Skip to main content

Is Siri coming to the next version of Mac OS X?

siri-wrong-main

Imagine hearing “What can I help you with?” coming out of your MacBook’s speakers with Siri on the other end ready to help. TechCrunch caught wind of a new job posting on Apple’s site for a “Siri UX Engineer” with experience in Mac OS X and Unix, the underlying platform of the Mac operating system. The job listing has since been removed, though TechCrunch has preserved parts of it. It certainly seems to suggest the Siri is coming to the desktop.

In fact, the job posting made no mention of the platform that made Siri famous: iOS. Instead, it was all about integrating Siri with other programs, as evidenced by this statement: “We take every application that Siri interacts with, distill it down to fundamentals, and implement that application’s UI in a theme fitting with Siri. Consider it an entire miniature OS within the OS, and you get a good idea of the scope!”

Related Videos

This isn’t the first rumbling of Siri coming to Mac OS X that we’ve heard, either. 9to5 Mac first reported that Siri and Apple Maps would make the jump to the big screen in the next version of Mac OS, 10.9. The current version, Mountain Lion (10.8) features dictation, which many point out is the gateway speech translator to Siri. Dictation first appeared on the iPad with iOS 5.1 only to be followed by Siri on iOS 6.0, so it’s not a stretch for Apple to follow the same pattern again.

Just what would Siri do on your desktop? No one knows for sure, but it’ll probably be similar to her iOS abilities at first. Expect Siri to make appointments and reminders for you, play songs from iTunes, and give weather reports. However, the part in the job posting about an OS within an OS makes us hopeful that Siri will gain abilities within Apple’s native programs such as iPhoto and iWork. How cool would it be to have Siri show you all of the photos of your Uncle Bob using iPhoto’s facial recognition capability, or spellcheck your document without having to find the keystroke in Pages?

What would you like Siri to do for you on your MacBook? Let us know.

Editors' Recommendations

iPadOS 16: Everything we know about the iPad’s next update
iPad Pro on a desk with AirPods and an iPhone nearby.

At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June 2022, Apple showcased its upcoming iPadOS 16 update, which is currently in Developer Beta. While the stable update for the iPad’s next operating system is slated to be released sometime in October, we already know all the features coming to your Apple tablet. iPadOS 16 isn’t a significant overhaul in terms of looks, but it brings some handy features. Here’s everything you need to know about the next generation of iPadOS.
Which iPad models will get iPadOS 16
All iPads powered by an A9 chip and above will receive iPadOS 16. This means the fourth-generation iPad, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4 won’t get the update. On the other hand, the new iPadOS is supported by all iPad Pro tablets, including the original 10.5-inch and 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Here are all the iPads that will run iPadOS 16:

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: First, second, third, fourth, and fifth generations.
iPad Pro 11-inch: First, second, and third generations.
iPad Pro: 10.5-inch and 9.7-inch.
iPad: Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth generations.
iPad mini: Fifth and sixth generations.
iPad Air: Third, fourth, and fifth generations.

Read more
Apple’s iPhone workaround doesn’t excuse bad MacBook webcams
iPhone being used as a Mac webcam.

Apple has turned the iPhone into a webcam for the Mac, officially. You'll now look sharp in video calls with centered focus wizardry, and even some bokeh magic thrown into the mix. If you're an Android phone loyalist, you're stuck using your pricey MacBook's not-so-good webcam. It's a stop-gap solution and a sign that Mac webcams aren't getting the same "revolutionary" upgrades as the silicon inside those machines.

One can argue that there is only so much space to fit snazzy camera hardware beneath the thin lid of a MacBook. But the problem is not exclusive to Apple's laptops. The Mac Studio external display, armed with a 12-megapixel camera and will burn a $1,600-sized hole in your wallet, also garnered less-than-stellar reviews for its webcam performance.

Read more
WWDC 2022 announcements: iOS 16, iPadOS 16, WatchOS 9, MacOS Ventura, MacBook Air M2, and more
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks at a display of brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptop during the WWDC22

Apple has finally kicked off the 2022 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference. The main keynote of the conference, known as WWDC for short, will be streaming online, along with various breakout sessions, throughout the week.

The focus of the event was on the latest versions of Apple's operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and WatchOS, and tvOS. A new MacBook Air powered by an M2 processor also made an appearance.
Watch a replay of the WWDC keynote
WWDC 2022 - June 6 | Apple

Read more