SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple kicked off its annual software developers conference Monday by announcing an artificial intelligence upgrade for Siri, its digital assistant, as well as new software features for other devices and an overhaul of its music service.
Artificial intelligence, personified by the wisecracking Siri, is starting to play a larger role in Apple's plans.
On Monday, Apple announced that the voice-controlled assistant will work on Mac desktop and laptop computers, where it can locate files and perform other feats. Siri will also gain new capabilities with Apple TV, where it will let users start live TV viewing with voice command and search YouTube and the iTunes store for videos.
Apple also is letting Siri work with applications made by other companies. The change will open up new ways for Siri to help iPhone owners get things done more quickly.
Such artificial intelligence features are emerging as a major new tech battleground, one where Apple is racing to catch up with virtual assistants from Google and Amazon. Amazon's assistant, Alexa, is enjoying a surge in popularity, partly because it works well with a variety of other applications.
Experts say the changes could make Siri more useful to consumers and help Apple learn more about its users. But it could diminish use of Apple's homegrown apps, such as Apple Music or Maps. Now, users might ask Siri to open a competitor like Spotify.
With artificial intelligence, "systems get much better the more they know about the user," said Alan Black, a Carnegie Mellon University professor who is an expert in voice-enabled technology. Apple collects plenty of data from its users, but it hasn't previously "focused on connecting all the dots," said Raj Singh, co-founder of Tempo AI, an artificial intelligence startup acquired by Salesforce.com last year.
Apple, however, has long been reluctant to pry too deeply into a user's personal information. And some experts say that puts it at a disadvantage compared with Google, which has compiled vast amounts of data -- about both individual users and consumer trends -- from its search engine, Gmail, maps and other online services.
Apple, however, is eager to keep users engaged with its own apps and services, and it announced several redesigns aimed at making them more useful and less complicated.
Apple Music, which now has 15 million paying subscribers, is getting a new interface that's intended to be simpler and that will make it easier to find music stored on phones, and not just tunes streamed from the internet.
The company also opened its once-maligned Maps app to developers, with the goal of enabling a variety of easy-to-use features. Senior Vice President Eddy Cue said the new app allows users to find a restaurant, book a reservation, request a car from Uber or Lyft and pay for it using Apple Pay, all without leaving the Maps app.
Apple is also making it possible to subscribe to various publications such as The Wall Street Journal and read the stories inside the News app. News alerts from favorite outlets will also pop up on a device's lock screen.
Apple's watch, the company's first new product after Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook replaced co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, is getting an upgrade in September that will bring fitness tracking to those who use wheelchairs. The retooled watch software will include an "SOS" feature that will automatically call for help in emergencies and the ability to share exercise activities with other people. It will also release software apps faster than before.
Apple is making it easier to use its Apple TV set-top box as the new hub of a digital home. The new version of its tvOS system software will let users sign in once to access channels from several different TV network providers. It's also adding services like Dish's Sling TV and Fox Sports Go.
The company's digital payment system, Apple Pay, is going to the web. The service already lets people pay in stores without opening a separate app, by holding their phone or watch near a reader.
Apple said users can now use their phone's fingerprint sensor to pay and check out when they are shopping online using a web browser. Google brought a similar feature to Android Pay last month. Apple said it will soon expand the service to Switzerland, France and Hong Kong. It's already available in the U.S., the U.K., China and a few other markets.
Business on 06/14/2016