Upcoming watchOS 3.2 Update for Apple Watch Will Bring Advanced Siri Functionality to Select Apple and 3rd Party Apps
Toggle Dark Mode
According to a recent report published by Business Insider, a preliminary review of Apple’s latest watchOS 3.2 developer beta software revealed that the company will soon bring advanced Siri functionality to its wildly popular wearable device.
Apps that will initially benefit from the beefed-up functionality include certain native and third party fitness apps, mobile payment apps such as PayPal and Apple Pay, Messages for watchOS, and certain location-based apps like Maps and Uber, for example.
Similar to functionality on Apple’s recent slate of iPhone, Mac, and Apple TV hardware offerings, advanced Siri on the Apple Watch will be able to carry out complete tasks, from start to finish. For example, one would be able to order a car from Uber, right from their Apple Watch using the sound of their voice; and, in that way, you would not have to obtain your iPhone to finalize or authorize the transaction.
As a recent survey conducted by Business Insider (BI) Intelligence all but confirmed, the addition of advanced, integrated Siri functionality on the Apple Watch may be exactly what the doctor ordered for Cupertino’s wearable — particularly because, according to the survey, the number two biggest reason most would-be customers have refrained from purchasing an Apple Watch is because they don’t perceive it as a device offering much in the way of functionality.
Indeed, Apple Watch’s comparatively tiny, 1.5- or 1.65-inch display doesn’t really offer much in the way of a fully-fledged, deeply interactive experience. So the addition of advanced Siri functionality built into more apps should make interacting with and getting things done on an Apple Watch easier than ever before. And, of course, Apple is likely hedging its bets that these would-be customers begin to see more value in the device as a result.
In a broader sense, Apple’s further adoption of Siri on the watchOS platform could signal an overall shift in the company’s strategy with Siri — a strategy, as we can see, by which Apple’s proprietary voice assistant is built into all of the company’s products, with universal functionality across the board. This move, of course, would be of great contrast to Apple’s fiercest competitors, such as Google and Amazon, with their Google Assistant and Alexa platforms, respectively, which are limited to being installed mainly on standalone hardware voice assistant hardware and a select few smartphones.
No word on when Apple’s watchOS 3.2 software will be available to the public, but we can only assume it’ll be released sometime this spring.
Are you looking forward to trying out Siri’s new tricks on Apple Watch?
Let us know in the comments!
