In October 2011, Apple launched Siri which is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.’s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS operating systems. Siri can be enabled by simply saying “Hey Siri” which is perhaps the most common phrase iOS users use. Siri uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questions posed by the device owner. Over the years Apple has made significant improvements to the virtual assistant to sooth the needs of a user pertaining to the modern day world. What makes Siri versatile is the fact that it is not only available in English but also in most of the languages that are recognised throughout the world.
Even in pop culture Siri has been quite notable.
– Siri provided the voice of ‘Puter‘ in The Lego Batman Movie.
– In The Big Bang Theory sitcom episode, the character Raj Koothrappali falls in love with Siri.
– In the film Ant-Man, Siri was triggered during a fight between Scott Lang and Daren Cross to play the song “Disintegration” by the Cure after Cross shouts “I’m gonna disintegrate you!“
However even with all this Siri could only be used with an active internet connection until now! Siri will finally work without an internet connection with on-device speech recognition.
Process Audio of Siri Requests on Device
(Straight from the Apple Newsroom)
With on-device speech recognition, the audio of users’ requests is processed right on their iPhone or iPad by default. This addresses one of the biggest privacy concerns for voice assistants, which is unwanted audio recording. For many requests, Siri processing is also moving on device, enabling requests to be processed without an internet connection, such as launching apps, setting timers and alarms, changing settings, or controlling music. However functions like surfing the web that require active Internet connection will obviously not be accessible without internet. But the previously mentioned functions only make Siri more accessible (without internet of course)
According to the Verge, “the feature will only be available on iPhones and iPads with its A12 Bionic chip or later. That means the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR; iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, and iPhone SE (second generation); iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max; iPad Mini (fifth generation); iPad Air (third and fourth generations); and iPad (eighth generation). And zero Apple Watch availability.”
