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Spotify starts testing Siri support for iOS 13

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Spotify app now playing screen
Spotify and Siri are finally a team.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

You will soon be able to ask Siri to play your favorite tracks from Spotify.

The world’s biggest music streaming service just started testing Siri support in iOS 13. It comes after Apple’s latest updates introduced new SiriKit audio APIs that allow third-party access.

Theoretical improvements: The status of Siri in iOS 12

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The iPhone's home button could be going away.
Siri should be a lot smarter.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac In the battle of digital voice assistants, people often mock Siri for lagging behind competing products from Amazon and Google. During Monday’s WWDC 2018 keynote, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, glossed over those failings, calling Siri the “world’s most-used digital assistant.”

What he neglected to mention was the increasing frustration of Siri users expecting more from a voice assistant. From simple requests returning inaccurate results to the inability to performthat he compound actions, Siri was in desperate need of attention going into WWDC. But will the Siri upgrades in iOS 12 do the trick?

Leaked HomePod sounds are absolutely delightful

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Apple's new HomePod smart speaker is ready to rock your house.
HomePod will launch in December, but supplies will be constrained.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest firmware for the unreleased HomePod revealed a new set of sounds that the smart speaker will use to indicate various user interactions.

The new tones for the Siri-powered speaker sound different from the ones leaked in a previous firmware build. They also serve different purposes. While the sounds are simple, they are quite lovely — and worthy of a $350 speaker.

Take a listen:

Siri gets a new boss

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siri ios 11
Siri has received a lot of love in the latest iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra update.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s digital assistant is under new management.

Along with updating its corporate leadership page to include its two newest VPs, Apple also revealed that it has replaced Eddy Cue as Siri’s boss and given the task over to software VP Craig Federighi.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS

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Qualcomm patents
Apple's got some new beta software out.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A new batch of beta updates are ready for developers just one day after Apple published its first big software releases of 2017 to the public.

The first beta builds of iOS 10.3.2, macOS 10.12.5, tvOS 10.2.1 and watchOS 3.2.2 are available to download for the first time ever, bringing a host of new bug fixes and performance improvements to every single Apple platform.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, tvOS and watchOS

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iPhone 7
A new iOS 10.3 beta is ready to be installed.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Three new beta software updates have been seeded to developers by Apple today, adding a bunch of bug fixes and performance improvements to Apple’s platforms.

The new builds come one day after Apple seeded a new build of macOS 10.12.4 to developers. The fifth beta builds of iOS 10.3, tvOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.2 can be downloaded by registered developers directly from the Apple’s dev portal.

Create the next big app with this 82-hour iOS training bundle [Deals]

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CoM - iOS 10 & Swift 3 Starter Bundle
Over 82 hours of instruction will get you caught up to coding for Apple's mobile devices.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One of the most marketable skills you can have these days is the ability to code and develop for mobile. If you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of coding for iOS, we’ve got a deal for you.

This bundle of lessons covering iOS 10 and Swift 3 clocks in at more than 80 hours of instruction and usually costs hundreds of dollars. But right now, you can get the iOS 10 and Swift 3 Starter Bundle for just $22.50 at Cult of Mac Deals. Better still, if you enter the code “LEARN50” at checkout, you’ll save an additional 50 percent.