Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, will finally come to third-party devices this year, the company announced during its WWDC keynote today. The update allows third-party device makers who build accessories using Apple’s HomeKit software, to integrate the voice assistant into their devices. The voice assistant was limited to Apple’s devices so far, making this the first time Apple has allowed access to third parties for the same.
“We believe Siri’s most powerful when it’s available throughout your house, which is why we’re excited to bring Siri to third-party devices,” said Yah Cason, release automation manager for Apple HomeKit. “For the first time, HomeKit accessory-makers can enable Siri in their products, so you’ll be able to talk with Siri on even more devices,” he added.
The update to Siri is part of Apple’s new smart home features, which includes Home Keys, a feature that can be used for locking and unlocking doors remotely. Of course, you will need locks that work with HomeKit for the same, something that’s tough to get in India.
But adding third party support for Siri is the second thing Apple announced today that opens up its platform just a little. The company also opened up its FaceTime service just a little, allowing users to share links to video calls, so non-Apple users can also join FaceTime calls. The new feature makes FaceTime slightly more like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other video collaboration tools.
Apple didn’t announce which third party developers are working to build Siri support on their devices, but the company has done well to increase its smart home ecosystem in global markets.
Further, the company also said that iPhone, Mac and iPad users will get Siri on-device now. This means that the assistant will process voice commands using on-device AI and won’t need to send them back to a cloud server in order to interpret them. This mitigates a common privacy concern people have about such assistants, that of companies recording their conversations in order to respond to commands.
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