Apple opens its Siri voice assistant up to devs via new API

Apple's annual WWDC dev event kicks off today, and as part of the proceedings the company has announced plans to open its extant iOS voice assistant, Siri, up to third-party developers via an upcoming API.

The move is chiefly aimed at bolstering support for Siri among app developers of all stripes, and it's intriguing because it may pave the way for crafty game developers to make clever use of Siri's voice recognition and app-launching capabilities.

The news comes courtesy of The Verge, which also reports that Apple intends to build Siri into the next version of the Mac operating system. Whether or not developers' incoming access to Siri's nuts and bolts will extend to the desktop version remains to be seen.