Looks like Apple’s got a secret trick up its sleeve. Despite revealing what iOS 5 will look like back at its WWDC expo, it seems there’s still one system-wide feature that’s yet to be officially revealed: Apple ‘Assistant’.
According to insider sources, Assistant appears to incorporate various speech-based help throughout iOS 5. This includes talk-to-type speech recognition in the text messaging and emailing apps, as well as a few more besides.
While Assistant’s typing skills will come courtesy of Apple’s work with Nuance – a company well versed in such matters – it appears that it will also look to assist you in other areas, such as location-based guidance. 9to5mac is reporting that Assistant will be able to take information about users’ location and preferences, and will be able to offer suggestions on places to go based on this.
For example, you could ask Assistant to ‘arrange a meal with John’, and it would throw up a list of available restaurants that are equidistant from you and John, also factoring in your love of Indian food.
Is this the next step in mobiles helping mankind, or just unnecessary fiddliness? Let us know on the Gadget Helpline Twitter feed.