If you own an iPhone, have you ever asked Siri: Hey Siri! Why are you not on my MacBook?
Go ahead, try it! I bet you’ll get an interesting reply. Moving along…there are rumors doing rounds that Apple is quietly baking its (should I call it digital assistant or artificial intelligence?) Siri into the upcoming Mac OS X.
These rumors should be dispelled not later than June 2016; the Month Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is to take place.
These rumors run thick as MacRumors went ahead and posted screenshots supposedly showing Siri on a Mac; without hacks (‘Mac without hacks’, kinda rhymes, doesn’t it?). The screenshot shows a black-and-white Siri logo (Siri face) pinned to the menu bar and another screenshot showing a dock icon with Siri’s waveform.
The publisher says that when you click on the icon, it will launch Siri to do your bidding just like it does on your phone. The said waveform is in place to let users know Siri is listening to your commands.
Just like ‘Hey Cortana’ on Windows 10, ‘Hey Siri’ voice command will be disabled by default. It is said that you can enable it by tingling with the Siri settings. MacRumors gives a disclaimer that the Siri on Mac OS X screenshot they posted, is of a work-in-progress and that the final icon might be changed if the developer deems it fit.
Nonetheless, they say you should expect all the Siri features you find on your iOS device to be there on your MacBook once they bake her into the upcoming Mac OS X (v. 10.12).
Since we dragged Microsoft into the matter, you should notice that Windows’s Cortana is integrated into the Windows 10 search box. Apple is taking a slightly different approach to this; they are separating the two icons that launch the search interface on OS X and Siri. Again, this might also change when Mac OS X (v. 10.12) rolls out. The hard fact truth will be known at the upcoming WWDC next month.