Apple’s new patent application gives details on Siri for Mac

Have you ever wanted to ask your Mac a question? In the future, you may be able to speak aloud to Siri through your Mac if a new Apple patent application ever comes to fruition. The patent, which was first spotted by Apple Insider, describes how a desktop version of Siri would work. For instance, you could summon Siri by performing a specific gesture, which would involve holding a key, clicking on something within the OS X interface, or forming a pattern on the tocuchpad.

While Apple’s Siri has been an iOS staple since 2011, the tech has yet to make the jump to OS X. An exhaustive new patent filing, however, details a very similar desktop version of the virtual assistant that can perform dictation, high-level system commands and even act as a “third hand” for Mac users. As published by the U.S. patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, Apple’s massive 92-page patent application for an “Intelligent digital assistant in a desktop environment” describes a technology that goes far beyond Mac’s current voice dictation feature, and can easily be considered a “Siri for Mac.” Like the current iteration of Siri, limited to iOS, Apple’s desktop version is able to process natural speech and text input to perform actions like completing tasks, inputting and retrieving data, conducting searches and more. Further, the filing points out that commands are to be taken in context based on deduced user intent. In other words, Siri for desktop will use speech recognition to decipher and remembering contextual clues.