Siri set to power Apple TV?
Our sister site Stuff.tv is reporting that Apple's long-awaited flatscreen TV – which is reportedly already at the prototype stage – will be powered by the iPhone 4S's virtual assistant Siri.
The New York Times reports that Steve Jobs pondered several different options for Apple TV remotes, including a wireless keyboard, the iPhone and iPad.
But his "I finally cracked it" moment was the realisation that Siri could be ported from the iPhone 4S to Apple's TV.
Jobs hinted at the new user interface in his authorised biography released this week. In it, Jobs told author Walter Isaacson that he had "finally cracked" the secret to building an easy-to-use television set, and said it would have "the simplest user interface you could imagine".
If it's true, you could be telling Siri to "play a cowboy movie" or "record next week's Doctor Who" in the not-too-distant future.
Don't expect an Apple TV equipped with Siri too soon, though. Apple's been working on prototype TV sets since September, according to sources in the component manufacturing chain.
But the NYT reports that Apple is waiting for the cost of large displays to fall before venturing into the TV market.
"The company also needs to wait until the cost of large displays falls," says the NYT. "Although some 42in LCD televisions from mainstream consumer electronics companies can cost as little as $500, the Apple television would include computer electronics and other technology that may make the price uncompetitive."
With an announcement expected in late 2012, it looks as if the Apple TV won't hit the high street until 2013.
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Comments
How many people here have xbox kinnect ? that work through voice commands and it woks ok, though most of the time i forget its there
Okay for sad loners who have more money than brain cells, but for family use, I doubt if voice commands will work.
Imagine the fights it will cause.
New Apple TV chant: "Siri: Football! Siri: Soap! Siri: Football! Siri: Soap!....." All night, every night.
I can see how this would work on a single user iPhone, but where the group mind is involved....hmm?
Interesting that anyone without a family is considered a "sad loner"...
At any rate, there are very easy solutions to the issues you've listed, possibily by setting a "master" voice that the Siri system recognises and that overrides other commands. Or by simply using a button on the remote which must be pressed whilst issuing a Siri command. And those are just the ones I can think up in a few seconds, so I doubt Apple will have any trouble with it.
Have just read a Guardian article where it predicts maybe iTV (well, it's going to be isn't it?!) will use apps rather than channels. It's a weird, but interesting idea, and reflects what I agree with - this isn't simply going to be a TV with Siri built in, it's going to be a different way of watching TV so you're no longer a slave to the broadcast channels on your main TV - much like Tivo are trying to do with the Virgin service, when you want to watch something, it's just there. Whether it'll work or not, we'll have to wait and see.
Okay for sad loners who have more money than brain cells, but for family use, I doubt if voice commands will work.
Imagine the fights it will cause.
New Apple TV chant: "Siri: Football! Siri: Soap! Siri: Football! Siri: Soap!....." All night, every night.
I can see how this would work on a single user iPhone, but where the group mind is involved....hmm?
I think the "I've finally cracked it" moment is a bit generous. You can see this stuff in sci-fi books and movies. I guess this is another example of Jobs' "reality distortion field"
If you have watch the TV series Caprica , you will be able to do voice commands just like that to control your tv. But in this case it won't just be the wealthy that have this tech.
Yes there will be teething problems but its about moving forward with what tech we have and how we intergrate it with our lives
the key will be how to do it seamlessly. SIRI - Up one channel, SIRI up another channel, SIRI up another channel, SIRI turn the volume down a bit, SIRI not that much, I mean SIRI turn the volume up a bit, now down a bit .... SIRI show me the "i" screen, SIRI navigate up a channel. SIRI teletext please - teletext, y'know, Ceefax and stuff?
etc.
It's much quicker to flip buttons on a remote control than it is to command the TV to do it for you....
There's nothing to say you couldn't have a remote control for standard operations like volume, channel hopping etc. But you'd also have Siri to make more complicated commands simple.
Siri! Has anyone been watching the naughty channels?
Err....
Sounds like a gimmick to me. Would never trade my Bravia for an Apple TV.
I fear the tots will soon learn "siri! peppa pig!"
the key will be how to do it seamlessly. SIRI - Up one channel, SIRI up another channel, SIRI up another channel, SIRI turn the volume down a bit, SIRI not that much, I mean SIRI turn the volume up a bit, now down a bit .... SIRI show me the "i" screen, SIRI navigate up a channel. SIRI teletext please - teletext, y'know, Ceefax and stuff?
etc.
It's much quicker to flip buttons on a remote control than it is to command the TV to do it for you....
And for our American cousins, yessiree bob could cause confusion...
mightyredchris - as noted, there would have to some sort of control system to prevent Siri looking up every utterance. A keyword seems obvious (like the Kinect's current "Xbox" to initiate voice command). This being Apple, expect something simple.
In terms of the TV remote not being difficult, this is true, but you could argue the same about any improvement in the accessibility of technology. A mouse and keyboard aren't particularly difficult for me to operate, but put them in front of my Granny and she'll look at me blankly, turn around and switch the radio on. The same goes for a lot of people when it comes to watching catchup TV, or even operating a PVR.
Imagine instead though, you have a TV and you just say "Siri, play the latest Archers episode", or "Siri, show me the Royal Wedding" and it just does it. It would truly open up the ability for anyone to listen to / watch what they want, when they want to.
Of course, I'm sure it won't work like that straight away - there will be teething problems. But it's where things are heading I reckon.
I would expect there'll be a trigger before uttering commands, otherwise the sound from the tv could control what you watch.
There you are, watching the footy, and somebody walks in and says 'Did you see that program about Egypt on the BBC last night?' and Siri turns the PVR on, starts the program and you miss the goal... Might work in a silent household, but in most normal houses it seems like this is completely impractical. It's not like a tv remote is actually difficult to use...
"Great idea, can't wait. What if you've got a Scottish accent though? The 4s can't recognise them so nor will a Siri controlled TV."
Apple stated in the iPhone 4S launch that Siri is in it's 1st Beta form and currently only officially supports American English. At a later date they will be updating it with much broader language/accent support and will only consider it fully launched as 1.0 when it supports all of Apple's officially supported iOS languages.
Great idea, can't wait. What if you've got a Scottish accent though? The 4s can't recognise them so nor will a Siri controlled TV.
It's definitely an interesting idea - combine Siri with the various catchup TV services, some sort of PVR technology, the likes of YouTube plus of course the iTunes store, and you could find yourself saying "Watch the most recent Match of the Day" or "Show me some videos about Egypt" and Siri does the rest for you. Definitely a game changer if they can make it happen.