Rumors suggesting a new Apple retail store is coming to Sydney, Australia, have been circulating for some time now, but the Cupertino company has been keeping any plans close to its chest. It seems, however, that someone forgot to tell Siri to keep quiet.
The voice-controlled assistant has revealed Apple’s plans for a new store in the Broadway shopping center.
Blog GM Authority posted today that General Motors cars, the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic, would be among the first to integrate with Apple’s promised eyes-free feature announced at WWDC this past week.
Earlier this week during its WWDC keynote, Apple announced that nine automakers have committed to introducing a special Siri button into their upcoming vehicles, allowing you to activate your voice-controlled assistant without removing your hands from the steering wheel. However, it seems the Cupertino company forgot to tell some of those manufacturers about its plan.
If you’ve been an iPhone user for a number of years, you may remember that Siri was a third-party app long before it was purchased by Apple and integrated into the iOS operating system. Back then, although it couldn’t remind you to take out the trash or compose text messages, it offered a lot of the same search functionality it does today.
In fact, according to Steve Wozniak, Siri was actually better back then.
Being a Brit, one of the most disappointing things about Siri is that it doesn’t support location services in the United Kingdom. Unlike iPhone 4S users in the United States, I can’t ask Siri to find me a nice restaurant nearby, or for the nearest gas station. However, that’s no longer the case in iOS 6, because Siri now supports location services internationally.
We’re super excited for iOS 6. Although it isn’t the complete iOS overhaul many users were hoping for, it does deliver a whole host of new features — like a new Maps app, user interface enhancements, improvements to stock apps, and Siri support on iPad — that we’re certainly looking forward to.
However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that iOS 6 still has some things missing. Things we’ve been waiting for for some time. Here are seven of them.
Although iOS 6 looks a lot like iOS 5 at a glance, it represents a huge change to some of Apple’s core iOS features. Apps and services like Maps, Mail, Phone, Notification Center and more have all received new features worth talking about, while several new ones have been introduced.
The great thing about it is, is supports a whole host of devices, including every iPhone from the iPhone 3GS onwards. Some devices won’t get access to all features, however. Only the iPhone 4S and the first- and second-generation iPads will enjoy turn-by-turn navigation and 3D maps.
Siri is getting a major update with iOS 6, including support for Apple’s newest iPad. There’s plenty of new features to see, so we went hands on with Siri running on the new iPad. Check out the video after the break.
If I had to pick on adjective for Apple’s upcoming iOS 6, it’d be “local” – Apple is integrating an immense range of local features and giving businesses amazing tools for attracting new customers. Regardless of whether you’re talking about a large chain like Starbucks or a family owned local business, Apple is offering virtually any customer-facing company an immense range of tools to attract and retain new customers.
Apple’s unveiling of its next major operating system, iOS 6, is right around the corner. Scott Forstall and Co. are expected to announce the new OS to developers at WWDC next week. Very little is actually known about iOS 6, but there have been some rumors that made headlines over the last few months.
iOS 6 looks to be an evolutionary upgrade from iOS 5, rather than a revolutionary jump forward. Here’s what we expect to see.
Apple has produced some of the most memorable adverts in history. Its “1984” commercial for the original Macintosh is still talked about today, and we can all remember the “Mac vs. PC” commercials, and the dancing silhouettes that were used to promote the iPod. However, it hasn’t quite been the same story in recent years.
Despite promoting incredibly popular products like the iPhone and the iPad, Apple’s most recent commercials have been far from unforgettable. In fact, the CEO of one ad-tracking firm has revealed that Apple is being mocked for its latest Siri commercials, which employ celebrities to sell a feature that rarely works in real life.
WWDC is only a few days away and the event is shaping up to be filled dramatic announcements. Expectations include an Apple HDTV, a new Mac lineup that includes an updated Mac Pro, the unveiling of the next iPhone, iOS 6 with Siri support for the iPad, updates to Siri’s functionality, and load of additional details about Mountain Lion.
Whether all those expectations are met or not, WWDC and its keynote will pack lots of information for developers and IT professionals as well as various Apple product announcements and previews. The big announcements may be the best part of WWDC for most Mac users and Apple fans, but the event is, at its heart, a giant powwow for developers. It also offers IT professionals and CIOs their best glimpse at Apple future plans and the new technologies that they will need to support and/or manage.
So what are IT leaders and business professionals going to be looking for at WWDC? Here’s our IT wish list for this year’s WWDC.
We’re all itching to see what iOS 6 has in store for our iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, and we’re expecting Apple’s keynote address at WWDC next week to provide the first look at the new update. But the software could already be out in the wild. One YouTuber has published a three-minute video in which a purported iOS 6 beta is shown off for the first time.
Some of its features include new “iStore” and Dictionary apps, improvements to Spotlight search and the Maps app, enhancements to multitasking, and more.
A new rumor suggests that come next week’s WWDC, Siri is finally making its way to the iPad. Or, at least, it will when iOS 6 is finalized in September later in the year.
The news that IBM bans Siri for every employee that has an iPhone 4S and participates the company’s BYOD program unleashed a lot of discussion about whether the company was being paranoid or prudent. One of the bigger questions to come out of all that discussion was a reframing of the issue itself – does Siri have a place in the business world to begin with?
Setting aside the security and privacy issues that led IBM to ban Siri, are there compelling use cases for Siri in the workplace? If there are, do they outweigh the privacy and security concerns? Could Apple do more to make Siri business-friendly?
Speaking at an interview at D: All Things Digital today with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at some new directions for Siri.
“I think you’re going to be pleased with where we’re taking Siri.” Cook alluded to more breadth from the voice-enabled assistant, as well as admitting that there is more the technology could do.
Now that you’ve successfully jailbroken your iPhone 4S running iOS 5, what do you install? Whether you’re new to Cydia or a jailbreak veteran, we’ve gathered a list of the best jailbreak apps available for Apple’s latest smartphone.
Samuel L. Jackson may love Siri, but are every-day users as smitten? Find out what we think on our latest CultCast.
And someone call King Arthur, Jony Ive just got knighted. But is he ready to protect the realm?
All that and our thoughts on Facebook’s new Camera app on The CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes and read on for our show notes.
In the latest iPhone 4S ads that debuted earlier this week starring actor John Malkovich, Siri tells a joke upon request… and let’s face it, it’s a pretty lame one. Not bad for a computer, but the kind of thing that would get you beaten up in the men’s room at the local Laugh Emporium if you pulled it out during your set at open mic night.
What if Siri told a real joke? What if she told a dirty joke? Heck, what if she told the dirtiest joke there is? Here’s a great video parody of the recent ad, with a very, very clever (and totally safe for work!) take on that old blue comedy classic, The Aristocrats.
If you’ve never heard The Artistocrats before, Bob Saget’s version (go figure!) is generally considered to be one of the filthiest. You can compare and contrast Siri’s version to it here (NSFW!)
Thanks: Gil!
When Apple began roping in celebrities to promote Siri in its latest iPhone 4S adds, Samuel L. Jackson was one of the first to star alongside the voice-controlled assistant. In the 30-second clip, entitled “Date Night,” he asks Siri to cancel golf, find organic mushrooms, convert volume units, and set a reminder.
Siri does as Jackson asks so quickly that he hardly has chance to finish his sentence. But how would she cope with his requests away from the cameras? The answer is: not very well at all.
Apple has begun airing two new ads for Siri and the iPhone 4S titled “Joke” and “Life.” Both spots feature actor John Malkovich. The new ads are similar to other recent Siri commercials starring celebrities like Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson.
These two new commercials show Malkovich using Siri for a variety of tasks, such as checking the weather and his calendar. Malkovich also asks his iPhone for a joke, and Siri classically replies with “Two iPhones walk into a bar, I forget the rest.”
Apple has gotten a fair amount of flack over Siri – most of it relating to Siri not recognizing words or phrases, misinterpreting requests, or providing incomplete or inaccurate answers. Apple is even facing a class action lawsuit over Siri not working as promised by iPhone 4S ads.
For IBM, however, the concern isn’t that Siri won’t work as advertised. Big blue is worried that Siri will work exactly as advertised and that confidential and sensitive information will leak outside IBM’s network as a result. For those reasons, the company disables Siri on the iPhones of its employees.
Reminders is a pretty powerful task list app. While it’s not a full project management suite, it does the ToDo job nicely with an easy to use user interface, location-based notification triggers, and iCloud syncing. In today’s tip, we’ll walk you through the basics of using Reminders app in a more efficient manner than just tapping away and hoping it all works out.
There’s no shortage to information out there about Apple’s HDTV plans, but most of it focuses on specs, designs, and user interface (including coverage from our source who has seen one). With the device being a near certainly, other questions are being raised. Will it be an instant hit? How different will the experience be compared to the existing Apple TV set-top box? How much revenue could it net for Apple?
According to calculations by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, an Apple HDTV would be a huge windfall for Apple. She sees it as likely to double the money that U.S. households spend annually on Apple products within three years.
Siri won’t just joke and tell you that the best smartphone around is the one you’re using Siri on. She’ll also be ironic and tell you the iPhone 4S is the least popular smartphone on Earth.