Science

WWDC 2018: Siri Just Got a Huge Update for Your iPhone With iOS 12

Alexa and Google Home have some new competition. 

by Jake Kleinman

Ever since Apple poached a top A.I. and machine learning expert from Google, speculation has mounted over what new features would be rolled out at this year’s 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference. In an Easter egg for fans, Siri recently started responding to queries about this year’s WWDC with cryptic remarks that Siri was about to get a lot smarter.

As expected, the new rollout included upgrades to Siri’s voice recognition systems, so it can now recognize when an iPhone’s owner is speaking to it. Here’s what else the new Siri can do.

Earlier versions of Siri left a little something to be desired. 

Reddit

Siri Shortcuts

Apple’s solution to fixing Siri is a new feature called “shortcuts” that makes using the AI assistant a lot easier. This translates into a few different features depending on how you’re using Siri.

To start, Siri will offer up quick shortcuts throughout the day based on your regular habits. For example, if you use an app to order coffee every morning, Siri will start to automatically recommend the app at the right time each day.

Even better, Siri will also let you create your own smart shortcuts, which make it a lot easier to launch specific commands with natural language. For example, you can say, “Hey Siri, I lost my keys” to instantly open up the Tile app.

These shortcuts can also get a lot more complex. During the WWDC demo, Apple showed how you can tie a bunch of different actions to a single command using a new app designed specifically to create these shortcuts. So when you’re ready to leave work at the end of the day you can simply say “Hey Siri, heading home” to send a message to your roommate, change the thermostat at home, check your commute time, and turn on your favorite radio station in your car all at once.

Siri shortcuts will work on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod.

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