Apple WWDC 2016: Tim Cook reveals huge Siri, iMessage upgrades

Article By : Toni Urrutia

At Apple's WWDC keynote, CEO Tim Cook dubs iOS 10 as the mother of all updates as it revamps iMessage and Siri.

The recently concluded WWDC in San Francisco, California saw Apple introduce iOS app upgrades, redesigns to Apple Music, iMessage as well as the announcement of the company's opening of three key features – Siri, Maps and Messages to third party developers.

However, the biggest takeaway from the keynote could be its focus on its decades-old expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and voice. Siri, an intelligent personal assistant, will now be made available on Macs in the latest version of macOS Sierra – where will it be capable of locating and opening documents and pulling up information.

Is this new feature a reaction to Microsoft's virtual assistant for Windows 10 – Cortana? In an interview with IndianExpress.com, the President of research firm Creative Strategies Tim Bajarin said “Apple has been doing AI and Voice for 25 years. It was the other companies who were reactionary.”

Another big announcement of the night was a major change to Apple's messaging. The tech giant aims to bring it closely into competition with the likes of Facebook messenger, Snapchat and WhatsApp. The iOS 10 update – due for release later this year introduces what the Apple is calling "emojification." Basically, if you type out a message, it will automatically suggest a suitable emoji option in iMessage.

The iOS 10 also brings about features such as stickers and doodled to the platform beyond simple text, reminiscent of Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and Viber.

Apple has made the messaging platform open to third-party developers, meaning it can be integrated within third-party apps.

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