Using Type to Siri as a Smart Command Line on iPad Pro

In an iPad Diaries entry, Federico Viticci describes how he uses Type to Siri on his iPad Pro as a sort of “smart command line.” Type to Siri is a feature introduced in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. Although billed as an accessibility feature, it lets you type to Siri instead of talking. This can be helpful if you’re in public and you feel awkward talking to your iPhone. On iPad and Mac, it might even be more efficient to use Siri this way, since these devices have keyboards. Since you’re typing rather than talking, it could even be a bit better since there is little room for Siri to misunderstand you. To make it faster to use, Federico created specific text shortcuts for commonly used commands.

Watch Apple's New Commercial, 'iPad Pro - Markup'

Apple has a new spot called iPad Pro – Markup. It shows the same young woman featured in the What’s a Computer? spot. In this commercial, she’s sitting around with her iPad Pro talking to a friend with FaceTime. She snags a screenshot, marks up the screenshot, and then sends it to the friend in iMessage while continuing the conversation. It’s all fluid, natural, and easy. It ends with the tagline, “A new way to markup instantly.” On the one hand, I’m not sure how many kids can afford an iPad Pro. On the other, I think this delivery speaks perfectly to young people, and that’s entirely the target market.

Gene Munster Predicts New Apple Products at WWDC

The Apple analyst Gene Munster, now with Loup Ventures, has provided his predictions for new and updated Apple products at WWDC—which starts June 5th. He includes a probability with each of the four items. Personally, I think the probability for a 10.5-inch iPad Pro should be a little higher, just because Apple is way behind in its iPad refresh cycle. But check out Gene’s estimates and see what you think.