Siri co-founder Tom Gruber has left Apple to “pursue personal interests.” He was the last of the original Siri group to go.
SIri
Apple's New AI Boss, Leaked iPhone Glass Photo - TMO Daily Observations 2018-07-17
Adam Christianson from the Maccast and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s AI boss John Giannandrea, plus they share their thoughts on a leaked photo showing the next iPhone’s glass front.
Should Siri Be More Gender Neutral?
Should Siri be more gender neutral? That’s what Laura Sydell writes about for NPR. Siri, Alexa, and Cortana started out as female.
Former Google AI Chief Now in Charge of Siri
Apple hired former Google AI chief back in April, John Giannandrea. Now he has been given the reins over Siri only three months after getting hired.
Sonos Speakers Get AirPlay 2 Support
Sonos just added AirPlay 2 support to its speakers, making them the first third-party offering that can take advantage of Apple’s streaming audio platform.
Apple Releases iOS 12 Shortcuts App for Developers
The first beta for iOS 12’s Shortcuts app is available, but only for developers, because it’s buggy and feature-limited.
How We Aren't Using Smart Speakers, John's Hopes for New Macs - TMO Daily Observations 2018-06-19
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss a report that says almost no one with a smart speaker uses it to control smart home devices, plus John explains why he thinks Apple is ready to release new Mac models.
Siri Adds Support for Football in Brazil, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Malaysia, Turkey, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Israel
Siri users can ask for scores, schedules, standings, and team rosters in 35 countries now, in the run-up to the World Cup.
How to Correct Siri’s Music Choices
OK, so Siri isn’t always great at answering follow-up questions. (And if you talk to Apple’s voice assistant a lot, you’ve probably used colorful language at it because of that very thing.) But fortunately, it does parse follow-up requests well for music, so you can correct it when it chooses the wrong item to play. We’ll tell you how to do that in today’s Quick Tip!
![Ask Siri to Play the Top Song for Any Date [Update]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/siri-play-top-song-date.jpg)
Ask Siri to Play the Top Song for Any Date [Update]
“A Horse with No Name,” by America was the #1 song on April 3rd, 1972—I know this because I randomly picked that date to test this tip: ask Siri to play the top song from any given date, and you can be as specific as you want. [Updated to note that it requires an Apple Music subscription.]
Siri Shortcuts and Huge AR Baby Steps - ACM 465
Siri Shortcuts were the thing Apple announced at WWDC that caught both Bryan Chaffin’s and Jeff Gamet’s imagination. They also talk about how cool ARKit 2 is, and how we are still in early, early days for AR. As awesome as AR on iOS is, Apple is still taking huge baby steps.
Apple Watch Adds Walkie Talkie App and New Workout Features in watchOS 5
SAN JOSE – To be released in the fall, this Apple Watch update will include a Walkie Talkie app, new workout features, new Siri options and features, and support for Student IDs in Wallet.
iOS 12 Siri Will Get Smarter Thanks to Shortcuts
Apple’s acquisition of Workflow last year now makes sense, because the Workflow app is now called Shortcuts.
Apple Announces iOS 12: Siri Skills, Performance, Improved Communication, Enhanced Augmented Reality
SAN JOSE – The next major update for the company’s mobile platform focused on Siri skills, performance, improved communication, enhanced augmented reality tools, and addiction controls.
iOS: How to See Your Siri Music History
Here’s how you can find your Siri music history.
How to Turn On HomePod Personal Requests
Siri on HomePod can check your Calendar thanks to the HomePod 11.4 software update. You’ll have to enable Personal Requests first, which takes just a few steps. Here’s how to do it.
Twitter Insanity, Apple's AI Showdown, FBI Exaggeration, Apple's HQ Hunt - ACM 463
Twitter has lost its corporate mind, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet argue in this episode of ACM. They also weigh the importance of WWDC 2018 in terms of Siri, and discuss whether or not Apple has to announce significant improvements to remain competitive in AI. Then there’s the revelation that the FBI exaggerated the number of locked iPhones it couldn’t get into, and they squeeze in a fourth topic, too: Apple’s hunt for a new campus, and how it contrasts with Amazon.
![Apple’s Siri Says She’s Getting ‘Smarter’ at WWDC [Update]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/siri-tease-la-la-la-wwdc-2018.jpg)
Apple's Siri Says She's Getting 'Smarter' at WWDC [Update]
So far, Siri has revealed she will be getting a new voice, and she hinted at what may be a new HomePod. Perhaps most importantly, on one test, she told me she was getting smarter. [Updated with additional info.]
Apple's New Accessibility Website Shows iPhone Features
The website is a great list of features, and a valuable resource. It’s a lot like Apple’s privacy page, where each feature is described in easy-to-understand language.
The Voice Assistant War: Alexa and Google Assistant Versus Siri
We’re still in the early stages of voice assistant technology so we can’t declare a winner yet, regardless of which you prefer. Based on what we’re seeing, however, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are putting Apple’s Siri in a serious catch up position.
Share Buybacks and Apple's Future, Same Old Facebook, Google Duplex - ACM 461
Warning, this one went long: Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss what Apple’s share buybacks say about Apple’s future. They also weigh WhatsApp’s founder leaving Facebook, and what it says about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. They go over when diving into Google Duplex, a demonstration that was as awesome as it was devoid of real value.
Alexa's Lead in the Voice Assistant Market - TMO Daily Observations 2018-05-03
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to discuss Amazon Alexa’s apparent lead in the voice control platform game and how Apple’s Siri on HomePod fits in.
iOS: How to set a Siri Reminder to Remind you of Content in Apps
Like a regular reminder you can set it for a specific day and time.
HomePod Sales, Third-party Apple Watch Faces - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-16
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of HomePod sales, plus they share their thoughts on third-party Apple Watch faces.