Apple to equip Siri with AI to enable voice control

An Apple store in China / Photo credit: Apple

Apple has plans to equip its Siri virtual assistant with more advanced AI skills to enable voice control over certain apps, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The upgrade would allow users to perform tasks like opening select files, managing emails, and requesting article summaries. The improved version of Siri is also expected to respond better to detailed voice commands within apps, the report noted.

Apple will make this feature available on its native apps first before improving it to accommodate many other user commands, the report added. Apple is said to prioritize user privacy, with the company planning to make an “intelligence report” to explain to its customers how user data will be kept safe.

With these updates, Apple seeks to reclaim its lead in the voice-activated AI market, which it lost to competitors like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.

Apple is also reportedly exploring the possibility of incorporating Baidu’s generative AI tech into the former’s products in China, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This comes as Apple faces stiff competition from firms like Huawei in China. Sales of iPhone in the country decreased by 19% year on year in this year’s March quarter.

The lower sales, coupled with Apple lagging behind its competitors in terms of AI capabilities, contributed to a slump in its share price this year, noted an Investopedia report.

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