Apple is reportedly planning to introduce a new personal assistant service with iOS 9 that may rival the all conquering Google New service.
The new tool, codenamed ‘Proactive’ will combine the talents of Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook and a host of third-party apps, 9to5Mac sources say.
Apple’s interpretation, which the report calls ‘an evolution of Spotlight search,’ will offer the user time-sensitive, personalised updates, just like Google Now.
Specifics are thin on the ground right now, but the report brings word Proactive will offer an augmented reality presentation within Apple Maps that would point out potential points of interest, depending on the user’s habits. There’ll also be a third-party Siri API called ‘Breadcrumbs’ within Proactive, but it’s not yet clear how this will pay out.
The report says Proactive will be accessible to the left of the main iOS homescreen, which once housed the Spotlight interface before Apple made it accessible by dragging the homescreen down.
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The Proactive initiative, in essence, got underway within iOS 8 as Apple allowed Spotlight to bring in Wikipedia results as a means of lessening the web search reliance on Google.
Apparently, Apple developers have been working on it for quite a while, with momentum picking up following its purchase of the Cue app in 2013.
If this report holds up Proactive should be ready to slide straight in and become a fully functioning part of the OS.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.