Tomorrow when iOS 6 comes out, the installed base of Siri -- Apple's still-in-beta, voice-controlled personal assistant -- is set to explode. Originally exclusive to the iPhone 4S, Siri will now work on the iPhone 5 (which drops September 21), the fifth-generation iPod touch (which is available for preorder, shipping in October), and the third-gen iPad.
Siri will be able to do more in iOS 6 than before, as well. On the iPhone 4S running iOS 5, Siri can search the web, call or text your contacts, look up info on WolframAlpha, give weather predictions, set alarms and timers, add items to your reminders list (including general, date-specific, and place-specific reminders), get directions, control your music, add and edit calendar events, and some other tricks. But in iOS 6, Siri gets smarter about movies, restaurants, and sports.
Ask about a sports team, and Siri knows the schedule, the latest scores, league standings, and individual player stats. You can ask who's on top of the National League West division, when the Niners' next game is on TV, and how many points per game Kobe Bryant is averaging. The data is supplied by Yahoo Sports, and it's a convenient way to get tidbits of info that you might otherwise launch an app like ESPN ScoreCenter for.
Siri could already search for restaurants by type and location, using the Maps app, but in iOS 6 Siri's restaurant search is further integrated with Yelp and OpenTable. You can ask for a sushi restaurant with a reservation for four at 8pm tomorrow, and you'll get results tailored to those specifications. Once you've chosen a restaurant and you want to confirm your reservation, Siri will kick you out to the OpenTable app to finish up with just a couple of taps.
And Siri's movie searches are now powered by Rotten Tomatoes. You can ask what new movies are out, find out showtimes, see trailers, get Rotten Tomatoes scores and reviews, and even ask what other movies a particular actor or director worked on.
Siri can also post to Facebook and Twitter without you having to open those apps. You can even compose and send an email right from Siri's interface. Press the microphone button in any app that supports text entry to have Siri take dictation instead of typing. And Siri can even launch apps for you.
A couple things to keep in mind: Siri requires an Internet connection. If you are offline, so is Siri -- this is a bummer if you just want to control your music with your voice, which the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the third- and fourth-gen iPod touch can do with Voice Control. (Pro tip: iPhone 4S users can still access Voice Control by turning off Siri in Settings > General > Siri.)
And Siri is still officially in beta. Since the work is done on Apple's servers, sometimes even if you have a strong connection, the server is down or overloaded and Siri will apologize that she can't help you at the moment. We've been impressed at how much Siri's response time and accuracy has improved in the last few months, but with iOS 6, the number of users is going to skyrocket, so we hope Siri can keep up.
What's your favorite way to use Siri? Let us know in the comments!
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