With so many smartphones catching up with the iOS user experience, and many others that have already left the iPhone 4 behind in specs, we’ve recently pondered a question: What will Apple do to differentiate their next generation iPhone? Most of us have our money bet on the possibility that Apple will use the features of their recently acquired Nuance and Siri to bring forth a revolutionary way to interact with the device.

We recently reported on some images that were caught of a new voice control icon on the iPhone’s keyboard on an iOS 5 beta, but interestingly this icon doesn’t appear on the current Beta 5 we’re all testing around. This leads us to believe that the feature will be exclusive to the iPhone 5, just like Voice Control was limited to the iPhone 3GS when it was launched.

Now 9To5Mac is at it again, and now they’ve uncovered code that shows that the voice control icon they found, and that required the Nuance engine to work, is powered by Siri. It seems that Apple is planning to mix the capabilities of both companies into offering one solution. Nuance will power the iPhone’s ability to capture voice, and Siri will power the artificial intelligence required to deliver what you’re asking for.

Obviously this is still tagged as a rumor, so it will have to wait until the devices are released for things to become clear. Have a look at what Siri in the following video, or give it a try in iTunes along with Nuance’s Dragon Dictation, just to get an idea.

Source: 9To5Mac