Have you had any update on this? Your original request had never occurred to me but in hindsight it seems so obvious and easy to implement, and as you say has potential uses not just for the vision-impaired — not that this should be necessary.
I too remember Voice Over and how it worked offline, but it sounds like online status isn’t the biggest issue in this case.
That Siri can’t be used to answer a call on a smartphone is perhaps its biggest failing I’ve heard yet. If I was Craig, I’d have ordered it be implemented ASAP, assuming he has authority over the Siri team.
If it hasn’t happened there must be significant structural or technical problems with Siri precluding its development and/or significant structural and/or personal problems and conflicts within Apple.
You put forward a very clear and strong case and clearly put a lot of effort in to the letter. I’d be very disappointed for you and Michael if nothing has been actioned on this. Perhaps you can go even higher and email the same request to Tim Cook.
Thank you for your concern!
Unfortunately, there has been no update on this.
I could attempt to send this letter verbatim or updated to Tim Cook, but I feel like it would just be one of the many thousands of emails he recieves daily. Tim has even greater responsibilities than Craig. I even sent an email to Arnold Kim, asking if he could post my letter on the front page as a news story to help address this issue and got no response.
Instead of trying to get the attention of one or two very important, very busy people, I want to get the attention of hundreds or thousands of Apple followers, be they fans, investors, tech geeks, or journalists. With enough social media attention, which hopefully leads to being in the media spotlight, I will then gain the attention of Tim Cook and Craig Federighi.
I was hoping this thread was going to blow up when I first created it. I was saddened when it didn’t, but was greatful for the few people who commented. I even linked this thread to r/apple and r/iphone on Reddit, which didn’t help it gain traction.
I was inspired by the fact that this post was the top most similar thread to the news of Craig Federighi’s privacy comments. I deleted the posts I made on Reddit linking to this thread and created new ones by posting the letter directly to Reddit. The r/apple post won’t gain views for some reason, but the r/iphone post has been gaining a lot of up votes. Only one person has commented other than me, but he informed me of a very useful feature I was previously unaware of, where the phone can auto answer after certain number of seconds set by the user.
Regardless, I still want to see my request implemented. A voice file of a user saying “answer” three or ten times should occupy very little space on an iPhone. That file can then be used to voice match and cross-reference that it is the phone owner answering the phone with the “answer” command. There is no reason Siri can’t do this.
If you’d really like to help, you can spread the word and lead others to this thread to read my letter and comment. I’ve put a lot of effort in trying to reach out and haven’t gotten the returns on invested time I would have liked. If this thread becomes too big to ignore, maybe that will change.
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Whoa.....while you and your friend might be thrilled with a "pocket HomePod phone," what about those who NEED to be able to see a screen, to be able to read text on it, and who cannot speak to Siri to ask her something or give her instructions? Current iPhones or iPads can work for them right now, just as they can for the visually-impaired. I seriously doubt that Apple would ever implement something such as you suggest. What would benefit your friend is one thing, but others may need something entirely different. Ideally, Apple can continue to provide something that works for the greatest number of people, whether they are "typical," (i.e, unaffected by any disability), or hearing-impaired or visually-impaired.
Unfortunately for your friend, he falls into a different category, having multiple disabilities. Apple has been effective so far in serving the visually-impaired community (I know several people who have and love their iPhones). and in providing for the hearing-impaired community as well. iPhones and iPads already can effectively meet the very different needs of both groups of people. Apple continues to strive to implement resources for the greatest number of people they can -- not an easy challenge! -- but unfortunately there will always be those who fall between the cracks and who are not going to be able to benefit in quite the same ways as others. Maybe one day Apple or some other company can and will come up with some creative solutions which will work for him and others in his situation, which would be great, as long as they are in addition to, rather than replacing, other technologies and software which serve the majority of users.
Obviously, a pocket HomePod phone would not be in enough demand to be mass produced, as most people need screens. It’s more of an analogy of what my friend needs. Every aspect about the phone feature should be able to be induced by either voice or touch.
It could be:
*Ring* “Answer”
or:
“Siri, add new contact”
*”Who would you like this new contact to be?”*
“John Doe”
*“What is John Doe’s phone number?”*
“Four Oh Eight, Five Five Five, Six Seven Eight Nine”
*“New contact for John Doe with phone number (408) 555-6789. Is this number correct?”*
“Yes”
*New contact for John Doe was created*
Like you, I want these features added to the iPhone without taking away any other features.
