Computers, Software
Siri: What is Apple's voice assistant?
More and more futuristic novels by Ray Bradbury and other science fiction writers come to life and find some manifestations in the modern world. Some 10 years ago it seemed that the computer is a soulless machine, and today it is possible to conduct a dialogue with it, and modern smartphones act as full-fledged secretaries. Yes, until the appearance of full-fledged artificial intelligence for a long time, but there is progress in this direction, which is only obedient Madame, living in Apple products - the famous Siri. What is Siri, how it works and what can surprise, we will analyze in this material. The list of commands and voice assistant settings is on.
All about Siri: what is a voice assistant?
Siri is an advanced system for recognizing and interpreting human speech. The program is included in all software products of Apple, is an integral part of them. Initially, the service appeared in the AppStore application store and was supposed to develop as an independent project, but the Californian gadget maker decided otherwise, acquired a start-up and closed all development directions, except for the main one.
Siri is able to respond to various service requests. Helps find the nearest cafes, knows which films go to the movies, can include a suitable playlist. Encyclopedic data is also in the competence of Siri. What is the iPhone or the Black Sea Flood - a virtual assistant is able to find the answer to any question.
How to enable Siri?
Most often, Siri is included at the activation stage of the device, but if this does not happen, it should be:
- Go to Settings.
- Open the Siri submenu.
- Switch the toggle switch to the "On" position.
For the normal functioning of Siri, you need a permanent connection to the Internet. Also, before using Siri, it is worthwhile to understand that this is a cloud service and all voice commands are sent to the servers of Apple. Some functions require access to geo-location and third-party programs.
Siri on iPhone and Apple Watch
IOS and WatchOS were the first platforms on which the digital assistant worked. At the demonstration in 2011, Apple engineers demonstrated how to use Siri, as well as the main features of the service. The question-answer service could find out the weather or ask her to write a message. And all this was done with the help of natural voice commands, the order of words in which was not fundamental. The system could grasp the essence even with poor pronunciation. Later, the service was integrated with Apple's branded cards. Using the iPhone and iPad, Siri connects to cars and smart homes.
A short list of possible commands:
"Are there any new messages from Oleg?" | Will show the latest SMS and letters from a certain person. |
"Mix the New Rock playlist." | The specific playlist will be played in random order. |
"Tell a joke". | Siri will tell one of the pre-prepared jokes. |
"Artem Astafiev is my brother". | The secretary can be introduced to people from the contact list, for the use of simple commands, like "Call your Mom". |
"What is this song?" | Start an integrated music recognition service - Shazam. |
"Weather for tomorrow?" | View the weather forecast for the next day. |
"How do I get home?" | Siri can determine your location and show you the way home. |
Siri on Mac
In the summer of 2016, at the presentation of the new iteration of macOS, a more advanced version of the voice assistant was developed, designed specifically for desktop computers and laptops. The voice assistant helps you work with files, acts as a secretary. Unlike mobile devices, the voice assistant on the computer does not interrupt the work of other programs, and you can communicate with it, while performing other tasks in parallel.
A short list of possible commands:
"How much space is left on my Mac?" | The assistant has all the system information about the computer and can share it with her. |
"Show all files saved under the tag" Work " | The assistant knows everything about the files located on the hard drive. |
"Open the last PDF that Anton sent." | The assistant is able to handle complex queries and find files sent by mail or using iMessage. |
"Find on the Internet a photo of the American flag." | The program can display search results from the Internet. You can attach the results to the notification center for quick access. |
Siri on Apple TV
On the Apple TV set-top box, unveiled in 2015, Siri is the main management method. The program assistant can be asked to find a film or a TV series, find out information about the actor, ask to include the game and much more. Voice commands in the case of the prefix come to the control panel or smartphone.
A short list of possible commands:
"Find comedies that were released in 2014". | Siri knows everything about the movie and can find any film. |
"Show movies with Matt Damon in the title role" | The assistant knows where and who was shot, so you can find the movie without even knowing the name. |
"What she said?" | Unwinds the movie for 15 seconds, if you did not hear the cue. |
"Start the Transmission". | Siri also knows how to run applications on Apple TV. |
"Who is in this movie?" | Do you like the actor? Ask Siri what his name is. |
Supported Languages
Siri works with most popular languages, but for a long time ignored the great and mighty. For a long time the service was in low demand due to the fact that there was no Russian Siri. IOS 8 fixed the situation, in one of the latest test builds of the system, the assistant finally spoke in Russian. Unfortunately, the innovation did not affect all devices. There are restrictions for Siri in Russian. IOS and macOS support voice control, and Apple TV does not (due to regional restrictions on content).
The support of languages is constantly improving, the question-answer service speaks more clearly, more lively, adapts itself to different types of pronunciation and a certain manner of speech. Also, the assistant can be turned into an assistant (male voices appeared later).
Alternative question-answer systems
Speaking of voice assistants, we can not fail to mention other solutions similar to Siri. What is artificial intelligence and digital assistant, each company understands in its own way and uses different algorithms. The most famous competitor to Siri is Google Assistant. Unlike Siri, this product is cross-platform and uses the Google search service as a source of information.
Similar solutions are offered by developers from Amazon, who came up with the smart house management system Alexa, which combines a search assistant and a secretary.
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