Apple is expected to revamp Siri with contextual learning abilities and deep integration with iMessage and iCloud in its upcoming iOS 11 update, and will reportedly boost the voice assistant with the Apple TV and Apple Watch, according to Israeli site The Verifier. Siri is rumored to get a boost in its level of artificial intelligence, sources from the development teams based in Israel told the site. The digital assistant will reportedly be able to carry out current voice commands and it will also be able to learn a user's usage habits and offer different action options based on the context of content, similar to Samsung's Bixby, the report said. Siri is rumored to become an "integral part" of iMessage with the iOS 11 update. For example, Siri would be able to give restaurant recommendations, make a reservation or book an Uber "directly from the screen messages in an intuitive way," The Verifier said.

In the quest to smart-up your analog home, interactive door locks present a distinct conundrum: If things go screwy, you might not be able to get into your home. August Home's Smart Lock lets you lend out virtual passes for temporary guests but doesn't fully replace your existing deadbolt, meaning your metal key still opens your door the old fashioned way. While the product has been around since 2014, the company started integrating voice control last year, integrating Apple's Homekit last May and Amazon's Alexa support a month later. Users can lock their doors through the Google Home app and check its status, but won't be able to unlock it remotely just yet. In a press release, August Home said they were working with to find a "safe and secure way" to enable that functionality, which should come later this year (it took them eight months to add an "unlock" command to Alexa).

A number of connected home devices already work with Google's smart speaker and today a few more are being added to the fold. Logitech's Harmony line and Wink's lighting gear and thermostats can now be controlled with voice commands from Google Home. "Ok Google, ask Harmony to..." can control your connected speakers, fire up a specific app on Roku, skip forward/backward on content and more for devices that work with Logitech's smart home platform. You can also use you voice to trigger Harmony's "Good Morning" activity that does things like set Hue lights to a warm color, adjust your thermostat and begin playing music at the same time. Logitech says its Harmony Elite, Companion and Hub smart home tech can be used with up to 270,000 devices.

Google Assistant and Google Home users now have a lot more ways to use the intelligent assistant to control lights, locks, and other Internet of Things gadgets as integrations with devices from more than a dozen smart home companies were announced today. Among devices that can now be controlled by voice with Google Assistant include August, Wink, Best Buy Insignia, LIFX, Geeni, and TP-Link. Wink can be used for lighting, security, and other smart home devices. Geeni is maker of the Surge smart power strip. Best Buy Insignia makes plugs and freezers.

The AI battle on our Android phones is getting serious. After Google added Assistant to millions of handsets running Marshmallow and Nougat, Amazon followed by adding Alexa to the Mate 9. And now Microsoft is looking to enhance its new position on the lock screen. Microsoft added Cortana to the Android lock screen earlier this month, but it was little more than a feed of information with news, calendar appointments, and weather. With the latest update, Cortana on the lock screen has been enhanced to allow lock-screen interactions, giving Google Assistant a serious run for its money.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly becoming a bigger part of our lives, including our personal finances. Over the past few years its importance has grown behind the scenes, where AI is deployed in administration and even fraud detection. Dominic Baliszewski, director of consumer strategy at financial wellbeing company Momentum UK, says: "It is already used in a number of sectors, from banking and advisory to mortgages and pensions, and in many cases, it's led to a quicker, more streamlined customer experience, while easing employee workloads." RBS, for example, has rolled out a virtual assistant called Luvo for call centre staff: when a customer asks a question, the staff member can ask Luvo. In the past year, however, its presence has moved from the back office to the front line, and we have started to see AI serving customers.

The company is beginning to test a new web-based version of its service that allows people to access Tinder from a browser, rather than its mobile app. Called Tinder Online, the service is being tested in a handful of countries outside the U.S. but the company plans to make it available to everyone in the future. That may sound like a minor change but it's a significant shift for the company, which has been mobile-only up until now. With Tinder Online, which is being tested in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Italy, and Sweden, users can browse profiles, check out matches and send messages all from within a browser. Tinder says the change is meant to help the dating service expand its presence in international markets, especially those where LTE and unlimited data plans aren't readily available.

Police agencies across the US are warning iPhone users of a potentially dangerous viral social media prank. Pranksters are tricking people into saying'Hey Siri, 108', which prompts the digital assistant to contact emergency services – the number is India's equivalent of 911. The prank is said to be spreading through Facebook and Twitter'like wildfire' and although it may seem harmless, it could tie up emergency lines and delay legitimate 911 calls. Police agencies across the US are warning iPhone users of a viral social media prank. Pranksters are urging people to say'Hey Siri, 108', which prompts the digital assistant to contact emergency services – the number is India's equivalent of 911 Pranksters are sharing a trick on Facebook and Twitter, urging people to say'Hey Siri, 108'.

Google has launched its voice-activated Wi-Fi speaker, Google Home, in the UK. The device, around the size of a pint glass, can respond to questions, play music and control smart home technology, all by using speech recognition. The device is a challenger to the Echo, Amazon's smart speaker, which went on sale in the UK last year. The Echo has been seen as a pioneer but Google, which sees itself as a leader in voice recognition and artificial intelligence, hopes its software will give it an edge. The Google Home, which will cost £129 and go on sale next Thursday, April 6, runs Google Assistant, the same virtual assistant software that features on the Google Pixel phone, and is activated by speaking the words "OK Google", followed by a command.

Google Home, the search giant's smart assistant that rivals Amazon's Alexa, will be launched in the UK in April. Google said it had "hidden a few British treats" in the device. The speaker and assistant, which launched in the US in November, is part of a growing trend to make artificial intelligence available in homes. The firm is also launching its own wi-fi service in the UK, in an attempt to solve the "frustration when wireless connectivity fails at home". Like Amazon's Echo, Home can answer basic queries as well as control smart home devices, such as lights.