Siri
Siri (/ˈsiːri, ˈsɪri/ SEE-ree, SIRR-ee) is the digital assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, audioOS, and visionOS operating systems.[1][2] It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Internet services. With continued use, it adapts to users' individual language usages, searches, and preferences, returning individualized results.
For other uses, see Siri (disambiguation).Developer(s)
October 4, 2011
iOS 5 onward, macOS Sierra onward, tvOS (all versions), watchOS (all versions), iPadOS
Siri is a spin-off from a project developed by the SRI International Artificial Intelligence Center. Its speech recognition engine was provided by Nuance Communications, and it uses advanced machine learning technologies to function. Its original American, British, and Australian voice actors recorded their respective voices around 2005, unaware of the recordings' eventual usage. Siri was released as an app for iOS in February 2010. Two months later, Apple acquired it and integrated it into the iPhone 4s at its release on 4 October 2011, removing the separate app from the iOS App Store. Siri has since been an integral part of Apple's products, having been adapted into other hardware devices including newer iPhone models, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, AirPods, Apple TV, and HomePod.
Siri supports a wide range of user commands, including performing phone actions, checking basic information, scheduling events and reminders, handling device settings, searching the Internet, navigating areas, finding information on entertainment, and being able to engage with iOS-integrated apps. With the release of iOS 10, in 2016, Apple opened up limited third-party access to Siri, including third-party messaging apps, as well as payments, ride-sharing, and Internet calling apps. With the release of iOS 11, Apple updated Siri's voice and added support for follow-up questions, language translation, and additional third-party actions.
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 enabled users to activate Siri by simply saying “Siri”, while the previous command, “Hey Siri”, is still supported.
Siri's original release on iPhone 4s in 2011 received mixed reviews. It received praise for its voice recognition and contextual knowledge of user information, including calendar appointments, but was criticized for requiring stiff user commands and having a lack of flexibility. It was also criticized for lacking information on certain nearby places and for its inability to understand certain English accents. In 2016 and 2017, a number of media reports said that Siri lacked innovation, particularly against new competing voice assistants. The reports concerned Siri's limited set of features, "bad" voice recognition, and undeveloped service integrations as causing trouble for Apple in the field of artificial intelligence and cloud-based services; the basis for the complaints reportedly due to stifled development, as caused by Apple's prioritization of user privacy and executive power struggles within the company.[3] Its launch was also overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs, which occurred one day after the launch.
Apple offers a wide range of voice commands to interact with Siri, including, but not limited to:[42]
Siri also offers numerous pre-programmed responses to amusing questions. Such questions include "What is the meaning of life?" to which Siri may reply "All evidence to date suggests it's chocolate"; "Why am I here?", to which it may reply "I don't know. Frankly, I've wondered that myself"; and "Will you marry me?", to which it may respond with "My End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies."[45][46]
Initially limited to female voices, Apple announced in June 2013 that Siri would feature a gender option, adding a male voice counterpart.[47]
In September 2014, Apple added the ability for users to speak "Hey Siri" to enable the assistant without the requirement of physically handling the device.[48]
In September 2015, the "Hey Siri" feature was updated to include individualized voice recognition, a presumed effort to prevent non-owner activation.[49][50]
With the announcement of iOS 10 in June 2016, Apple opened up limited third-party developer access to Siri through a dedicated application programming interface (API). The API restricts the usage of Siri to engaging with third-party messaging apps, payment apps, ride-sharing apps, and Internet calling apps.[51][52]
In iOS 11, Siri is able to handle follow-up questions, supports language translation, and opens up to more third-party actions, including task management.[53][54] Additionally, users are able to type to Siri,[55] and a new, privacy-minded "on-device learning" technique improves Siri's suggestions by privately analyzing personal usage of different iOS applications.[56]
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 allows users to simply say "Siri" to initiate Siri, and the virtual assistant now supports back to back requests, allowing users to issue multiple requests and conversations without reactivating it.[57] In the public beta versions of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, Apple added support for bilingual queries to Siri.[58]
Swearing[edit]
The iOS version of Siri ships with a vulgar content filter; however, it is disabled by default and must be enabled by the user manually.[86]
In 2018, Ars Technica reported a new glitch that could be exploited by a user requesting the definition of "mother" be read out loud. Siri would issue a response and ask the user if they would like to hear the next definition; when the user replies with "yes," Siri would mention "mother" as being short for "motherfucker."[87] This resulted in multiple YouTube videos featuring the responses and/or how to trigger them. Apple fixed the issue silently. The content is picked up from third-party sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary and not a supplied message from the corporation.[88]
In popular culture[edit]
Siri provided the voice of 'Puter in The Lego Batman Movie.[89]
