14 DAY TRIAL // The 2014 FIFA World Cup is getting ready for the semi-finals so Siri had to get into the game. Apple's personal voice assistant just learned to understand questions about the games and knows what is about to happen next.
Microsoft's Cortana and Google Now used to show similar results, but Google's service was temporarily shut down when it comes to predictions. Google now offers just the games schedule and live match stats for Soccer Fans.
A few days ago, Cortana was even ready to answer the big question: "Who is going to win the World Cup?" Its money was on Brazil. So far they are still on board with that answer.
Siri is not that sure about who is going to take the Cup, so it answers with a joke. If you ask Siri "What's your favorite team in the World Cup" you get the same answer over and over: "I don't have a favorite team. Isn't everyone in the World Cup pretty good, though?". And she's right. All the remaining teams have great players.
Siri even knows the match schedule. You get the teams, the time of the game in your Time Zone and the U.S. TV Station that will broadcast that game.
If the game is still in progress you will get the score, but not the most recent one. In our test, Siri updated its results within a minute of a new goal scored in the World Cup. You even get the flags for each team.
If you ask about a certain team and their chances to win the World Cup, Siri will compare two different teams that are about to play: "It's a tossup (if you've got a nickel, heads says Argentina win, Tails says Belgium)".
Siri knows when a team is not going to play. However, it's getting confused if the same team is actually playing right now.
All the results pages have the Yahoo logo on the bottom. Taping that logo asks you to install the "Yahoo Sports" app or opens the same app if you have it installed. However, it will not get you to the page of the game in the Yahoo Sports or give you any extra information on the teams.
From its launch, Siri was able to understand baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer scores, schedules, rosters and stats. With iOS 8, Siri will be able to listen for your voice all the time, as long as your phone is plugged in and charging. You'll also be able to search Twitter for your favorite sports teams.