Bing. I’m not kidding. Apple is bringing it to Siri in iOS 7, along with a number of other improvements that should help the company compete with Google’s Google Now product.
In iOS 7, Siri will have control over iOS settings such as voicemail, brightness, Bluetooth, and more. You can hit up Twitter from inside of Siri, and Bing web search results will be displayed alongside information from Wikipedia. Apple is also bringing new voices to Siri, including a revamped female voice, and a male voice. Frankly, this was a needed improvement.
The new voices will support both French and German. Apple promised more languages to come. Now, to a few screenshots:
The integration of Bing as a search provider may feel odd, but competitively it is not. Apple does not want to depend on Google, a company that it is currently in bitter rivalry with. Yes, Apple also competes with Microsoft, but Redmond is a tot in the search market — and yet it provides the only real alternative to Google’s search prowess. Therefore, Apple has an interest in its success, even if it does help Microsoft’s larger digital efforts.
Apple fans were utterly silent in the room when Bing was announced. They almost felt stunned. For more WWDC 2013 news, click the banner below!
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