Siri - page 19

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, we take a look at how a Siri-powered smart speaker could bring better audio (and a higher price tag) than the Amazon Echo. It’s highly like such a device will be unveiled by Apple at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Plus we’ve got how-tos: You’ll learn how to turn anything into a PDF on your iPhone or iPad, and how to use Apple Pencil to mark up those PDFs in the Mail app.

Also, check out Juuk Designs’ third collection of high-grade aluminum bands for Apple Watch. The new Ligero collection is now on view in our Watch Store.

Here are this week’s top stories.

This week on The CultCast: Apple’s secret Siri speaker is just around the corner — we’ll tell you everything (we think) we know about it. Plus: Why AirPods are the best product Apple’s made in years; and why Microsoft’s MacBook clone is actually great for Apple fans.

Finally, we’ll deconstruct and decode Tim Cook’s mysterious and quickly deleted accidental tweet, and you’ll be shocked at the truth!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Apple has reportedly placed the first orders for its standalone Siri smart speaker, a device designed to rival the Amazon Echo.

Inventec, the Taiwan company that makes Apple’s popular AirPods, received the order, which was reported by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News. No order numbers or production timeline have been revealed, although previous reports suggest Apple could unveil the device this June at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

Samsung’s new Bixby assistant finally found its voice in South Korea today, over a week after making its debut on the Galaxy S8. Unlike its rivals, Bixby has the ability to rap, and Samsung uses that to take a cheeky, secret stab at Siri.

A Siri smart speaker will bring better audio (and a higher price tag) than the Amazon Echo, and we might get our first look next month, according to a prominent analyst.

KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo says it’s increasingly likely Apple will debut its high-end audio device at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, paving the way for Siri to move into a prominent place in your home.

Apple has seeded its fifth iOS 10.3.2 beta to registered developers.

It comes just three days after the fourth beta dropped, indicating Apple is close to making the update available to all.

Apple is currently finalizing designs for its Amazon Echo competitor, claims renowned Apple tipster Sonny Dickson.

According to Dickson, the Echo rival is likely be “marketed as an Siri/AirPlay device,” representing the next step in Siri’s evolution. It is also set to involve some form of Beats technology, and will run an operating system based on iOS. Color us cautiously intrigued!

If Apple has its way in the field of artificial intelligence, robots and algorithms won’t just be used to replace you at work, they could help fix your brain too.

Apple executive and Siri co-creator, Tom Gruber, laid out a different vision for artificial intelligence today while speaking at the TED 2017 conference in Vancouver, Canada. During his remarks, Gruber told the crowd how he thinks AI could become more helpful than harmful.

The latest WhatsApp update adds the ability to have Siri read aloud your WhatsApp messages.

You can also use the virtual assistant to compose and send replies, so urgent conversations can continue while you’re busy or driving, and you don’t even need to touch your iPhone.

The first reviews of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have dropped a day ahead of their official launch in many markets, and there’s one thing to take away from them: Samsung just knocked it out of the park with its best smartphones to date.

Despite the problems the company encountered with the Galaxy Note 7 last fall, it has managed to produce two new devices that don’t disappoint. From gorgeous design and impressive cameras to the best display on the market, the Galaxy S8 series has it all.

It might not perfect, but the changes and improvements Samsung has made show Apple what a smartphone should be in 2017, and make it even more difficult for the iPhone to catch up.

Here’s our review roundup.

Apple might have popularized virtual assistants, but Siri has fallen behind in recent years as rivals like the Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and even Microsoft Cortana pull ahead with greater capabilities and unique features.

One area in which Siri is lacking is in standalone devices like smart speakers, such as Google Home and Amazon Echo. Isn’t it about time Apple caught up with a smart speaker of its own powered by Siri?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw punches over a Siri speaker.

Siri may soon respond to your voice and your voice alone, according to a recently-published patent application from Apple.

The security feature would essentially expand the biometric security system of Touch ID to voice, so that Siri’s voice recognition could also be used to unlock devices or potentially even confirm payments on Apple Pay.

It’s about time Apple made our Home screens more useful. It could start by taking tips from this iOS 11 concept, which imagines more informative icon badges and support for complications similar to those on Apple Watch.

The Sheriff’s office of Harris County, Texas has posted a message on its official Facebook page, pleading with people not to fall for a social media prank in which they’re encourage to say “108” to Siri.

That’s because the number prompts Siri to dial 9-1-1, or the emergency phone number of whichever country they are in at the time.

Siri apparently has a new war on its hands: battling with Amazon’s Alexa over who gets to be the voice-controlled platform of choice in Marriott hotels.

According to a new report, Marriott International is currently testing devices from both companies at its Aloft hotel in Boston.

Apple’s digital assistant is great at finding information for all sorts of things. But when it comes to hookers, Siri is the world’s worst pimp.

Thanks to a glitch with Siri, iPhone users in Toronto looking for prostitutes keep getting routed to an bar in Little Italy. There’s just one problem. The owner insists his bar is definitely not the place to find a call girl.

A stunning new iPhone 8 concept imagines what it would be like if Siri could use AR to interact with the real world.

You might think you know everything there possibly is to know about your iPhone, but there’s always something new to learn. These hidden iPhone features will save you time every single day.

Developers received new beta software updates today for iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, possibly signaling that a public release is just around the corner.

The new updates come just a few days after Apple dropped the last betas of macOS 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3 on developers. Both updates come with a number of bug fixes and under the hood improvements to go with new features that were added in previous versions.

If you’ve ever tried to learn a new language, you’ll know it’s a hard and incredibly time-consuming process. It’s not much easier for virtual assistants like Siri.

Here are the mind-blowing steps Apple goes through to teach Siri new languages and dialects that help it stay one step ahead of the competition.

Registered Apple developers received some new beta software from Apple today with the release of macOS 10.12.4 beta 5.

The new beta comes one week after Apple released macOS 10.12.4 beta 5, bringing a number of new bug fixes and performance improvements to the Mac.

Amazon’s next Alexa product won’t just be able to listen to you. It can watch your every move.

Leaked images of a new home security camera created by Amazon hit the internet today, giving us our first glimpse of what the company’s Dropcam competitor will look like.

While Samsung isn’t expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 until the end of March, a supposedly leaked video purports to show exactly what the upcoming phone looks like.

The video appears to show both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the larger S8+. Both devices seen in the video sport curved edge-to-edge displays. Samsung replaced physical buttons on the front with virtual ones, but the 3.5mm headphone jack is still there.

It’s only been five months since Apple unleashed iOS 10 on the world, but the new mobile operating system is already installed on nearly 4 out of 5 iOS devices.

Apple revealed its latest App Store stats today that show iOS 10’s install base has grown to account for 79% of all mobile Apple devices, making it one of Apple’s fastest adopted releases ever.

Apple hid a delightful Easter egg on iPhones for The LEGO Batman Movie, the new animated film that is dominating the box office this week.

In the new film, the Dark Knight has his own helpful digital assistant that responds to voice commands. The voice for the computer is the same one as Siri on iOS, but when Bruce Wayne needs help he just says, “Hey ‘Puter” instead of “Hey Siri.”

Apple quietly updated Siri so that she responds to the command. Here are some of the hilarious replies.