Apple's Siri, which made its debut alongside the launch on the iPhone 4s, has been a mainstay of iOS ever since, and although it isn't as widely used as the Cupertino company might have predicted when it was first implemented, the sheer number of automobile manufacturers alone currently integrating it into new cars speaks volumes for its potential.
It's fairly safe to say at this point that there is no love lost between Google and Apple, and the latter has used its Siri digital assistant to poke fun at some of Google's properties in the past. With that in mind, it's no great surprise that Siri is in fact no great fan of what is perhaps Google's most popular product that nobody can buy.
It's fair to say, given the courtroom history and market face-offs between the two, that a certain amount of friction, animosity and contempt exists between Apple and Samsung. The two companies were at loggerheads last year in a court hearing which saw Apple reign supreme over its bitter rival, but with a new trial taking place this year in the same San Jose location, issues have by no means been resolved. As a very relevant subplot, Apple has never been shy of dragging Google into proceedings, and following on from the Cupertino's recent demands to see the Android source code as part of the hearing, Tim Cook's legal bureaucrats have now dragged both the newly-released Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google Now into the equation.
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It's no secret that Apple and Samsung are far from the best of friends. In fact, it's fair to say that they don't like each other at all, one bit, which is probably why Samsung's entire advertising campaign for any new smartphone seems to revolve around bashing the iPhone more than bigging up the latest and greatest from South Korea, see the latest Galaxy S4 TV ads, for example.
With Siri having been the flagship feature of iOS 5 and Apple Maps, to a notably less welcoming reception, theoretically comprising the marquee feature of iOS 6, Apple has certainly laid the foundations for what's being described as aggressive in-car integration with the forthcoming iOS 7. Whilst in-car chargers, device holders and Bluetooth connectivity facilities are not uncommon accessories available to the roadworthy mobile device owner, it would appear Apple would like to tap into this market with its own solutions.
Following on from a Wired report yesterday concerning the ambiguity and confusion on how long Siri keeps hold of your private data when you speak to it, Apple has stepped out today to clarify that in actual fact, the voice recognition software will store that information for a two year period. Wired's report prompted Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller to call up the tech publication to clarify a few points pertaining to Siri's policies. Therein, she explained that “Apple may keep Siri data for up to two years,” but also noted that this data is anonymized, and thus would not associate with yourself or any of the products you may use.
Chevrolet has, along with Honda, outlined its intention to integrate Apple's Siri technology into production cars, in a system known as "Eyes Free". Handsfree technology, while useful in helping prevent drivers from becoming distracted whilst behind the wheel, isn't without flaw; and by implementing this new, Siri-based system, major car manufacturers hope to make our roads even safer moving forward. The initial reports of Chevrolet's Siri integration, which first came to our attentions at the end of last November, we got a fairly good insight of how the system would work. Now, following last month's announcement that the 2013 Chevy Sonic and Spark would be among the first to feature Eyes Free, the company has just aired an advertisement showcasing the technology.
The power of voice recognition technology is being utilized by many companies across the globe, as it has been for quite some time. Siri (along with similar implementations of other platforms) has helped bring such technology to the forefront, and although the initial hype surrounding Apple's voice assistant has petered out somewhat, Honda has just announced its intention to bring Siri support to a fleet of its automobiles in the coming months.
In 2013, most users think of Siri as an Apple-developed feature that is now embedded on every new iOS device. However, Siri was once an independent company that was an inch away from becoming an exclusive feature on Verzion smartphones running Android, until Apple finally bought the company in 2010.
