Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Rumor: Fully integrated voice control coming to iPhone 5

Molly McHugh
By

AssistantiPhone 5 mania is beginning to reach a fever pitch as the rumored September launch date draws nearer. Of course, most of the hype continues to revolve around the timing of its release rather than the handset itself. Thankfully, a new report gives us a look at what would be a pretty significant upgrade to the next-gen model.

9to5 Mac claims that Apple wants to outfit the iPhone 5 with voice control. Using technology acquired in its purchase of Siri and partnership with Nuance, the smartphone will include a native voice command application called Assistant. Apparently Assistant will be an iOS 5 feature but come packaged with the iPhone 5 introduction to drive more attention to the phone – as if that were necessary. But if this is the case, older handset users will be able to use the new function as well.

Recommended Videos

iphone voice controlAssistant would function similarly to the Siri iPhone app, which takes you voice command and finds what you need based on information it securely curates (most specifically your location). If you want to get a taste of Assistant, download the Siri app (free) and give it a spin. Unlike Siri, Assistant would of course be fully integrated into iOS 5 which means it would have fewer limitations accessing iPhone data and requests would be nearly unlimited. It will also reportedly be able to respond to the users’ commands.

Related

If Assistant turns out to be everything we’re hearing, it would be an incredibly impressive feature to package with iOS 5, as well as with the iPhone 5. The iPhone already functions as a personal aid for most owners, and is used for planning, navigating, and discovery. Freeing up your hands and eyes and still be able to put the iPhone through its paces would be a welcomed step forward.

Before you get too excited though, we should tell you it’s possible Assistant will still be in development when the iPhone 5 ships. Apple is likely to want such a feature to be nearly perfect before it hits handsets – and fingers crossed, that’s not too far out.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Molly McHugh
Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
iPhone SE 4: news, rumored price, release date, and more
The Apple iPhone SE (2022) and Apple iPhone SE (2020) together.

While the spotlight always seems to be on Apple’s mainline iPhones, the iPhone SE is a great pick for those who are on a budget. If you want an iPhone that doesn't break the bank, the SE is the way to go.

The original iPhone SE came out in 2016, and then Apple revamped it in 2020 and 2022 by giving it some more modern hardware. The iPhone SE tends to get updated every two or so years rather than annually like the traditional iPhone. This means  that we should see a new iPhone SE 4 this year, but it’s not so cut-and-dried with this particular model.

Read more
Here’s how Apple could change your iPhone forever
An iPhone 15 Pro Max laying on its back, showing its home screen.

Over the past few months, Apple has released a steady stream of research papers detailing its work with generative AI. So far, Apple has been tight-lipped about what exactly is cooking in its research labs, while rumors circulate that Apple is in talks with Google to license its Gemini AI for iPhones.

But there have been a couple of teasers of what we can expect. In February, an Apple research paper detailed an open-source model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE) that is capable of media editing using natural language instructions from users. Now, another research paper on Ferret UI has sent the AI community into a frenzy.

Read more
There’s a big problem with the iPhone’s Photos app
The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

While my primary device these days continues to be my iPhone 15 Pro, I’ve dabbled with plenty of Android phones since I’ve been here at Digital Trends. One of my favorite brands of phone has been the Google Pixel because of its strong suite of photo-editing tools and good camera hardware.

Google first added the Magic Eraser capability with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which is a tool I love using. Then, with the Pixel 8 series, Google added the Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to make edits that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. There are also tools like Photo Unblur, which is great for old photographs and enhancing images that were captured with low-quality sensors.

Read more