‘Siri for Mac' Will Arrive Soon as Apple Gears up for New Computers, Mac is Apple’s Future

Apple's Siri has been a standard feature on the iOS starting 2011. Nonetheless, the tech giant has not offered it under OS X. This is why the recent patent sighting has been gaining attention because it promises to bring the virtual assistant to Mac users. To support Apple's focus on the Mac, recent analysis of the company's future suggests that the tech giant's future will depend on its computer business. It will not bow out any time soon as most people think.

According to the new patent reported by AppleInsider, the Siri patent for Mac goes by the title "Intelligent digital assistant in a desktop environment." The 92-page patent shows a technology offering more features than the standard voice dictation component of Mac. Similar to the existing version of Siri on the iOS, the desktop Siri will also have natural text and speech input. It will be able to accomplish a number of tasks like data retrieval, task completion and data input. It can also do searches and other similar functions.

The patent also describes a similar backend to the iOS Siri. More importantly, Apple saw to it that the user-facing Siri component can serve as a standalone app. Users can access it via keyboard gesture or special mouse.

In a recent report by Busines Insider, the question whether Apple and iOS will lose out to Android eventually for its lower-priced gadgets has been raised. According to the report, it is not just about the tablet and smartphone business of Apple that will keep the company afloat. Its Mac business has been lucrative for years outperforming majority of competitors and expectations. While it may have slow growth, it has a steady performance that continues to draw sales and profits. This is amidst the cheaper units out on the market. While predictions from sources like Blodget and Edwards expects Apple's computer business to be dead or to turn into more affordable units, it may not be the case.

According to ex-Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassee: "Naysayers will continue to contend that the prices of competing tablets are preordained to crash and will bring ruin to Apple's Affordable Luxury product strategy ... just as they predicted netbooks would inflict damage on MacBooks."

Recent stats show that shipment for Apple Macs posted 18% year-over-year. IDC reported that PC global shipments declined by 1.7%.