A new Apple patent could add a startling amount of functionality to your iMessages.
The tech would let you schedule pre-written texts and even send new ones automatically based on context the app draws from elsewhere on your iPhone.
Apple announced its plans to make Siri a smarter virtual assistant at its Worldwide Developers Conference last week, and this patent could be a big part of that. It’s one thing to ask Siri “Show me all of the pictures I took in Bermuda last August” and another to ask her to show those same pictures to someone else.
But you could also have your iPhone automatically text people to let them know you’re home or send reminders to others that trigger when they reach a certain location. The example in the patent is a grocery store, confirming that geofencing would be an important part of this system. So things like, “The next time you’re at the store, would you pick up some eggs?” could one day become something you tell Siri instead of whoever’s grabbing those eggs.
This is hardly a new idea. Existing apps like IF by IFTTT already let you set up “recipes” that trigger based on conditions that you set up. For example, you could tell your Philips Hue smart lightbulbs to turn blue whenever someone posts a picture on Instagram with an “iloveblue” hashtag. I don’t know why you’d want to do that, but it’s an option available to you.
If Apple incorporates this tech into future hardware, however, it would eliminate the need for third-party apps. Your iPhone would just do that stuff when you asked it to.
Source: USPTO Via: Business Insider
