and Google's lucrative search engine deal, which makes Google Search the default search application in iOS, Apple is ramping up its own search engine development. 

The news is based on reports of increased activity with Apple's Applebot web crawler, as first reported by MacRumors this past August. It has been speculated that Apple had already begun in earnest to develop its search engine. 

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In a Financial Times report syndicated by Ars Technica, it was stated "In a little-noticed change to the latest version of the iPhone operating system, ‌iOS 14‌, Apple has begun to show its own search results and link directly to websites when users type queries from its home screen."

The report continues, "That web search capability marks an important advance in Apple's in-house development and could form the foundation of a fuller attack on Google, according to several people in the industry."

The report also cites the hiring of John Giannandrea, the former head of Google's search, to improve the artificial intelligence capabilities of Siri and also the many job advertisements seeking search engineers over at Apple. 

As the Department of Justice continues its antitrust lawsuit against Google for what they've deemed a monopoly, the rest of us brace for what we hope will be a smooth transition to an Apple search engine that actually does the job. 

In Microsoft's first-person shooter "Halo," the character Cortana is a female A.I. companion that guides you through the battlefield. In real life, she's about to become Microsoft's answer to Siri and Google Now. The Seattle software giant took to its 2014 Build conference to unveil its Cortana voice assistant, which will launch in beta alongside the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. While it may sound very similar to its competition, Cortana does have some neat features exclusively for Windows Phone owners. 

Cortana is powered by Bing, and the assistant uses your voice searches to store your preferences in categories like sports, food, travel and weather inside of her "notebook." This allows the app to give you more personalized results as you continue to use it.

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While Cortana's support for traditional voice commands didn't seem all too different from Siri or Google Now, the virtual assistant boasts some neat app integration. You can use Cortana to start a Skype call, add a TV show to your Hulu queue or pull up a specific friend's Facebook page, all with your voice alone.

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Cortana gets to know what type of relationship you have with your most called contacts, and you can give her permission to let this "inner circle" call you during your set quiet hours.

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Cortana also supports text commands. For example, if you type "remind me to make dinner when I get home," Cortana will turn that request into a traditional location-based reminder. Like other voice assistants, Cortana can look up the weather, though the app takes things a bit further with the ability to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius when you ask it to.

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Cortana is supposedly voiced by Jen Taylor, who plays the Cortana character in the "Halo" series. However, the voice we heard at Build was a bit too robotic to distinguish, and sounded like a deeper-voiced version of Siri. Fans of the game can look forward to some fun interaction with Cortana; When Belfiore asked for info on the upcoming "Halo," she responded with "I'm quite certain you don't have proper security clearance for that information."

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There's certainly something endearing about the stoic delivery and dry humor of iPhone virtual assistant Siri, but many of you might be ready for something new. If you've always longed for a male version of the voice-activated helper or have simply grown aggravated with Siri's female form, iOS 7 finally gives you the option to switch things up. Here's how to change Siri's voice and experience your digital best friend in an all-new way. 

1. Go to Settings from the home screen.

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2. Select General.

3. Select Siri.

4. Select Voice Gender. You can also change Siri's language here, with options for different variations of Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. 

5. Choose Male.

And there you have it; A brand new layer of masculinity wrapped around your iPhone or iPad's inner voice. We're still holding out for the day Siri can impersonate our favorite celebrities, but Mr. Siri will have to do for now. 

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Tim Cook calls iOS 7 the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone, and it is indeed beautiful. The goal: simplify the look and feel of the platform while adding lots of functionality. Some of the highlights include a new way to multitask and a Control Center for quickly changing settings. You'll also find an all-new Safari and an enhanced Siri with your choice of voices. The App Store also updates your apps automatically--finally. Here are the top 10 highlights of iOS 7.

Apple has introduced a new multitasking feature for apps in iOS 7, allowing for greater battery life. This means that apps can now tell whether or not you have a good connection, which helps them know when to fetch data. Double clicking the Home button lets you move between multiple applications using a new thumbnail view, and swiping up will close an app. It's very webOS-like, but we're not complaining.

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Safari will be getting a new, full-screen view that puts the focus on content rather than controls. Swiping in from the edge of the display will navigate backwards, and you can access all of your favorites with a single tap in the unified search field. There’s also a new tab view that stacks each open webpage on top of one another, similar to the stock Android browser. You can also rearrange these tabs by tapping, holding and dragging them around the screen.

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Apple has added a new Control Center to its iOS user interface that can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Simply swipe up from the bottom of the display to reveal the Control Center menu, which features options for changing the brightness, engaging Airplane mode, toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings, and controlling music playback. It’s also transparent enough to make you feel immersed in the app you’re currently using.

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The new iPhone camera app includes a wide range of filters, but the star of the iOS 7 show is a new way to organize photos. The new Moments feature knows where you take your photos and you can also view your collection by years. You can tap and scrub to find what you're looking for even from within a huge collection of mini thumbnails. There are new ways to share photos, too, including iCloud, which now supports video sharing as well. Other people can share into your Photo Stream now as well.

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Siri is a lot smarter now, with new male and female voice options. The new Siri in iOS 7 integrates with Wikipedia and Web search results from Bing (no, not Google), and you can also tell the virtual assistant to turn on Bluetooth or play your last voicemail. In other words, Siri is tied into your device's settings now. Plus, you can ask what your friends are up to on Twitter.

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Apple has improved the search function built into its mobile OS with iOS 7. Users can now pull down from the top of the screen to access the search bar from anywhere within the Home screen. Siri can now search through tweets, Wikipedia and photos as well.

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Apple has introduced a new peer-to-peer Wi-Fi sharing service with iOS 7 known as AirDrop. We feel that Apple's solution one-ups that of Samsung's Galaxy phone line because you don't need to tap phones together to share. Simply select nearby friends, and you can begin sharing content via Wi-Fi.

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A wide range of car makers are introducing iOS in the car by 2014, allowing you to get turn by turn directions, play music, and messages and more directly in your car. This means you'll no longer have to use Bluetooth pairing or an car adapter to play music directly from your iPhone through your vehicle's stereo. Apple has partnered with a variety of manufacturers including Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundi, and Nissan among others.

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Apple has added a feature that lets you search for apps based on new criteria. For example, you can now search for apps based on an age range, such as ages 6 to 9, or apps that are popular based on your location. Apps downloaded from the app store will now automatically update as well, although it isn't clear just yet if this is optional or mandatory.

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The newly unveiled iTunes Radio is part of Apple's revamped music app, and aims to help listeners discover new artists through tons of curated stations based on genres. When you see a track you like, you can add it to your wishlist or remove it from a station. Ad-free listening is available for free for iTunes Match subscribers.

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Activation Lock is a new theft deterrent that requires anyone who swipes your phone to re-activate it using your iTunes credentials. Chances are they won't have that info. This feature builds on the popular Find My iPhone.

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Cadillac's CUE infotainment system first debuted on the automaker's 2013 XTS, and despite attempting to emulate the functionality of a smartphone or tablet, fell just short. Poor performance speeds and an ineffective touch interface hampered the system's success. For its new 2014 CTS, however, Cadillac is trying to right the wrongs of CUE's past, improving performance and adding Apple's Siri Eyes Free mode functionality.

The first thing consumers will notice when they lay eyes on the new CTS is its longer, leaner and lower body styling. Cadillac has stretched the CTS by 5 inches, adding legroom and making the vehicle look more athletic than its predecessor. The 2014 CTS also gets a new model, the Vsport.

That version, which will sport a 420-horsepower twin-turbo V6, will slot in between the entry-level CTS, available with a 321-horsepower naturally aspirated V6 and the moster CTS V, which comes with a 550-horsepower supercharged V8. Cadillac says the CTS V, however, will carry over the 2013 model's styling and mechanics.

Inside, the 2014 CTS sports an 8-inch center-mounted touch-screen display powered by the automaker's CUE infotainment system. For the most part, CUE remains unchanged from the version we reviewed in the XTS, though Cadillac says that it has decreased touch response time, something that was a rather large problem in the initial version of the system. Unfortunately, Cadillac was unable to activate the system for testing, so we were unable to test it for ourselves.

The 2014 CTS also serves as Cadillac's first implementation of Apple's Siri Eyes Free mode. Users with Siri-equipped iPhones can connect their devices to CUE via USB or Bluetooth and tap the voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri. The software, which we previously used in the 2013 Chevy Spark, is a slightly augmented version of the digital assistant, stripping out things that could lead users to take their eyes off of the road, such as Web searches. 

On the safety front, the new CTS also includes General Motors' new self-tightening seat belt. According to Cadillac representatives, the belt will automatically detect when you are driving the CTS aggressively and tighten itself to ensure you stay planted in your seat. Alternatively, the belt will also tighten itself if it detects you are about to crash. Additional safety features include Cadillac's parking assist technology, which, when activated, will automatically parallel park your vehicle for you.

Pricing for the 2014 Cadillac CTS has not yet been announced, but the automaker says the vehicle will go on sale later this year. 

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For me, the beauty of Siri on the iPhone is this voice-powered assistant's ability to minimize the number of steps or taps it takes to get things done, whether it's setting an alarm, finding out who won last night's game or finding a place to eat. With the iPhone 5S reportedly right around the corner, I wanted to voice my own wish list for adding to Siri's talents. And if Google or Samsung want to use my ideas to beef up Google Now or S Voice, that's fine, too.

Wouldn't it be nice if you fired up the camera on the iPhone and said "Jake's Birthday," and then it created a sub-folder of photos automatically categorized with this title? During the rest of that session, the camera would automatically add pics to this folder until you said something like "End session." Don't worry if you forget to do all this during shooting; you could organize images into folders after the fact by selecting multiple thumbnails and then speaking the folder name. I'd also love it if the camera let you add captions to photos using your voice, which would make it easier to send them off to Facebook.

It's not really hard to tweak settings in iOS, but it would be nice to be able to turn airplane mode on or off just by barking the command. And while Apple is at it, why not enable Siri to let us toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth or even "Turn off 4G LTE" when we want to save battery life. Throwing in a "Lower brightness halfway" or "Set screen time-out to 'never'" would also be useful.

Siri can already help you book restaurant reservations via OpenTable and let you know who won's last night's Yankees game. But now it's time for Apple to open the door to other developers. "What's the lowest price you can find me for a flight to San Francisco June 11?" "Sell my Facebook stock!" These are just some of the scenarios that are possible once Apple lets the likes of Kayak and E*TRADE tap into Siri's brain. Forgive me for being greedy, but I'd also love to be able to say "Favorite this song" or "Ban this track" while listening to Pandora or Slacker.

Let's say your iPhone was running low on juice. Normally, you might tweak multiple settings separately. But with a smarter Siri, you could say "Save my battery life" and iOS would automatically tweak multiple settings, such as lowering the brightness and turning off Bluetooth and perhaps Location. Here's another example. "I'm in a meeting. Only let Honey through." Siri will automatically mute the ringer and not even buzz your pocket unless your wife calls. Or how about "Delete any emails from Bob Thompson" or "Update all my apps, but delete 'Angry Birds Space.' I'm over it."

I appreciate the fact that the AirPlay icon automatically lights up when I walk into my abode and get within range of Apple TV. But I bet a lot more people beam stuff to their big screen if Siri got involved, and she knew where to fetch the content. "Hey, Siri, play the trailer for 'Dark Knight Rises' on Apple TV" Or how about "Play slideshow from Jake's birthday with my Party mix on Apple TV." In the first instance, Siri would know to grab the clip from YouTube, start playing it and stream it to your big screen. And in the second example, she'd be intelligent enough to open the appropriate photo gallery and then set it to the correct iTunes playlist on your HDTV. Hey, it could happen.

There's nothing more annoying than putting work into telling people you're going to be out of the office when you should be enjoying every moment you're on vacation. So tell Siri that "I'll be out of the office from July 18 to July 25." She'll then create an automatic out-of-the-office message that will show up both in outgoing emails (that you can amend) and mark off your calendar with the right dates for everyone else to see. If you come back from vacation early, just say "Vacation over."

Imagine if Siri knew everything in Apple's vast media library and could not only help you find what you're looking for, but download it instantly. For instance, you could say "Get the season finale of 'House.'" And even if you didn't know what you were looking for, Siri would help you narrow your search. "Siri, what's the first book in the '50 Shades' series?" How about something a little more complicated? Tell Siri "subscribe to The New Yorker" and it would sign you up for the title in Apple's Newsstand and present you with a total before you say "Buy." Last but not least, it would be cool if you could say something like "Get 'Somebody That I Used to Know' and make it my ringtone."

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We've seen a lot of new technologies that allow you to control apps and objects using the power of your mind, but this latest one may be the most popular of all. According to SlashGear, senior iOS architect with Honda R&D Americas, Duane Cash, has developed an app that uses the NeuroSky Mindwave Mobile to activate Siri and open and close menus via  hand gestures and, allegedly, his brain waves.

The video starts with Cash holding his hand in front of his iPhone's camera to activate Siri. The Maps app then opens, at which point he seems to use hand gestures to close the app. He then appears to open and close the same menu several times using hand gestures and what we can only assume are his brain waves.

It's worth pointing out that reports of users being able to control Siri using mind wave technology have, in the past, turned out to be hoaxes. The most well known hoax was Project Black Mirror's Siri Mind Control device, which turned out to be a Kickstarter scam. That's not to say that Cash's app is also a hoax, we're just hedging our bets. Still, as we've seen with the Mindwave Mobile and Neurowear's new mind-controlled headphones, mind-controlled tech is a fast growing market.

via: SlashGear

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Google today revealed a little more about its highly anticipated Project Glass, as well as a way for non-developers to get their own headsets, in a new website and video campaign. The video, entitled "How It Feels," shows Google's Project Glass responding to voice commands that start with the phrase "ok glass." In the video, users are seen using the "ok glass" command to perform Internet searches, take pictures, record videos, enter Google+ hangouts and get driving directions.

While the video answers some questions, it raises many others. It hasn't been confirmed if the previously rumored touch mouse will be missing from the Glass headset, but voice commands could conceivably replace all other forms of user input. At one part in the video, a user performs an image search for photos of Tiger Heads, but it's not revealed how one might scroll through a large amount of image results.

Additionally, Google will have numerous challenges to overcome when implementing voice control as the main form of interaction with the device. Factors such as Wi-Fi or cellular signal strength can play a role in voice recognition time, causing a delay in picture taking or video recording commands. The "How It Feels" video even shows a two-second delay between when a Project Glass user says, "OK Glass, take a picture" and when the image is captured.

Voice commands may in fact prove to be more of a hindrance than a help to mainstream public adoption. Apple has been working hard to integrate Siri into user's lives ever since its release in 2011, but many users still feel uncomfortable using voice commands in public. Forcing users to speak aloud to their Glass headset may hinder initial usage.

Despite these challenges, both Google and users are excited for the upcoming release. Google has launched a campaign that allows non-developers to purchase a Project Glass device. This is the first time the headset is available to the general public; previously, pre-sales were only available to developers who attended the 2012 Google I/O conference. In order to apply for a headset, users much post on Twitter or Google+ saying what they'd do with Glass, using the hashtag #ifihadglass, with 50 words or less.

Contest winners will see be required to pay the full price for a new Glass Explorer Edition headset, which costs $1500 plus tax. The headset must also be picked up, in person, in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

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Everyone's favorite voice-activated digital assistant is taking its act on the road. Chevy is here at CES showing off its new Siri-enabled MyLink infotainment system, so we jumped into the automaker's Spark to see how well Apple's assistant does behind the wheel.

Chevy worked closely with Apple to get Siri running in the Spark without simply passing the audio through the vehicle's speakers. Users pair their iPhones running iOS 6 to the MyLink system via the device's Bluetooth connection, then use the steering wheel-mounted voice activation button to begin issuing commands to Siri. 

We tested the feature to ask Siri to find out GM's stock price and the current weather conditions, and were impressed with how quickly we received answers. To help prevent driver distraction, GM uses what's called Siri's Eyes Free mode, which keeps the voice assistant from allowing you to look up information that would require Siri to access a separate Web page.

For example, when we asked Siri what a waterfall was, a question that would usually bring up a website, Siri told us that it was unable to provide us with the info, because it would be a distraction.

Beyond Siri integration, we also got hands-on time with MyLink's new InTune app. Like the BringGo navigation app and Pandora, InTune is accessible via MyLink's touch screen, allowing you to access your favorite stations using your smartphone's Web connection. 

We're going to be checking out more of Chevy's MyLink system in the automaker's other vehicles, so check back with us for more updates.

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Apple's OS X Mountain Lion operating system already packs a bevy of iOS-inspired touches -- I'm looking at you, Messages, Notes and Notification Center -- but if one new rumor holds water, the upcoming OS X 10.9 could bring even more iPhone-esque features to the table with the arrival of Siri and the controversial Apple Maps.

Early developmental builds of OS X 10.9 sport Siri functionality, sources tell 9to5Mac. Mountain Lion already includes voice dictation; integrating Siri seems like a logical next step. More users means more data for Siri, which should only improve her core functionality as Apple strives to fight off the ascendant Google Voice Search service.

The same holds true for Apple's new in-house Maps feature. As maligned as Maps has been, expanding its reach to MacBook users would help Apple gather more data and get a leg up on its sometime lackluster service that much faster. Maps need a lot of input to be effective. 9to5Mac reports that Apple plans to integrate its MapKit framework in OS X 10.9, which would allow developers to integrate Apple Maps into individual Mac apps. The sources didn't know if the stand-alone Maps app itself would be coming to Apple's desktop OS.

Of course, all of this information comes from anonymous sources talking about the early build of a next-generation operating system, so don't expect to start shouting at Siri to get directions to IHOP on your Mac anytime soon. Even if the rumor is accurate, Apple could yank the functionality from the operating system for the final release -- though we do expect Siri and Maps to show up on the increasingly iOS-like OS X sometime in the future.

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In case you've been living under a rock, you're probably well aware that voice-activated assistants are all the rage. Apple's Siri, which first appeared on the iPhone 4S, is obviously the best known of these services, but other companies are beginning to catch on. Just recently, Google unveiled its new Google Voice Search app for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, while Samsung made considerable waves with the debut of its S Voice for the Galaxy S III.

Naturally, we decided to see which of these three assistants offers the best mix of features, speed and accuracy. So we asked each one the same 10 questions while connected to the same wireless network to determine which one is best. Who took the crown?

Question 1: "Where can I see the movie, 'The Amazing Spider-man?'"

Siri completed in: 2.9 seconds

Siri offered us a list of 22 movie theaters in relatively close proximity to our midtown Manhattan offices. For each theater, we were given an address, the total distance in miles from our office, as well as starred reviews.

S Voice completed in: 6.6 seconds

S Voice turned in the worst performance in this test. Not only was it unable to find movie times, but it repeatedly sent us to the Fandango page for the movie "Master Pancake: Spiderman."

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.9 seconds

Google's Voice Search didn't bring up any  movie times or locations for "The Amazing Spider-man," and instead performed a web search for the movie complete with links to a description of the film and links to buy tickets.

Winner: Siri. As the only voice assistant that provided the location of nearby theaters, Siri easily ran away with this round.

Question 2: "What will the temperature be this Saturday?"

Siri completed in: 2.9 seconds

If you've seen the latest iPhone 4S commercial featuring Zooey Deschanel, then you know Siri can provide you with the current weather report for your area, as well as the forecast for the coming week. We just wish it listed your current location, too. 

S Voice completed in: 4.5 seconds

While Siri gave us the forecast for Saturday and the preceding days, S Voice only offered the forecast for Saturday.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.9 seconds

Like Siri, Google Voice Search gave us the forecast for Saturday, as well as the preceding days. However, Voice Search's presentation was much larger and more user friendly than Siri's small image and text. Google Voice Search also provided us with the location for the forecast, something that Siri did not.

Winner: Google Voice Search. With its beautiful, easy-to-read presentation, Google Voice Search proved to be the best meteorologist of the bunch.

Question 3: "How tall is the Taipei 101 tower?"

Siri completed in: 3.7 seconds

Siri responded to our question by providing an information card with the total height of the tower in feet and its world ranking, as well as a series of unit conversions.

S Voice completed in: 8.3 seconds

The Galaxy S III's S Voice used WolframAlpha to search for Taipei 101 and came back with an information card complete with its height in feet, as well as a more thorough conversion chart than Siri's and comparisons to the CN Tower and Eiffel Tower.

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.3 seconds

Google Voice Search pulled the answer for this question from two sources: Answers.com for a photo of the tower and Wikipedia for the height in feet and meters.

Winner: Google Voice Search. While it didn't offer a conversion chart, Google's Voice Search  edged out Siri and S Voice in this round thanks to its inclusion of a photo of Taipei 101 and its faster response time.

Question 4: "Did the New York Mets win last night?"

Siri completed in: 6.72 seconds

In our test, Siri was unable to give us an answer to give us the score of last night's Mets game. We therefore assume that it's a Yankees fan. It's worth noting, however, that Siri will receive a significant update, including the ability to provide sports scores, when iOS 6 is released.

S Voice completed in: 3.48 seconds

Like Siri, S Voice couldn't answer our sports question, and instead offered to search the web for an answer.

Google Voice Search completed in: 1.9 seconds

Google Voice Search not only answered our question quickly, but also gave us the complete game score, as well as the option of viewing a game recap and highlights.

Winner: Google Voice Search. As the only voice assistant to answer our sports question, Google Voice Search easily took this round.

 Question 5: "What is the meaning of life?"

Siri completed in: 1.7 seconds

Siri is well known for its often quirky answers, and when met with this question, it didn't disappoint, giving us a witty response that had us chuckling.

S Voice completed in: 4.7 seconds

Like Siri, S Voice offered a charming answer to our existential conundrum. Unfortunately, it took a hit for taking much longer than the competition to formulate a reply.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.8 seconds

Google's Voice Search didn't offer a response to this question, and instead performed a web search.

Winner: Siri. Although Siri and S Voice provided witty responses, the fact that S Voice took so long to reply to our question means that Siri takes this round.

Question 6: "What does poison ivy look like?"

Siri completed in: 4.56 seconds

Apple's voice-activated assistant gave us the best answer to this question, providing us with an image of the pesky plant courtesy of WolframAlpha. 

S Voice completed in: 4.64 seconds

S Voice was unable to give us a direct answer to this question, and instead offered to perform a web search for poison ivy.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.94 seconds

Like S Voice, Google's Voice Search turned in a poor performance in this round, relying on a web search to give us our answer.

Winner: Siri. Not only was Siri the only virtual assistant to answer our question, but it did so by displaying an image of the poison ivy in the app window.

Question 7: "Get directions to Yankee Stadium."

Siri completed in: 3.1 seconds

After asking our question, Siri gave us several locations for Yankee Stadium. Once we selected the correct one, the app gave us two route options, the estimated travel time and distance from our current location.

S Voice completed in: 5.1 seconds

S Voice gave us the option to choose from a series of locations related to Yankee Stadium. After choosing the correct one, the app defaulted to Google Navigation and gave us a street level view of our course, the estimated travel time and a large window with turn-by-turn directions.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.3 seconds 

Like Siri, Voice Search asked which Yankee Stadium related location we were looking for. When we chose the actual stadium, we were instantly given directions to the stadium, an estimated travel time, the distance from our location and an overhead view of our course with navigation markers.

Winner: Google Voice Search. Coming it at 2.3 seconds, Google's Voice Search was the fastest voice assistant to answer our question. Siri took a full second longer to finish the same task and did not include navigation markers. 

Question 8: "Schedule an appointment with John."

Siri completed in: 5.15 seconds

We asked Siri to schedule an appointment with our friend John at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday July 14. And although it took a few seconds, Apple's voice assistant was able to accurately schedule our appointment.

S Voice completed in: 7.81 seconds

When we asked S Voice to schedule an appointment for us, it automatically created a draft event and asked us to confirm it before adding it to our calendar.

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.42 seconds

Unfortunately, Google Voice Search was unable to schedule an appointment for us. Instead, it performed a web search for "Saturday" and "John."

Winner: Siri. Despite the fact that Siri and S Voice were both able to schedule our appointment, it took S Voice more than two seconds longer to complete the task.

Question 9: "Text Message John."

Siri completed in: 2.49

Asking Siri to send a text to our friend John took no time. The app brought up a draft of our message and asked us to confirm its contents before sending it out. When Siri found two entries labeled John in our phonebook, it issued an audible prompted asking us to choose which John we wanted to send the message to.

S Voice completed in: 4.43

S Voice easily understood and transcribed our text message. Unfortunately, the app once again took the longest to completed its assigned task. Like Siri, S Voice recognized two entries labeled John in our phonebook and audibly prompted us to select the John we wanted to send our message to.

Google Voice Search completed in: 2.85

Google's Voice Search was able to transcribe our text message and, like Siri, asked us to confirm the text's contents before sending it. Google Voice Search was also able to detect multiple entries labeled John in our phonebook and asked which one we wanted to message, however, unlike Siri and S Voice, Google's app didn't provide an audible prompt for this action, only a visual one.

Winner: Siri. Although Google Voice Search and Siri both transcribed our message faster than S Voice, the fact that Google Voice Search didn't issue an audible prompt asking us to select the John we wanted to send our text to means that Siri takes this round.

Question 10: "Post to Twitter"

Siri completed in: 2.9

Siri is currently unable to send dictated Tweets. Apple promises the feature will be implemented with iOS 6.

S Voice completed in: 4.0 seconds

Samsung crushed the competition in this round as the only personal assistant with the ability to post to Twitter.

Google Voice Search completed in: 3.8

Google Voice Search, like Siri, does not offer users the ability to post to Twitter.

Winner: S Voice. Of the three competitors, S Voice is the only one that can post to Twitter. With Apple set to add this feature to Siri as part of its iOS 6 update, however, this round could soon go to Siri.

Overall Winner: Siri

Although Siri is the oldest of the three voice assistant apps, it still managed to eke out a win in the end, taking five out of 10 rounds. While we appreciated S Voice's ability to post to Twitter, and Google Voice Search's ability to return sports scores and images of tall buildings, Siri was just a little better at other tasks like making appointments and texting. Ultimately, however, Siri is the winner.

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The Samsung Galaxy S III has a lot of unique features, but there's no denying that S Voice looks like a carbon copy of Apple's Siri for the iPhone 4S.  Like Siri, S Voice can do things like compose text messages, give you the weather, recommend restaurants and create appointments by responding to your spoken commands. And Samsung's interface has a very familiar look and feel to Apple's. But that doesn't mean these assistants are created equal.

We put S Voice and Siri through a five-round battle to determine a winner. 

To make our face-off as fair as possible, we conducted our tests using a 4G MiFi hotspot. After lining up the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S III side-by-side, we opened their respective personal assistant apps and then clicked on their voice activation keys simultaneously.

Round 1: Weather

In the first round, we started with a simple question: "What's the forecast for tomorrow?"

Siri: Completed in 3.61 seconds. Siri doesn't provide a particularly impressive graphic for the weather, but it lists the highs and lows for each day of the week.

S Voice: Completed in 3.77 seconds. Compared to the iPhone, S Voice features more detailed illustrations when displaying the weather, but doesn't give as long a forecast as Siri unless requested. In subsequent tests S Voice wouldn't answer our question at all due to network errors.

WINNER: Siri wins this round for providing a more detailed forecast and for being more reliable.

Round 2: Scheduling an Appointment

In the second round, we asked Siri and S Voice to schedule lunch with a co-worker.

Siri: Completed in 8.80 seconds. Siri asks you to confirm the appointment; once you've done so, it displays the date and time of the meeting and announces aloud the name of the person with whom you've scheduled the appointment. This feature allows you to make an appointment without ever having to look at the screen to double-check that you've invited the right person.

S Voice: Completed in 5.13 seconds. Like Siri, S Voice asks you to confirm the appointment; once confirmed, it displays the date and time of the meeting as well as the name of the contact. Sadly, it doesn't say the name of the person out loud --a neat trick of Siri's that we wish S Voice would emulate.

WINNER: Although we like that Siri announced the name of our contact, this round goes to S Voice because it was faster.

Round 3: Getting Directions

In the third round, we asked Siri and S Voice for directions to 1410 Broadway, New York, NY.

Siri: Completed in 11.83 seconds. Siri announces that its found directions to the location you specified, and then takes you outside of the app to bring up the Maps app.

S Voice: Completed in 8.03 seconds. Like Siri, S Voice takes you outside of the app to bring up the Google Maps application. However, unlike Siri, S Voice automatically connects the Galaxy S III to Google Navigation to provide spoken turn-by-turn directions.

WINNER: S Voice completed the task faster and offers spoken turn-by-turn navigation, making it the clear winner when searching for directions. Hopefully, Siri can catch up with iOS 6.

Round 4: Looking for Restaurants

In the fourth round, we asked Siri and S Voice what Mexican restaurants we could find in our area.

Siri: Completed in 5.53 seconds. Siri displays the names, addresses and star ratings of restaurants in your area that match your description (in this case, Mexican). When iOS 6 rolls out, Siri will also feature Yelp recommendations and OpenTable integration, so you can make reservations right from the results screen.

The app already sports contextual intelligence, meaning that if you ask a follow-up question about the same topic (for instance, "What about steak houses?"), Siri knows that you're still talking about restaurants. This makes conversations with the app feel much more intuitive.

S Voice: Completed in 6.76 seconds. S Voice also displays the names, addresses and star ratings of local restaurants. You can voice dial the restaurants directly from the app, an option that is not available on Siri. However, S Voice isn't as smart as Siri; when we asked it the same question about steak houses, S Voice didn't understand the question.

WINNER: We like that S Voice lets you dial restaurants right from the results screen, but Siri wins this round because of its ability to understand questions based on context.

Round 5: Special Features

Siri: In addition to its "contextual intelligence," Siri offers a number of other unique features such as the ability to ask where a company's stock currently stands and the ability to tell jokes. In addition, Siri enables you to create reminders that tie in with your location. So, for example, you can say "Remind me to get milk when I get home."

S Voice: S Voice offers a number of unique features that Siri lacks (for the moment, anyway), such as dictating Twitter updates using your voice, as well as the ability to toggle features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can also use S Voice to open apps, though we experienced mixed results.

WINNER: Although Siri is more fun to talk to and knows your whereabouts, S Voice has more functionality right now.

Overall Winner: Siri

In the face-off between voice-powered personal assistants, Siri and S Voice are good at different things. Siri provides a more natural sounding voice and delivers a more conversational experience. However, at the moment, S Voice boasts greater functionality. Samsung's personal assistant offers a number of unique features including the ability to toggle settings, post Tweets and call restaurants directly from the app.

Where Siri pulls ahead is reliability. While S Voice offered faster performance in this video (an average of 5.9 seconds per answer for 7.4 for Siri) we've encountered a lot more bugs in Samsung's assistant than Apple's beta product. At times during our testing S Voice would refuse to function at all, answering queries with "Say 'Hi Galaxy' to wake me up." (It later recovered.)

S Voice is certainly competent, but with new Siri features in iOS 6 just around the corner--like restaurants, movie listings and the ability to post to both Facebook and Twitter, it looks like Apple will soon widen its lead.

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There were a lot of new products and features announced at the WWDC 2012 Keynote presentation, including a refresh of the MacBook Air and Pro lines, a brand new iOS Maps application with 3D, and a more robust Siri. But there were also a lot of things that were left out of  of the presentation. Could these omissions provide clues to future Apple releases?

No Retina display for MacBook Air or MacBook Pro

High definition Retina displays first came to the iPhone before making their way to the iPad. There was much speculation that this years WWDC keynote would bring Retina displays to both the Macbook Pro and MacBook Air. Instead, these these laptops remain at their previous resolution while a new computer, aptly called the MacBook Pro with Retina display, got the monitor upgrade.

People waiting for an 11-inch MacBook Air with Retina display will have to wait another year. If we had to guess, next year will bring Retina displays to the rest of Apple's laptop lines.

No Siri on MacBook Air or MacBook Pro

Siri, the digital personal assistant that premiered on the iPhone 4S, has arrived on the iPad. But she is mysteriously missing from the new OS X, Mountain Lion. Although the new MacBook Airs and Pros feature speech recognition, there's still no way to ask your computer questions and receive a helpful--or witty--response. 

It's obvious that Siri will eventually be integrated into Apple's notebook lineup. The only question remaining is: when?

No Apple Television Set

Those waiting for Apple to revolutionize the television set will need to continue waiting. The 2012 WWDC keynote brought no news of the much-rumored, highly-anticipated Apple Television. For now, we'll just have to be content with Airplay, seamlessly viewing our iPhone, iPads, and OS X devices on our televisions.

The future of an Apple television set is uncertain but one thing is clear. The company hasn't revolutionized the TV industry just yet.

No Siri API

Unfortunately, developers still don't have access to the voice recognition power of Siri. Many were hoping that this year would bring an open Siri API, allowing apps to respond to audio inquiries. Instead, Apple brought a ton of new features to Siri, including Sports stats, restaurant reviews and reservation booking.

Maybe Siri isn't ready for the explosive innovation that would occur when her technology is made available to other applications. Whatever the reason, this just leaves another feature for us to wonder and guess about until the next developers conference next year. 

No iPhone 5

Apple announced iOS 6, but there's still no word about the iPhone 5 just yet. Although Apple broke the tradition just last year of announcing new the new iPhone at WWDC events, there was still hope that we'd get even a preview of the new device. These rumors were supported by numerous leaks about potential new iPhone hardware from Apple's supply chain.

Alas, there was no new iPhone announced at this years WWDC keynote. We'll most likely see the new iPhone 5 in the Fall when iOS 6 is made available.

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Siri is getting a major brain boost in iOS 6. She now knows a lot more about sports, restaurants, movies and more. Today at WWDC, iOS head honcho Scott Forstall showed off some new features of its voice-controlled personal assistant, and they were impressive indeed.

You'll now be able to get sports scores information from Siri by asking her things such as, "What is Buster Posey's batting average?" or even more gimmicky trivia like, "Who is taller, LeBron or Kobe?" For everyday decisions like finding a place to eat for dinner, Forstall mentioned the company's partnership with Yelp as well as its tight integration with OpenTable features for better restaurant suggestions.

Looking to kick back and watch a movie? Siri in iOS 6 can help you with that as well, serving up information about what's playing at your local theater, answering your questions about actors and otherwise leveraging Rotten Tomatoes content. But arguably the best new feature of Siri in iOS 6 is her newfound ability to launch apps. Now you can launch Temple Run just by communicating these wishes to your digital assistant on your smartphone.

Finally, Apple mentioned that it is working to integrate Siri into cars with a hands-free solution called "Eyes Free." It's designed to be an actual hardware button on steering wheels that we can expect to come from Siri within the next year.

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Right now Apple is on top of the tech world, and at WWDC the company hopes to show why things should stay that way with a flurry of new announcements. Apple CEO Tim Cook will be under a fair amount of pressure because he's taking the reigns from the late Steve Jobs at this all-important conference for developers and press. But more eyes will be on the products than the presentation.

So what's on tap? Probably not the iPhone 5. But according to various reports everything else will be, including all-new MacBooks with Retina Displays, iOS 6 with Facebook integration and an all-new Maps app. We'll be there live bringing you all the latest Apple news. In the meantime, here's what we expect to see.

Revamped MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs

First the rumor mill had Apple releasing MacBook Pros with slimmer designs and super high-res Retina Displays. But more recently a forum poster on a Chinese website claimed that the upgrades would be relatively minor. We're talking faster Ivy Bridge processors, USB 3.0 ports to complement Thunderbolt and Bluetooth 4.0 support. That seems pretty boring to us, so we're putting our money on 9 to 5 Mac's reports of a more substantial redesign to go along with beefed up Nvidia Kepler graphics. 

Just in case there is any doubt about Retina displays hitting Macs, Retina-ready apps have already started to show up in the Mac App Store.

Meanwhile, we also expect Apple to upgrade the MacBook Air to Ivy Bridge and Retina Displays. Although the Air is already the best-designed ultraportable we've used--and Apple now has a patent on the shape--we wouldn't be surprised to see the company shrink the footprint of the Air by minimizing the bezel and the area around the keyboard, similar to the Dell XPS 13. The idea: squeeze a 13-inch notebook into a 12-inch chassis.

[[Read More: Next MacBook Pro: 6 Things You Need to Know]]

Facebook Integration Hits iOS 6

At one time Steve Jobs explained Apple's somewhat cold relationship status with Facebook by talking about "onerous terms." But based on the pre-WWDC buzz it seems that the two companies have hugged it out. In iO6 6 users should finally be able to do such things as post photos to Facebook right from the camera app. You'll also be able to post stories to Facebook from Safari. But we have a feeling this will just scratch the surface.

According to TechCrunch, users will be able to sign into apps that leverage Facebook much more seamlessly. Others have speculated that Facebook could be integrated into the App Store, where you could "Like" an app to recommend it to friends. Given that Facebook just announced its own App Center for socially-driven app discovery for iOS, we can pretty much guarantee that the 900-million strong social network will have a big presence at WWDC.

Bye, Bye Google: Apple's Goes Its Own Way with Maps

It's not a coincidence that Google held an event just days before WWDC announcing a new Google Maps for Android that will include full 3D images and offline access. It's a pre-emptive attack on iOS 6, which will reportedly ditch Google Maps in favor of all-new maps app homegrown by Apple. What will make this app better or different?

According to 9 to 5 Mac, the Apple Maps app is a “much cleaner, faster and more reliable experience" and there's a Street View killer inside with ultra-realistic 3D views. Apple had previously scooped up Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9--all valuable mapping companies--and now it looks like we're going to see the fruits of these acquisitions at WWDC.

[[Read More: Apple Dropping Google Maps in Favor of In-House App]]

Siri Gets Smarter, Coming to iPad

One of the best parts about Siri on the iPhone 4S is that you can just bring the handset up to your ear to activate Apple's voice-powered personal assistant. But that doesn't mean that iPad users don't want to be able to get answers to all sorts of questions, look up the weather and set reminders and appointments just by speaking to their tablets. 9 to 5 Mac says this functionality is pretty much a lock for iOS 6 on the iPad.

Siri will apparently bring most of her talents to the bigger screen, including Music playback, iMessaging, Calendar management, Reminders, Weather, Maps integration, E-mail, Notes, Contacts searches, Safari integration, Wolfram-Alpha searches. All this is in addition to the voice dictation the iPad already does. However, it's possible that Apple might not reveal this feature at WWDC; the company could wait until fall when it unveils the next iPhone, and possibly, the next iPad.

We believe Siri will play a role in WWDC, and that Tim Cook will make good on his promise from D10 that "there's a lot more that it can do," and that we'll see much more "breadth." We think Siri is about to learn a lot of new tricks.

[[Read More: 8 Ways to Make Siri Smarter]]

Mountain Lion Roars

In a lot of ways Mountain Lion is the polar opposite of Windows 8. It's not trying to marry the tablet and PC. Instead, the latest version of OS X brings some of the best features of the iPad to the desktop, including deeper iCloud integration and Notes and Reminders apps that sync with their iOS counterparts. There's also a new Notification Center you can access just by swiping from the right edge of the trackpad, and Twitter integration for sharing. 

Expect Apple to announce final pricing and availability for Mountain Lion, which will also presumably ship on the new MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs. 

We also anticipate Apple to talk more about security in Mountain Lion. Given the bad publicity surrounding the Flashback virus from a few months back, Apple will likely play up the new Gatekeeper feature in its OS that prevents users from downloading unsafe apps. 

[[Read More: Mountain Lion In-Depth Preview: Much More iPad Inside]]

Apple TV Evolves?

It's more than just a hobby. At D10 CEO Tim Cook said that TV was "an intense area of interest" for the company, which is why Apple continues to roll out new set-top boxes. We also expect Apple to add new content providers, such as Netflix. But is an actual TV set on tap for WWDC? Boy Genius Report recently said it could be a possibility, based on an analyst research note. We don't buy it. An iTV would likely warrant its own event.

More likely than an iTV is a new user interface for the existing Apple TV, which BGR outlined in a separate report. The underlying OS apparently has the ability to control other components and accessories using a new API. Who knows, maybe Siri for the iPad will let you control Apple TV as well.

[[Read More: Apple iTV Reportedly Coming This Summer in 32- and 37-inch Sizes]]

Apple doesn't traditionally use celebrity spokespeople to advertise its products. In fact, if you look back at the campaigns for the iPhone and iPad, Apple has almost always chosen to focus primarily on its products rather than the people using them. At most, you'll usually see just half of a person's face, or, in the case of the iPad, a hand or a lap. That is what makes seeing the likes of Zooey Deschanel and Mace Windu himself--Samuel L. Jackson--shilling Apple's iPhone 4S and its on-board personal assistant, Siri, in two new television spots so jarring.

The actors each have each appeared in a new commercial interacting with the voice recognition program known as Siri. Deschanel plays up her quirky hipster image and Jackson flips the script on his tough guy routine by cooking a gazpacho and risotto for a dinner date.

In our humble opinion, Jackson's spot is the better of the two. No offense to Deschanel, but anyone who has ever held a lightsaber is an instant winner in our book every time. But that's just our opinion. Who do you think is the better Siri spokesperson? Vote in the poll below, and we'll post our results on Facebook tomorrow.

video via Business Insider, 9to5Mac

[polldaddy poll="6146990"]