Apple set to expand Siri, taking different route from Amazon's Alexa

Apple is likely to declare its plans in the coming week to make its voice assistant, Siri work and assist a huge varied range of apps, in an attempt to counter the tough competition from the success of Amazon’s Alexa. But, according to engineers and industry insiders, rather than focusing on a large variety of apps, Apple Inc. is sticking to its tried and tested method of concentrating on small number of features and getting them right.

At present, Apple’s voice assistant Siri works with just six types of applications which are messaging and calling, photo searching, hailing a ride and sharing, making payments, fitness and auto infotainment systems. Apple is expected to add more to the mentioned categories at the company’s yearly developer conference which is to be held next week.

Some sources have also stated that Apple is likely to announce a hardware which will be on similar lines as Amazon’s Echo, a device for home that has seen a lot of sales recently. Apple, however, refused to comment on the same. Amazon’s Alexa currently handles 12,000 or so tasks. Even if the area of expertise is doubled, Siri will be no match for it. This difference reflects the difference in strategy between these two rival companies.

Apple bets that users will not use voice commands in a way similar to speaking to humans and with this it has limited Siri’s area of function so that it is efficient. Amazon, on the other hand, has not limited Alexa in any area, stating that voice assistants with a number of skills are the way to garner more sales, in spite of an occasional mistake or additional effort to use it. This shows that there is a head on clash in approach.

Differences in Function

An iPhone user can hire a ride by saying “Hey Siri, order a car for me” and Siri will open a car hiring service app and start booking your ride. Other than the standard home and music functions, Alexa needs a more specific command that is to-the-point.

For example, the process of hiring a car from Uber will start if you say “Alexa, ask Uber for a ride” but if you say “Alexa, order me an Uber”, Alexa will not do so because it cannot make the connection that opens the Uber skill. One can order food with the help of Alexa but not with Siri, because this is one of the many categories that Siri does not function in, yet.

An Apple spokesperson has stated that Siri’s expertise in this area was very limitedly tried but the outcome was largely positive. Amazon made a statement that their goal is to make the whole voice command and result experience to be very natural and as easy as possible with Alexa.

Side-Lines and Not the Main Focus

A venture capitalist with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group, Matt McIlwain, said that Apple’s narrower focus could be a problem. If the categories are not expanded, it could create a problem for Siri’s sales, he said. Neither of the two, Alexa and Siri, are on a smooth path to gaining more finance. Because of the limitations, voice apps are just on the side-lines and not the main focus and once an economic model is developed, there will be a substantial rise in sales.

Apple and Nokia Settle Patent Dispute

Apple & Nokia – An Agreement Over On-going Patent Dispute

Apple and Nokia had come to an agreement after an on-going patent dispute over the patent of the Finnish company. The two parties had disclosed the agreement in a joint statement recently after five months of suing each other over royalty payments. Apple would be making a sizeable one-off payment as future fees for the utilisation of the technology of Nokia.

 Under the business partnership agreement, Nokia would be providing network infrastructure service to Apple. Apple on its part would resume selling Nokia health product that had been earlier sold under the Withings brand. In December 2016, Apple had pulled Withings products from its online as well as retail stores, days after the company had been sued for patent violation, by Nokia.

The deal estimated by analysts was worth hundreds of millions of pounds to Nokia wherein the shares went up by 7%. It is said that the company had greatly suffered at the hands of the iPhone and had discontinued making handsets after selling its mobile business in 2013 to Microsoft.

Though most of the revenue was from telecoms infrastructure, it intends to boost income from the valuable patents that it seems to hold from its days as the dominant mobile phone company of the world.

Nokia Sued Apple – Violating 32 Patents

Nokia had sued Apple for violating 32 patents used in the iPhone, after a long-running deal had expired last year. Apple on the other hand had sued back calling Nokia a `patent troll’, stating that it had refused to license the technology on a fair basis.

 Recently the company had informed that they had settled all proceedings and had reached a new settlement wherein it will see the healthcare gadgets of Nokia back to Apple stores after they had been detached. The two companies informed that they would work together on enterprises related to healthcare.

Apple is said to pay Nokia an undisclosed amount and additional revenues till the deal tends to stand. Analysts at UBS estimate that Nokia would be receiving between £450m and €550m from Apple.

The Finnish company had acquired Alcatel-Lucent, comprising of its patent rich Bell Labs division in the US that had strengthened its hand heading in negotiations over a new deal. During the negotiations over a new licensing deal, two people conversant with the negotiations had earlier stated that they expected a settlement to be attained in spite of the fractious language.

Meaningful Agreement

The chief legal officer of Nokia, Maria Varsellona had commented that this is a meaningful agreement between Nokia and Apple and it has moved their relationship with Apple from being opponents in court to business partners working for the benefit of the customers.

The Nokia dispute with Apple had been a sign to a deeper patent war between the iPhone maker and Qualcomm which had taken place last year. Jeff William, chief operating officer of Apple had stated that they were pleased with the resolution of their dispute and are looking forward in expanding their business relationship with Nokia.

The agreement is said to culminate the patent dispute which had started last year when Nokia had sued Apple in Germany and the US, charging breach of the 32 patents and the two companies had sued one another in 2009 sticking a licensing agreement in 2011.

Apple Will Live Stream the WWDC 2017 keynote

WWDC 2017: Apple keynote in the Livestream track

A trust worthy anonymous technology news whispered that the Apple confirmed last night with its new event site that the keynote will be broadcast live on the American website and in the event app on the Apple TV on the 5th of June for the World Wide Developers Conference, WWDC 2017. Actually, this sounds self-evident, but this is not the case this year, as it was previously announced that the keynote will be streaming via the WWDC 2017 app and on its own developer site.

Now, however, they made another announcement with a separate event page so that everyone can track the event live in the stream - even without a developer account.

Especially this year, there is a lot of expectations in air for Apple. While there will of course be the obligatory ideas of the new version of iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS, a lot of different hardware have been expected for the release in WWDC 2017. These are simple hardware updates as well as complete new products.

WWDC 2017: iOS 11 and more

Hope this year's event, Apple is also likely to release its new mobile operating system iOS 11. There is likely also a prospect on WatchOS 4.0 and macOS 10.13 - or 11. The pioneers of technology can only be theorize, a computation of the systems has been taking place for a long. Apple Watch, will likely be new fitness utilities, for instance, by this wonderful technology people with diabetics to admonish the blood glucose. The users of IOS may be blissful with iOS 11 for improved Siri commands.

The website Livestream of wwdc 2017 can be tracked on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Mac in the Safari browser. Users of a Windows 10 PC can use the Microsoft Edge browser. The wwdc 2017 keynote of Apple will begin next Monday, June 5.

The Apple keynote might have interesting things to offer: In addition to new versions of iOS, Watch OS, TV OS and Mac OS, Apple will probably introduce a loudspeaker with integrated Siri voice assistant. It is to be in direct competition to Amazons Echo series. Of course Siri should be available as a language assistant and the best sound technology is installed, but the analysts are unsure whether the loudspeaker will have a display. It is also expected with new MacBook (Pro), hoping for a new MacBook Air. Apple may also show on the stage a 10.5 inch iPad Pro, which has nearly the same housing dimensions as the iPad Pro 9.7.

In all likelihood, we can look forward to a full event of wwdc 2017 on the 5th of June, 10 am PT. In any case, we are here again this year and provide you with prompt information with all the information on the individual announcements.

Apple Rumour Mill Jumps Forward a Generation with Leaks Revealing Possible Features of iPhone 9

iPhone 9: Rumors, Release, Infos

Even if it still takes some time: On the Internet you may find some first guesses for upcoming iPhone 9. Does Apple have an iris scanner? All rumors and information about iPhone 9 can be found here.

IPhone 9: More security through the iris scan

At the view of your eye, the smartphone will unlock: rumored that Apple is working on an iris scanner for the iPhone 9.

According to the most trustable source, Apple is working on a biometric iris scanner for the iPhone. From 2018 each iPhone is to be equipped with an iris scanner.

Like the fingerprint sensor on the current iPhone models, the Iris scanner is a biometric validation method, that can be used, to unlock the screen, for example. Touch ID also permits

iphone 9 users to make payment transactions. This iris scan is used as extra protection for iphone 9 - whether or not you can utilise it to make the payment in the future.

iPhone 9 with OLED displays in 5.28 and 6.46 inches

The magazine "The Investor" from the Korea Herald reports exclusively on information from Apple's supply chain. One wants to have learned that the iphone 9 manufacturer at Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has commissioned OLED displays in two different sizes. These are 5.28 and 6.46 inch displays. The order volume should be 180 million display units.

The report also shows that Samsung and Apple recently signed a mutually binding declaration of secrecy. It obliges both companies not to disclose details about orders. Strangely enough, apparently "display sizes" should also count as an exclusion criterion, which should be kept under lock and key. Strange, however, as this detail now came to the public. Understandable is such an agreement from Apple's view in any case, since you do not want to surrender too much details about future products.

The other high light about iPhone 9 is that using 5G technology that reports Apple in US has got the permission to test 5G connectivity in iPhone labs. It is really amazing to know that the 5G technology found in iPhone 9 promises the download speed that is 60 times more faster than the apical NBN bracket.

The iPhone 9 is coming! If not today, then sometime. As long as Apple's smartphone business is the driving force of the company, we do not have to worry that there could be no new iPhone every year. But while we do not even know one hundred percent, how the device looks like this year, the mills continue to rotate.

How to Track Your Sleep Using Apple Watch

Sleep Tracking

One would often wonder if they tend to get good sleep and though Apple Watch can track steps, heart rate, time that is spent standing etc. it does not do sleep tracking. Sleep tracking has become one of the essential requested features for Apple Watch though Apple has yet to implement a solution.

This has not stopped developers from developing their own watchOS app in doing the same and there are several third party apps which could do the needful. To start off you could turn off the Wake Screen on Wrist Raise feature that can be done by pressing the crown and then tap General > Wake Screen. This needs to be done each night and thereafter re-enable it once again in the morning.

The battery problem seems to be a difficult to manage. This can be sorted by getting it charged first thing on waking up in the morning and it could get charged while you take your shower, have your breakfast and get ready to set to work. A span of 30 minutes charging could be quite adequate for the next 24 hours off operation. Another option would be considering charging while one would be getting ready for bed or reading etc. and one should not forget charging before falling off to sleep.

AutoSleep with Apple Watch 

Tracking your sleep would mean wearing your watch in bed which could be pretty uncomfortable. One of the most known apps for sleep tracking with Apple Watch is the AutoSleep which enables you to track your sleep in two different methods. To get started with this all that is needed is to download the AutoSleep app from the App Store and feed in some of your basic details.

But AutoSleep tends to work even if one does not seem to wear it some nights. When this seems to occur, it begins tracking the hours instantly as you put the watch on the charger and then stops when the watch is back on in the morning or when the phone is first used.

 Though it is just time tracking, the real advantage is from wearing your watch. When the watch is worn, the app tends to measure the sleep hours together with the quality, restlessness, heart rate and much more. It then presents the data collected utilising Apple Health-style visuals.

 Another benefit is a `smart’ alarm which tends to wake you when the app seems to sense you are in a light sleep phase, as against your bedside alarm which might struggle you from a deep sleep.

Restless Versus Restful Sleep

Sleep Watch tends to manage the basics – sleep tracking heart rate reporting and much more though seems to waver a little in the depth together with the performance of data. The Sleep Activity graph for instance, utilises a series of gradated band to specify the restless versus restful sleep and is not mainly instinctive to view it.

When it is tapped, presuming probably one would get expanded or more detailed date, the app tends to pop up a lengthy text description of the graph. Besides that, there is also a part known as 3-Day Sleep charge which is presented as a `fun way of tracking your sleep debt’.

 However most of the sleep experts are of the belief that you cannot `catch-up’ on lost sleep and that it is better to get the same amount of sleep each night. Hence the very concept of this feature is said to be a flaw.