Janmike34 posted a nicely produced concept video for how Nuance's voice recognition could be integrated into iOS 5. In essence, text fields can become speech recognition fields by tapping and holding on text fields. This functionality can be offered to 3rd party applications as well using the standard iOS text field.

While a nicely produced video, it's not more impressive than what Google's Android has, nor is it even more impressive than the technology we've known Apple has acquired:


Apple acquired Siri in April 2010. Steve Jobs has said that Siri's acquisition was for their artificial intelligence technology. Nuance is the company that powered Siri's speech recognition, so it's no surprise that Apple is negotiating with Nuance for use of their technology in iOS 5.

[via Reddit]

Top Rated Comments

janmike34 Avatar
192 months ago
Yeah I like the vid. However what would make the interface much better, and the reason for it happening, would be for complete control and hands-free ability - having to tap something on the screen defeats the purpose, for instance if you're driving or cooking or in the bathroom or something and you can't/don't want to touch the phone, you should be able to control it completely by voice (like the Knowledge Navigator, or current and actually in use Kinect where you simply say "Xbox ..." followed by the command). If your hands are dirty while cooking and you don't want olive oil or flower do get on/in your iOS device, and you need more information you could say "iPad, next page" or "iPad, what is the next step in the cooking process" or if you get a text you can say "iPhone, read text" and then "iPhone ignore" or "iPhone reply with: ..." and then say the message you want the iPhone to type and send to them while you're still stirring or transferring or coating your food.

I thought about doing so with my current video, but decided not to develop it that way for a few reasons.

My concept originally began with how Mac OS X's speech recognition can function — you can tell the OS to constantly listen using the microphone for a keyword or phrase. Upon hearing that, the OS would then act accordingly to the command stated after the keyword.

The reason why I didn't do this is because of 1) battery life? 2) privacy concerns. I'm sure if I posted a video of such, many of the comments would discuss how the iPhone is always listening...wherever you go. A computer is stationary, but everyone carries their phone everywhere. And with that, the phone is always listening. 3) Many people might have their default keyword be "iPhone". How many people have iPhone's now? I say the word iPhone on my university's bus, and everyone's phone would then ring that familiar sound.

Of course, I have gotten this kind of feedback a lot (re: much more developed speech recognition that should listen in and act accordingly). In the next few days, look out for another video by me that demonstrates such. :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocNYz Avatar
192 months ago
Yeah I like the vid. However what would make the interface much better, and the reason for it happening, would be for complete control and hands-free ability - having to tap something on the screen defeats the purpose, for instance if you're driving or cooking or in the bathroom or something and you can't/don't want to touch the phone, you should be able to control it completely by voice (like the Knowledge Navigator, or current and actually in use Kinect where you simply say "Xbox ..." followed by the command). If your hands are dirty while cooking and you don't want olive oil or flower do get on/in your iOS device, and you need more information you could say "iPad, next page" or "iPad, what is the next step in the cooking process" or if you get a text you can say "iPhone, read text" and then "iPhone ignore" or "iPhone reply with: ..." and then say the message you want the iPhone to type and send to them while you're still stirring or transferring or coating your food.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iStudentUK Avatar
192 months ago
This would be great!

But as others have said you need a better way to activate voice control. My mobile 10 years ago would listen for a key phrase and then activate voice dialling, that would be great.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
janmike34 Avatar
192 months ago
Heyyyyy I'm famous!

Don't forget to check out my other concept videos on my YouTube channel. More coming soon!

Got an idea? Shoot me a message on YouTube!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Illusion986 Avatar
192 months ago
One of the reasons i don't use voice commands on my iPhone is because holding the home button takes too long, which makes the whole process inconvenient.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjs862 Avatar
192 months ago
Lik the long press to prompt the system.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...