Apple is gearing up to bring significant upgrades to its virtual assistant, Siri, at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, which starts on June 10. According to a Bloomberg report, these updates will revolutionize how users interact with Siri, making it more advanced and precise in controlling devices and applications through voice commands. For the first time, Siri will have the capability to take command of all features within various apps. This means users will be able to control individual functions within apps using their voice, significantly enhancing the user experience. The new Siri will be able to open documents, move notes to different folders, send or delete emails, open specific publications in Apple News, email web links, and even ask for article summaries. This granular level of control is expected to make Siri more useful and efficient for daily tasks.
One of the standout features of this update is Siri’s ability to analyze user behavior and automatically enable Siri-controlled features based on what users are doing on their devices. Initially, this functionality will be limited to Apple’s apps, but the company plans to expand support to third-party apps in the future. The report also mentions that Siri will initially handle one command at a time. However, Apple aims to develop the assistant further to handle a chain of commands in one go. For example, users might soon be able to ask Siri to summarise a recorded meeting and then text the summary to a colleague seamlessly. While this chaining feature might take some time to be available, it indicates Apple’s ambition to push Siri’s capabilities even further.
Additionally, the new version of Siri will leverage AI to determine whether a task should be handled on the device or via the cloud, enhancing its efficiency and responsiveness. This smart handling of tasks is expected to streamline various processes, making Siri a more powerful assistant. To support these advanced features, Apple will overhaul Siri’s software using large language models, the core technology behind generative AI. This revamp is crucial for integrating the new capabilities and making Siri smarter and more intuitive.
WWDC 2024 is set to be a pivotal event for Apple’s AI strategy. With competitors like Microsoft and Google already making significant strides in AI, Apple is keen to reassert its position in the AI race. In addition to Siri’s updates, Apple is expected to introduce several other AI-driven features such as voice memo transcriptions and summaries, quick recaps of websites and notifications, automated message replies, advanced photo editing, and AI-generated emojis. These developments underscore Apple’s commitment to enhancing user experience through cutting-edge technology.
The conference will provide a platform for Apple to showcase these innovations and demonstrate how they can improve everyday tasks for users. With the tech giant betting on AI to deliver a better user experience, the updates to Siri are just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting era for Apple’s AI endeavors. Stay tuned for the WWDC 2024 live stream to catch all the announcements and see these groundbreaking features in action.