What you need to know
- Apple has started a new Siri Speech Study.
- A new iOS app will help researchers make the product better.
- Apple says the program is invite-only.
A new invite-only Siri study will let participants help improve Apple's virtual assistant.
TechCrunch reports:
Apple recently began a research study designed to collect speech data from study participants. Earlier this month, the company launched a new iOS app called "Siri Speech Study" on the App Store, which allows participants who have opted in to share their voice requests and other feedback with Apple. The app is available in a number of worldwide markets but does not register on the App Store's charts, including under the "Utilities" category where it's published.
The app actually reportedly debuted on August 9, and is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Apple has confirmed the study is invite-only and is being used to improve Siri, with participants able to share feedback directly with Apple.
Apple made improvements to Siri in iOS 15, including new privacy changes. From Apple:
iOS 15 introduces even more privacy controls to help protect user information. With on-device speech recognition, audio of Siri requests is now processed entirely on iPhone by default,7 and performance improves significantly.
Siri can also announce notifications on AirPods and let users share their screen just by asking. Perhaps the biggest change, however, was Apple's announcement that it was bringing Siri to third-party devices that support HomeKit. The news means users will be able to make "Hey Siri" requests on third-party devices for the first time, a huge developement in the virtual assistant's lifecycle.
