Apple Opens Siri to iOS Engineers, Looking to Improve Functions
Apple is looking for experienced iOS software engineers to join the Siri user interface (UI) team and help “make the next big thing even bigger.”
According to 9to5Mac, Apple’s virtual personal assistant is getting a makeover, specifically, her API.
Apple’s Siri user interface manager, Dan Keen posted two job openings on his Twitter feed yesterday, saying “Want to help make Siri even better? I’m hiring.” One of the jobs is for an iOS software engineer to help with the UI implementation across a broad-ranging scope, “Consider it an entire miniature OS within the OS, and you get a good idea of the scope!” The other job, senior iOS software engineer, is for someone who can define, “…a system that enables a dialog to appear intuitive, a task that involves many subtle UI behaviors in a dynamic, complex system.”
Opening Siri to third-party apps will give the virtual assistant a real job, not just scheduling meetings and finding nearby restaurants, but updating Facebook statuses, running streaming music apps, and even starting a Netflix movie for you. Imagine if Siri could turn the pages of your digital book for you so that you don’t have to take your hands out of your pocket when it is cold.