Siri Gets Hacked: Running on iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G
by Kristian Vättö on October 30, 2011 4:42 AM ESTWhen iPhone 4S was announced earlier this month, one of the mightiest features was definitely Apple's new voice control software: Siri. Siri understands normal speech, so you can send text messages and set alarms and so on by speaking to your phone. While Siri is purely software, Apple has limited it to iPhone 4S. Other supported devices can upgrade to iOS 5, but Siri will not be included. However, it has been widely expected that Siri will soon be hacked to run on unsupported devices - and that day has now come.
Developers Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) and @chpwn have managed to get Siri to run on iPhone 4 and fourth generation iPod Touch (uses the same A4 chip as iPhone 4, but has only 256MB of RAM). Even without the dual core A5 chip, Siri appears to run smoothly. Troughton-Smith said that Siri runs as fast on iPhone 4 as it does on iPhone 4S. The iPod Touch has some problems due to the inferior microphone (iPod Touch wasn't designed for calling like iPhone), requiring you to talk very loudly but the actual Siri software runs flawlessly. Below is a video of Siri running on the iPod Touch.
Owners of iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G shouldn't get too excited though, as Troughton-Smith says a public release should not be expected anytime soon. There may also be legal issues of distributing Apple's code, making a public release impossible.
Source: MacRumors
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daniel142005 - Sunday, October 30, 2011 - link
"I'm sure some — especially on this site — will claim Apple didn't release Siri on the other devices getting iOS 5.0 to force users to buy a new iPhone but that simply doesn't make sense. Even with the first 3 days of 4 million new units sold there were reports of Siri's servers being overloaded. Now imagine if that was 150M plus from all iDevices that could install iOS 5.0. Best to build out slowly as you work through this public Beta."While it may be true that they are putting it out there slowly, we all know that Apple had every intention of getting people to buy the iPhone 4S because of this feature. Now, if they were to release it to any other device those that went out and bought the 4S will feel somewhat betrayed. Siri is the only "new feature" of the 4S. Yes, it got the spec upgrade, but it's hardly noticeable in most situations.
"22 countries received the iPhone on Friday can't use much of Siri's features. I hope Apple get's that's sorted out quickly because it's a great feature."
This is probably because Siri is powered by sites like Wolfram Alpha and Yelp, which only support US and maybe a few others. Sadly, this is likely out of Apple's hands unless they can find similar alternatives in those 22 countries.
Also, Android isn't about direct profit... it puts them in a position to provide mobile advertising as well as gets their users to make Google accounts, which encourages them to use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Search, etc.. Google has far from given up on Android, they were also probably keeping quite for their big announcement of ICS a week or so ago.
Android has had voice recognition for a while. Could it be improved? Sure, but there's no need for it to work like Siri. Siri is a gimmick. If I told my phone "set alarm for 7 am", it doesn't need to have a conversation with me. A simple beep or confirmation message would suffice.
doobydoo - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Google charges every Android manufacturer per handset to license access to apps like the Android store, so it does actually bring in direct profit.Apple has had voice recognition for ages too. As have old Nokias. You completely and absolutely miss the point of Siri. Siri isn't about voice commands, and it's USP is NOT that it replies to you (what a ridiculous conclusion you reach).
The USP of Siri is that it understands INTENT, you don't have to learn commands, you don't have to speak in a certain way. You can say whatever you want, and it'll understand you. In that respect it becomes FAR FAR more usable than ANY Android alternative. Just read any of the hundreds of impartial reviews confirming this. You've obviously never used it, and you're obviously an Apple hater.
sprockkets - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
"Google charges every Android manufacturer per handset to license access to apps like the Android store, so it does actually bring in direct profit."Source or it's false.
"Apple has had voice recognition for ages too."
One year.
"The USP of Siri is that it understands INTENT, you don't have to learn commands, you don't have to speak in a certain way. You can say whatever you want, and it'll understand you. In that respect it becomes FAR FAR more usable than ANY Android alternative. Just read any of the hundreds of impartial reviews confirming this."
Nice but what happens when you don't have an internet connection? I said Siri sucked even before it became apples.
"You're obviously an Apple hater."
You obviously are an apple fanboi.
doobydoo - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Silly little boy, I don't make claims unless they are true..'Google makes money (and justifies giving away the OS) by licensing the Google Apps that come on most Android phones (but not all). Apps like Gmail, the Android Market, Google Search, and others come in something called GAPPS. The Market is really where Google is interested. Sure, the other GAPPS add value to the phone (hence why carriers license their inclusion on Android-powered phones), but Google is making money with every app sold through the Market.'
http://pocketnow.com/android/how-does-google-make-...
"One Year"
Try over two years.
http://www.tipb.com/2009/06/08/apple-demonstrates-...
"Nice but what happens when you don't have an internet connection? I said Siri sucked even before it became apples"
Siri works on 3G. If you don't have 3G, the same as Vlingo or any of the not-quite-as-good Android equivalents (as evidenced in every comparative review comparing to Siri)
"You obviously are an apple fanboi."
Yeah, I'm the fan boy because I corrected delusional comments from an illogical irrational Apple hater who just denies the facts until they are thrown in his face. Angry little troll ;-)
sprockkets - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
You are confusing "make money" with charges money for apps.As for your voice command, yes, I forgot, that lousy 3G did have it.
"Siri works on 3G. If you don't have 3G, the same as Vlingo or any of the not-quite-as-good Android equivalents (as evidenced in every comparative review comparing to Siri)"
Run on sentence ???
"Yeah, I'm the fan boy because I corrected delusional comments from an illogical irrational Apple hater who just denies the facts until they are thrown in his face. Angry little troll ;-)"
We both just got corrected. And I hate apple because of the douchebag that SJ was and how he treats his customers. Don't pretend I don't have my reasons.
jiffylube1024 - Sunday, October 30, 2011 - link
I figured that Siri would work fine on the iPhone 4. It would probably work fine on the 3GS as well. There's not many apps (especially non gaming ones) that would require the 800 MHz dual core of the A5 to function. 800 MHz single core A4 of the iPhone 4 or iPod Touch 4 is plenty powerful for most apps.sprockkets - Sunday, October 30, 2011 - link
Of course, it wasn't as if the app was already available for the iphone4 and below before apple reminded everyone of how big a douchebag they are...doobydoo - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Of course, it wasn't as if a less functional and non integrated version of the app was already available for the iphone4 and Android devices below before Apple reminded everyone of how prepared to invest in software and technology they are, making a shrewd investment giving them a competitive advantage over all Android phones, and a USP, which has already paid off in financial terms.Fixed.
sprockkets - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Go fix yourself fucktard.doobydoo - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Bless.