Come October 12, Siri will again be available in a prettier and smarter form

Oct 11, 2011 09:04 GMT  ·  By

Apple has pulled the standalone Siri application from the iTunes App Store in anticipation of the iOS 5 release tomorrow.

Those who already have the old Siri app on their iPhone / iPod touch will now see the following message when they launch the assistant:

“I’ve been replaced! The new Siri is even smarter and better-looking than me, and waiting for you on the iPhone 4S. I'll be leaving for home Oct 15th. Until then,… how can I help you?”

Packing Siri as a built-in personal assistant app, iOS 5 is scheduled to debut tomorrow alongside iCloud, a new “breakthrough” set of Internet services from Apple.

Siri lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, call people up, and more.

But even with iOS 5 becoming available to all iDevice owners tomorrow, Siri will only be usable on iPhone 4S hardware, according to Apple’s October 4 announcement.

“iPhone 4S … introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions,” Apple said.

Indeed, according to Apple’s promotional video showcasing the new feature, users won’t have to ask Siri standard questions. For example, you can ask the assistant what the weather’s going to be like in any number of ways, and it will provide you with the answer you seek. You can see it in action here.

However, since the iPad 2 packs pretty much the same A5 dual core chip, there’s a good chance Apple tablet owners will be able to test out the new feature as early as tomorrow.

“Siri writes and sends email messages and texts — and reads them to you, too. It searches the web for anything and everything you need to know. It plays the songs you want to hear. It helps you find your way and shows you around. It places calls. It schedules meetings. It helps you remember. And it wakes you up. Siri tells you almost everything. And it even speaks for itself,” Apple says.