Siri, another technological advancement that has made our lives drastically easier…or at least, it’s designed to. As per all apparent leaps in technology we use them for the menial and the most nonsensical things we can think of, who hasn’t asked Siri to tell them a joke or that you love them? Apple started a new dawn of the virtual-assistant when they combined the iPhone with a built-in voice assistant. Although most do indeed use it as more of a tool to cheer them up, Siri is a godsend to those who use it correctly, allowing you to book appointments and make reservations, finding up to the minute information on flights, films and traffic as well as being able to email Margret that photo of a cat you know she’d love. Siri is as much an entrenched symbol of Apple as that piece of half eaten fruit itself. Here we’re going to look at 5 facts you probably didn’t know about Siri.
A hacker’s best friend!
Siri has unknowingly been used to bypass iOS security by granting access to the phone app. From there you can use the phone to dial numbers, listen to saved voicemails, view and change contact information, access photos, use Twitter and login to email. In 2013, Dany Lisiansky posted an instructional video on YouTube showing how to do this. As a result, Apple released iOS 7.0.2, patching this problem. On 4th April 2016, YouTuber ‘videosdebarraquito’ uploaded a video showing a new security issue. It shows that people can ask Siri on a locked iPhone to search for tweets and then use 3D Touch on an email address in the results to access contacts and photo gallery without ever needing to unlock the device. AppleInsider say this particular issue only applies to iOS 9.3.1 on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus and of course Siri can be disabled on the lock screen under Settings.
Siri the TV star.
Siri has had many TV appearances since its birth and has been voiced by many different actors, including The Big Bang Theory, Criminal Minds, Boondocks and The Simpsons. In The Big Bang Theory, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali falls in love with his Siri, played by Becky O’Donohue. The love affair dies when Raj, with his selective mutism, has a dream that he goes to meet Siri in the form of a real woman and can’t speak to her. In The Simpsons episode ‘What Animated Women Want’, Homer asks Siri for other options for a better voice-activated phone assistant, Siri responds by zapping him. More recently in 2015, Siri has also appeared in Ant-Man during the scene where Ant-Man and Yellowjacket are fighting.
The original American Siri revealed!
Since 4th October 2011 Susan Benett, from Atlanta, Georgia, has been in the pockets of millions of people across America. Providing reminders, weather forecasts, restaurant recommendations and has been cursed, mocked and asked our weirdest questions. Ms. Benett is the original American voice of Siri. Apple however has yet to officially confirm this but Ms. Bennett says she is. An audio-forensics expert Ed Primeau, with over 30 year’s experience, studied both voices and said he’s 100% certain the two are the same and even had a colleague verify this. Ms. Bennett’s website also confirms she is indeed the official voice of Siri.
Siri’s appearance on Android was so close!
Siri was initially released as an iOS app available in the App Store produced by Siri Inc’s Adam Cheyer, Dag Kittlaus and Tom Gruber. The company was acquired by Apple in 2010. Siri, Inc. had said that the software would be available for BlackBerry and Android devices but all efforts for non-Apple platforms were cancelled after Apple’s purchase. Following this announcement, so many knock-off, I mean completely independent variations, were released across the android platform such as Window’s Cortana and LG’s Genie.
Multi-lingual Siri doesn’t understand accents.
Siri is used across the Apple range including the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple Watch and Apple TV. It’s available in around 20 languages across the platforms these include Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Norwegian, Russian and Spanish. The Apple TV however, is only available in 8 countries; Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Spain, UK and the US. With all these languages supported, you’d assume voice recognition and accents would be a walk in the park for Siri, far from it. In 2011, hordes of angry and bemused Scottish iPhone users were lost in translation all due to their accent, with my favourite being “can you dance with me?” becoming “Can you Dutch women”! Even though Apple apparently tested it with a number of accents including Scottish, Welsh and Irish!
So there we have it, 5 odd facts you probably didn’t know about Siri. Now when you dig out your old iPhone 4S, you can speak to Susan Bennett, and try out your best Scottish accent for some wonderful results. Whether you’re a diehard Apple fanboy or just interested in the technology, you have to admire Apple’s innovation. They always seem to be at the forefront of most developments from the iPad and the Apple Watch to Siri itself. Whatever you think of Siri you have to agree the potential benefits when used correctly are astounding. Oh and remember, keep an eye out for her next cameo appearance in a cinema near you. What’s that Siri? A reminder of my meeting at 2? Wonderful, thanks!
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