Everybody, including me, was quite taken by the demonstration of the voice recognition capability of the new iPhone 4S at Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone†event that took place in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday (October 4).
But confusion reigned when we realized that the Apple Canada Web site did not reference Siri, the name given to the digital assistant application.
A conversation with an Apple representative today (October 5) clarified the situation.
There will not be a Canadian version of Siri when the iPhone 4S is released on October 14.
But that doesn’t mean that Canadians can’t take advantage of the voice-control functionality.
Siri runs as an application on the iPhone 4S, so by changing the settings of that app to U.S. English, UK English, or Australian English, anyone can use the software.
German and French speakers can also use Siri, by choosing the appropriate setting in the application.
The reason that there’s no mention of Siri at the Apple Canada Web site appears to be something of a technicality. Because the software wasn’t specifically localized to Canadian dialects, there are no Canadian English or Canadian French versions of the software.
It’s safe to assume that there will be versions of Siri specifically for Canadians at some point in the near future.
Until then, those of us who are keen to have our iPhones book appointments for us will have to speak like Americans, Aussies, Brits, or Parisians.
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