Apple has acquired an audio-focused startup and its experience might just help the company drastically improve voice recognition and similar conversational features on the iPhone. If this deal pans out in Apple’s favor, the iPhone might end up with the best voice recognition in the industry.
Apple acquires Q.ai
A startup focused on AI-powered audio technologies, Q.ai brings expertise that will help Apple perfect voice recognition and similar features for its upcoming Siri revamp. Apple hasn’t commented on how it plans to use the startup’s technologies, but the company’s remarks about the acquisition pretty much spell it out.
The startup’s CEO is someone that Apple has dealt with before as well. Aviad Maizels founded PrimeSense, which Apple bought in 2013. PrimeSense’s research helped Apple eventually develop Face ID, which remains one of the best facial recognition technologies in the industry. Even some of the current Q.ai team has worked at PrimeSense before, so great things are probably underway.
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The new Siri is expected to finally debut this year. | Image credit — PhoneArena
Apple says that the startup has worked on new AI-powered algorithms to better understand speech. In particular, Q.ai has been working on AI being able to understand whispered speech and being able to enhance audio in challenging environments. If this is what Apple has acquired Q.ai for, then it is almost certainly to help improve Apple Intelligence.
What should Apple Intelligence focus most on?
As the new Siri and other AI features make their way to the iPhone 17 and beyond, Apple will want the experience to be as intuitive and convenient as possible. Part of making that possible, of course, is Siri being able to actually understand what you’re saying, even if it’s outside in a crowded street.
I appreciate Apple’s commitment
Let’s not beat around the bush. Apple Intelligence has had a very rough launch, and it still remains woefully incomplete compared to what we were shown at WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2024. And whatever features are there — like removing objects from images — are much worse than competing alternatives, which is why Apple has partnered with Google for the latter’s Gemini model.
Apple is still working on its internal models for the time being, and the Gemini deal is just to help the company’s devices catch up to the competition. The acquisition of Q.ai gives me hope that Apple Intelligence will, despite the many stumbles across the way, turn out to be a very powerful package of AI features and tools one day.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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