Siri in the works for Apple TV, iOS 7.1 code reveals
If Siri comes to Apple TV, it would put the feature in direct competition with the voice-recognition in Amazon's FireTV.
Apple's Siri, the virtual personal assistant that's currently available in the company's mobile product line, could be making its way to the Apple TV set-top box, if a newly discovered code string is to be believed.
An entry in the iOS 7.1 software development kit (SDK) mentions Siri support for the Apple TV, 9to5Mac is reporting after confirming its existence in the code. Apple did its best to hide the feature, calling Siri "Assistant" in its code and using integer value "3" to describe Apple TV.
Rumors have been swirling for some time that Siri support would eventually come to Apple's set-top box. Such a move would make sense, considering many companies, including LG, are now offering voice assistance with television software.
Perhaps more importantly to Apple, Amazon's recently launched Fire TV set-top box includes a remote with a microphone. When users speak into the remote, the voice assistant automatically detects the request and returns results related to it.
Since the current Apple TV doesn't support Siri, it's likely the iPhone maker is working on a new set-top box to replace the current model. That device, the iOS 7.1 code suggests, would support Siri. It's not clear whether the microphone would be bundled with the set-top box itself or a new Apple TV remote. It's likely, however, that the feature would be added to the remote to enhance the quality of the audio transmission.
CNET has contacted Apple for comment on the code. We will update this story when we have more information.