WASHINGTON — Apple employees are testing a voicemail service that would enable Siri to answer incoming phone calls and transcribe them for you, making it unnecessary to listen to time-consuming recorded messages.
Sources tell Business Insider that the service is being prepared to launch in 2016.
When a person using iCloud Voicemail is unable to take a call, Siri will answer, and be capable of relaying information about where you are and why you can’t pick up the phone.
If the caller leaves a message, Siri will transcribe the recording, and send it to the user’s iPhone.
While speaking a voice message is often preferred to typing an email, the process of receiving voicemails can require several listens to gather information accurately. Studies show younger users prefer reading text to listening to voice messages.
A more-powerful Siri is already being tested in the open beta version of iOS 9. Sources tell Business Insider the iCloud Voicemail could launch in iOS 10.
