We may not experience Siri 2.0 until next year, if rumors about the rollout of the upgrade voice assistant are anything to go by. But a new patent suggests that Apple is working on the ability to put Siri to use when you're in the midst of a video call in the FaceTime app.
The new patent, spotted by The Mac Observer, appears to specifically involve using Siri while on a video call in real time. The patent is titled "Digital Assistant Interaction in a Video Communication Session Environment".
Currently, you can ask Siri to start up a FaceTime call, but that's where the assistant's role stops. Having Siri be available during the call could open up access to new information without forcing you to leave the call or hunt around your phone while also trying to hold a conversation. Examples provided in the patent include asking Siri the weather while your FaceTime call continues.
Based on some drawings provided by Apple in their patent, it appears that Siri would appear as a third "individual" in the call. It's not entirely clear if Siri would sit in the chat the whole time, or only pop up when called upon.
Throughout the patent, Apple mentions "natural language inputs." With Apple Intelligence coming later this year, it definitely feels like an extension of Apple's attempts at AI in their devices.
From the patent: “An example includes, during a video communication session between at least two devices, receiving a voice input at one device, generating and transmitting to a server a textual representation of the voice input, receiving from the server a shared transcription including both the textual representation of the voice input and one or more additional textual representations generated by another device, and determining and presenting one or more candidate tasks based on the shared transcription.”
The patent is dated July 9, but the company filed last year on August 9. With Siri 2.0 set to complete its rollout in 2025, it's not clear when we might see this potential new feature. Still, the patent provides an interesting look at a potential future for Siri and what may be coming to the to Apple's virtual assistant.
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