Siri first made its way onto iOS with the introduction of the iPhone 4S and iOS 5, and since then Siri has become one of the main features that Apple's mobile operating system is known for. It almost didn't shake out like that, though, as a new report from The Huffington Post has revealed that Siri nearly became a feature for Verizon's lineup of Android phones. Included in a large feature that covers Siri's beginnings to its iOS debut, The Huffington Post says that Verizon reached an agreement with Siri's creators in the fall of 2009 to preinstall the app on all Verizon Android phones released the following year. Verizon reportedly even created commercials promoting Siri as a feature of its devices.
Verizon never got the chance to load the Siri app up on its Android phones, though, as Steve Jobs called up Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus in February of 2010 and to schedule a meeting with Siri's creators. Shortly after talking shop with Jobs, Siri's founders were approached by Apple with an acquisition proposition, one that the company eventually agreed to.
Apple has been working to improve Siri since its debut with iOS 5, and with the arrival of iOS 6 this year, the virtual assistant gained new abilities that include looking up sports scores and making restaurant reservations. It's kind of crazy to think that Siri almost ended up on Verizon Android phones instead, though, and it'd be interesting to see how things would've played out had that happened. Would Siri have become a popular feature on Verizon's devices? If so, would other carriers try to cut their own deal with Siri or some other voice assistant? That's something we'll never know for sure, especially now that most smartphone platforms have their own voice control software built in, but it's fun to speculate. What do you all make of this report? Do you think Siri would've taken off as a Verizon-only app preinstalled on Android devices?
- Log in to post comments