iPhone 5 to Crush Competition With Release of 'Assistant' Feature
The unveiling of Apple’s iPhone 5 is a little over a week away and tech site 9to5 has spilled the beans on one of the device’s most intriguing features called “the Assistant.”
According to the site, “the Assistant,” a Siri-based system-wide voice navigation system and is the new iPhone’s biggest selling point.
The feature will be exclusive to the iPhone 5 since the 4 and 3GS do not possess the hardware to run the feature efficiently.
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“The Assistant” is the evolution of the Voice Control function that was first introduced in 2009 on the iPhone 3GS.
The user can activate the new system by holding down the home button for a couple of seconds which makes the microphone interface “slide up” from the bottom in a clever animation.
Once activated, “the Assistant” takes up takes up a fourth of the display’s space on the bottom of the screen.
Apple provides the user with an info button for the feature which lists the various voice commands available on “the Assistant.”
In the middle of the systems interface, there is a silver microphone icon with an orbiting purple flare. The flare indicates that “the Assistant” is ready for use.
Some of the possibilities with “the Assistant’s” voice commands include being able to create an appointment by speaking it into the microphone. Once the command is recorded, the smartphone’s calendar lists the new appointment. The user can also create reminders by simply telling the smartphone to do so.
A user can also ask the system for directions vocally and the smartphone will use the GPS and display the route to the destination from the iPhone’s current location.
Texts and iMessages can also be created in the system simply by speaking them into the phone. For example, by telling “the Assistant,” send a message to John telling him I’ll be late for work, John will receive the information on an SMS text without the user having to touch the keyboard.
Another key element of “the Assistant” is the conversation view. The user can actually go back and forth with their iPhone in a conversation as if it was another human being. The feature allows the device to collect information from the user in order for it to provide the best results for following through with a task.
The user can also ask “the Assistant” about facts or questions and receive answers quickly thanks to the systems integration with Wolfram Alpha, an online computational knowledge system.
It works as a personal assistant for an iPhone user.
According to 9to5 Mac, the version it encountered in not finalized and is still subject to change.
