Siri coming to Macs and will be open to developers Updates will also include changes to Quicktype and Carplay

On June 13, 2016, at Apples Worldwide Developers Conference, it was announced that Apple’s virtual assistant Siri would be coming to macOS with the next update and that it would be able to do more in the next IOS users update.

Siri is coming to the new macOS Sierra. This will be the first time that users will be able to use Siri on a laptop or desktop. Instead of using a home button to activate Siri like on the iPhone, on the Mac it will be an app that will sit on the dock. Users will also have the option to activate the feature by calling out ‘hey Siri’ to the computer. There will be new voice commands for Siri on the Mac. Users will be able to use it to find files stored locally and on the cloud as well as information and images from the web. These searches will be able to be pinned to the Notification Center so they can be pulled up later.

There are a lot of changes coming to Siri for iOS. For the first time, it will be open to developers. This means that Siri will be better able to interact with third party apps. It will even work with other messaging apps besides iMessage; some examples given where Slack, WeChat, and WhatsApp. It will also work with ride booking apps like Uber, Lyft, and Didi Chuxing (a Chinese company). Other apps will let users use Siri for photo searches, pausing and starting workouts, and making payments. Siri will even work for making calls with third party apps like Skype and Vonage. Making these calls with CarPlay will now be safer since they will be able to be completed through voice commands via Siri.

Siri will even work with other messaging apps besides iMessage

Siri will also be helping bring changes to QuickType, which offers the user suggestions on what word they are going to use next. Apple is using Siri’s intelligence to make QuickType better so it will be able to understand longer context to better predict what the user would type. Siri will also be able to offer suggestions. For example, if a user is asked “Where are you?” Siri will suggest sending their current location, or if they are asked for an email, it can offer one from the user’s contacts. It can also understand when the user is making plans and auto fill a calendar event with the information.

Both Sierra and iOS 10 are currently available to developers. There will be a beta test in July, with a public release scheduled for the fall.

About the author

Rachel Bloom

Rachel has always been a nerd. Being a nerd was the only constant in her military brat life besides always moving. No really she counted once and she moved nine times before she started High School. She ended up getting one of those diploma things from Yokota High School in Japan. She is currently trying to get another one of those diploma things for Mass Communications at Texas State University.