Apple has updated its virtual assistant Siri so the bot is better at providing baseball trivia and statistics. It can now answer questions about past World Series, home runs and no-hitters, Hall of Famers including Babe Ruth, and today's scheduled MLB games. The update is just in time for the opening day of pro baseball teams.
Siri's update gives the digital assistant more detailed information about more baseball topics. For example, queries can be made that date back to the first baseball records, career stats, and facts about 28 leagues besides the Majors, according The Verge.
In the past Siri would answer baseball questions by sharing what it had found on the web. However, now it provides more direct answers to show its knowledge about America's favorite pastime.
Siri still strikes out on some questions. For example, when asked about the winner of the first World Series, it gives the results of last year's championship instead of stating the Boston Americans. It might be better for Siri users to ask about specific players and years.
This is not the first move Apple has made to promote the bat-and-ball game. Last week it announced it was providing every MLB team's dugout with an iPad Pro tablet, according to Tech Radar.
Siri has known sports scores since iOS 6 rolled out in 2012. While the latest update is a big improvement, sometimes the personal assistant does general searches for specific questions, or shows a Google Search result.
In related news a Siri security hole has been discovered that gives access to Contacts and Photos on iPhone 6s and 6S handsets without a passcode. The issue involves Twitter search and WhatsApp friends list searches.
This security flaw only shows up when the iPhone owner has given Siri access to a Twitter account by doing a Siri search or manually given permission in Settings. A passcode or Touch ID is only required for the first Twitter search.
There are a few different solutions. Siri can be switched off in the Settings for Twitter and Privacy-Photos in order to cut the bot's access to an iPhone's photo library. Another option is to disable Siri completely.
Here's the woman who's the voice of Siri: