Apple’s iOS 5 Beta Could Hint At Voice Commands

Just recently, Apple has launched the iOS 5 Beta version for developers. Apple’s latest operating system has been announced in June at WWDC and will be available this fall. The company’s surprising move allowed us to take a peak at the upcoming iOS 5 and see what it would bring us. A little microphone icon built into the QWERTY keyboard hints to a previously rumored voice recognition software than the new platform might include. Earlier this year, some reports pointed to a partnership between Apple and Nuance Communication, and the only product that was rumored to come out of this collaboration was Nuance’s Dragon Dictation, that allows users to convert spoken messages into typed texts and paste it into an email or text message. There was no hint of a voice command software.

On the other hand, Google has taken this technology a bit further with the Android smartphones, allowing users to perform voice commands such as “Call X’s Cell” and to dictate texts directly on the targeted place, without the need of pasting the message. When Apple presented its forthcoming iOS 5 back in June, it did not mention voice commands, but it wouldn’t be the first time the company adds features to software that weren’t initially announced. The presence of the little microphone icon could mean that iOS 5 would add voice actions, but it doesn’t precisely hints to the rumored feature. Nothing is certain until the official fall release.

But the fact that Apple bought Siri in 2010, a company that specializes in voice-driven technology, the presence of the microphone symbol as well as the partnership with Nuance Communication could hint to new features to be added on upcoming iPhones and iPads.