siri

The dulcet tones of Apple's Siri and Google Now are getting high marks from most users, but Siri's enticing them to more tasks more often, according to a survey by market research firm Parks Associates.

Adoption rates for voice control are up from last year, climbing to about a fifth of broadband users, and both Apple's Siri technology and Google Now are commonly used for many functions.

But in most cases, save for sending text messages, Siri edges out Google Now in adoption.

Among Siri users, 48 percent turn to the feature for five or more activities … Read more

Apple's WWDC announcement of the upcoming iOS 7 promised a slew of amazing, long-overdue updates. Unfortunately, however, if you are not a developer, you will have to wait until sometime in the fall for the official launch, like the rest of us. Owners of iOS 7-incompatible devices shouldn't fret, either. The good news is, you can get some of the functionality or at least similar features of iOS 7, in apps that currently exist on the App Store.

1. iOS Mail and Mailbox

The iOS Mail app is still the go-to place for e-mails among numerous users; with … Read more

Apple unveiled on Monday a new look for Siri that came with new voice options, actions, and some hot integration, including in-car options and music streaming.

The voice command technology has new voices, female and male -- also available in French and German. Siri's display includes a new look that shows a sound wave at the bottom while its detecting a user's voice and full-screen results.

Users can instruct Siri to complete functions like "turn off my Bluetooth," or "increase my brightness," according to software VP Eddy Cue. The digital assistant also has a … Read more

Editors' note: This First Take was updated June 28, 2013, with more hands-on information throughout.

Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks is coming this fall, bringing iOS features into the fold along with other additions, including iBooks, Apple Maps, Finder Tabs, and a number of other time-saving enhancements.

With the Windows 8.1 preview hitting a couple days ago, Apple's Mavericks provides a stark contrast to the vision of Microsoft's operating system. Microsoft's stated intent was to break into the mobile space by creating a touch-centric OS that worked on both desktops and mobile devices. Apple, on … Read more

Apple will unveil a new paint job for iOS and introduce its new iRadio music service at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, forecasts Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

In an investors note out today, the analyst offered his predictions on what to expect from Apple as WWDC kicks off. Several reports have already pointed to a redesign for Apple's mobile OS with iOS 7, and Munster sees that as 90 percent likely.

iOS 7 will mark the first change to iOS … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced last week that Apple had acquired nine startups since October. And, Cult of Mac's Mike Elgan believes one of these companies could be the predictive search app Grokr.

While neither Apple nor Grokr has given any signals that this is the case, such an acquisition would indeed make sense for the tech giant.

Grokr is an app that can be used with iOS. Like Google search, it uses a type of knowledge graph that takes bits of information from across the Web and synthesizes it for users. In a sense, Grokr works a bit … Read more

Tempo, the calendar app that uses Siri-like artificial intelligence to schedule meetings and dial in on conference calls, is racking up user data to decide where it will land next.

The app, created by Tempo AI, highlighted its popular conference call features on Wednesday. While the company -- which comes from SRI International, the same place that created Apple's Siri -- won't share its user numbers, it revealed that people have made 1 million one-tap conference calls with the app since its launch in February.

This feature lets users dial in on a conference call with a tap … Read more

Microsoft isn't bothering to merely flex its muscles these days.

It's opening fire in all directions, because what is there to lose? Oh, perhaps money. But apart from that.

It's gone after Google in a quite chilling manner. It's gone after the Apple-Samsung phone feud.

So, in a further escalation of hostilities, a new Windows 8 ad sees Microsoft take Siri hostage, tie her up in a chair, and make her tell the truth. … Read more

"Ok, Glass -- take a picture!"

"Xbox, what's on HBO?"

"Siri, play Angry Birds."

During the reveal of the Xbox One, I was struck by just how many voice commands Microsoft programmed into the device. Kinect brought a rudimentary set of commands to the gaming console, but now everything from opening movies to launching apps can be done via voice. "Xbox, Live TV" may be my new favorite phrase in the living room.

Microsoft's not the only one who's betting big on voice commands. The vast majority of Google Glass'… Read more