PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12154571-B2
Application Number: US-202318199515-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Spoken notifications

Abstract:
An example method includes, at an electronic device: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: causing an output associated with the notification to be provided.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:
 receive, by the electronic device, a notification; 
 determine whether a user associated with the electronic device has interacted with the notification; and 
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtain, from an external electronic device, a first data stream sampled by a microphone of the external electronic device; 
 determine, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking; 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking:
 cause the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the notification; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking:
 forgo causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the output associated with the notification includes a content of the notification. 
     
     
       3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 in accordance with the determination that the user is speaking:
 cause the external electronic device to provide a second output associated with the notification, the second output being shorter in duration than the output. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtain, from the external electronic device, a second data stream sampled by a vibration sensor of the external electronic device, wherein determining, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking further includes determining whether the user is speaking based on the second data stream. 
 
 
     
     
       5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 4 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; 
 determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and 
 in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
     
     
       6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 4 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first and second data streams include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; 
 determining that a duration of the third portion is below a threshold duration; and 
 in accordance with a determination that the duration of the third portion is below the threshold duration:
 determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the external electronic device comprises a headset. 
     
     
       8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 while the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification:
 receive, by the electronic device, a second notification; and 
 
 in accordance with receiving the second notification:
 cause the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the second notification after the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 determine whether a second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and 
 in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification:
 forgo causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification; and 
 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification. 
 
     
     
       10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 determine an importance score of the notification based on context information associated with the notification; and 
 determine whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold. 
 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 determine a timeliness score of the notification based on context information associated with the user; and 
 determine whether the timeliness score exceeds a second threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold. 
 
     
     
       12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not viewed the notification. 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not selected the notification. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not listened to the notification. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has interacted with the notification:
 forgo causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
     
     
       16. An electronic device, comprising:
 one or more processors; 
 a memory; and 
 one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
 receiving, by the electronic device, a notification; 
 determining whether a user associated with the electronic device has interacted with the notification; and 
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtaining, from an external electronic device, a first data stream sampled by a microphone of the external electronic device; 
 determining, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking; 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking:
 causing the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the notification; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking:
 forgoing causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
 
 
     
     
       17. A method for providing notifications, the method comprising:
 at an electronic device:
 receiving, by the electronic device, a notification; 
 determining whether a user associated with the electronic device has interacted with the notification; and 
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtaining, from an external electronic device, a first data stream sampled by a microphone of the external electronic device; 
 determining, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking; 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking:
 causing the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the notification; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking:
 forgoing causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
 
 
     
     
       18. The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein the output associated with the notification includes a content of the notification. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 in accordance with the determination that the user is speaking:
 causing the external electronic device to provide a second output associated with the notification, the second output being shorter in duration than the output. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtaining, from the external electronic device, a second data stream sampled by a vibration sensor of the external electronic device, wherein determining, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking further includes determining whether the user is speaking based on the second data stream. 
 
 
     
     
       21. The electronic device of  claim 20 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; 
 determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and 
 in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
     
     
       22. The electronic device of  claim 20 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first and second data streams include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; 
 determining that a duration of the third portion is below a threshold duration; and 
 in accordance with a determination that the duration of the third portion is below the threshold duration:
 determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
 
     
     
       23. The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein the external electronic device comprises a headset. 
     
     
       24. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 while the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification:
 receiving, by the electronic device, a second notification; and 
 
 in accordance with receiving the second notification:
 causing the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the second notification after the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
     
     
       25. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 determining whether a second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and 
 in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification:
 forgoing causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification; and 
 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification. 
 
     
     
       26. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 determining an importance score of the notification based on context information associated with the notification; and 
 determining whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold. 
 
     
     
       27. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 determining a timeliness score of the notification based on context information associated with the user; and 
 determining whether the timeliness score exceeds a second threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold. 
 
     
     
       28. The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not viewed the notification. 
     
     
       29. The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not selected the notification. 
     
     
       30. The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not listened to the notification. 
     
     
       31. The electronic device of  claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has interacted with the notification:
 forgoing causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the output associated with the notification includes a content of the notification. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 in accordance with the determination that the user is speaking:
 causing the external electronic device to provide a second output associated with the notification, the second output being shorter in duration than the output. 
 
 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 in accordance with receiving the notification and in accordance with a determination that the user has not interacted with the notification:
 obtaining, from the external electronic device, a second data stream sampled by a vibration sensor of the external electronic device, wherein determining, based on the first data stream, whether the user is speaking further includes determining whether the user is speaking based on the second data stream. 
 
 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking; 
 determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking; and 
 in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining whether the user is speaking includes:
 determining that the first and second data streams include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking; 
 determining that a duration of the third portion is below a threshold duration; and 
 in accordance with a determination that the duration of the third portion is below the threshold duration:
 determining that the user is not speaking. 
 
 
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the external electronic device comprises a headset. 
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 while the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification:
 receiving, by the electronic device, a second notification; and 
 
 in accordance with receiving the second notification:
 causing the external electronic device to provide an output associated with the second notification after the external electronic device provides the output associated with the notification. 
 
 
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining whether a second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification; and 
 in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification:
 forgoing causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification; and 
 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification. 
 
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining an importance score of the notification based on context information associated with the notification; and 
 determining whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold. 
 
     
     
       41. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining a timeliness score of the notification based on context information associated with the user; and 
 determining whether the timeliness score exceeds a second threshold; and 
 wherein causing the external electronic device to provide the output associated with the notification is performed further in accordance with determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold. 
 
     
     
       42. The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not viewed the notification. 
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not selected the notification. 
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining that the user has not interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has not listened to the notification.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/525,377, entitled “SPOKEN NOTIFICATIONS,” filed on Nov. 12, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/544,543, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,217,251, entitled “SPOKEN NOTIFICATIONS,” filed on Aug. 19, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/843,676, entitled “SPOKEN NOTIFICATIONS,” filed on May 6, 2019. The entire contents of each of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to spoken notifications and, more specifically, to providing and responding to spoken notifications. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can provide a beneficial interface between human users and electronic devices. Such assistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems using natural language in spoken and/or text forms. For example, a user can provide a speech input containing a user request to a digital assistant operating on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpret the user&#39;s intent from the speech input and operationalize the user&#39;s intent into tasks. The tasks can then be performed by executing one or more services of the electronic device, and a relevant output responsive to the user request can be returned to the user. 
     The electronic device can be communicatively coupled to a peripheral device (e.g., a headset) configured to provide spoken outputs associated with notifications received at the electronic device. It can be desirable to provide such outputs at appropriate times and to allow efficient user response to such outputs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Example methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: causing an output associated with the notification to be provided. 
     Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: receive an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: obtain one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determine, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: cause an output associated with the notification to be provided. 
     Example electronic devices are disclosed herein. An example electronic device comprises one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: causing an output associated with the notification to be provided. 
     An example electronic device comprises means for: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; and in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: causing an output associated with the notification to be provided. 
     Example methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device: causing a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after the first output is provided: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing a second output based on the received indication to be provided. 
     Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: cause a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after the first output is provided: obtain one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determine, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: provide at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification; receive, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and cause a second output based on the received indication to be provided. 
     Example electronic devices are disclosed herein. An example electronic device comprises one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: causing a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after the first output is provided: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing a second output based on the received indication to be provided. 
     An example electronic device comprises means for: causing a first output associated with a received notification to be provided; after the first output is provided: obtaining one or more data streams from one or more sensors; determining, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking; in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of the one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification; receiving, from the external electronic device, an indication that the task has been initiated; and causing a second output based on the received indication to be provided. 
     Example methods are disclosed herein. An example method includes, at an electronic device: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: determining whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and in accordance with a determination that the output would not interrupt the user: causing the output to be provided; and in accordance with a determination that the output would interrupt the user: forgoing causing the output to be provided. 
     Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: receive an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: determine whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and in accordance with a determination that the output would not interrupt the user: cause the output to be provided; and in accordance with a determination that the output would interrupt the user: forgo causing the output to be provided. 
     Example electronic devices are disclosed herein. An example electronic device comprises one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: determining whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and in accordance with a determination that the output would not interrupt the user: causing the output to be provided; and in accordance with a determination that the output would interrupt the user: forgoing causing the output to be provided. 
     An example electronic device comprises means for: receiving an indication of a notification; in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: determining whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with the electronic device; and in accordance with a determination that the output would not interrupt the user: causing the output to be provided; and in accordance with a determination that the output would interrupt the user: forgoing causing the output to be provided. 
     Causing an output associated with the notification to be provided in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking allows spoken outputs associated with received notifications (spoken notification outputs) to be provided at appropriate times. For example, a user may not be interrupted by spoken notification outputs while speaking, and may be provided with spoken notification outputs while not speaking. In this manner, the user device interface may be more efficient (e.g., by automatically providing a user with spoken notification outputs, by providing such outputs at appropriate times, and by sparing users the burden of manually checking notifications), which additionally reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and efficiently. 
     In accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: providing at least a portion of one or more data streams to an external electronic device, the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification allows efficient user response to spoken notification outputs. For example, after a spoken notification output (e.g., a spoken text message) is provided, a user can provide a speech input (e.g., “reply”) responsive to the notification output. Data representing the speech input can thus be provided to an external electronic device that can initiate (or perform) the requested task based on the data. Further, providing such data in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking may improve user privacy by only sending audio data from a user&#39;s device(s) to external device(s) when the user is speaking to his or her device(s). This may advantageously prevent speech not directed to a user&#39;s device(s) (e.g., background speech) from being sent to external devices. In this manner, the user device interface may be more efficient (e.g., by allowing efficient response to spoken notification outputs, by sparing the users the burden of manually responding to notifications (e.g., typing a reply to a text message), by improving user privacy), which additionally reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and efficiently. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram illustrating a system and environment for implementing a digital assistant, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  2 A  is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction device implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  2 B  is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a portable multifunction device implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  4    is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  5 A  illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu of applications on a portable multifunction device, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  5 B  illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  6 A  illustrates a personal electronic device, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  6 B  is a block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  7 A  is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant system or a server portion thereof, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  7 B  illustrates the functions of the digital assistant shown in  FIG.  7 A , according to various examples. 
         FIG.  7 C  illustrates a portion of an ontology, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  8 A  shows an electronic device providing an output associated with a notification when a user of the device is not speaking, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  8 B  shows a system for providing and responding to spoken notifications, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  8 C  shows an electronic device providing an output associated with a notification when a user of the device is speaking, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  9 A  shows a flow diagram of a process for responding to spoken notifications, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  9 B  shows a device providing a notification output, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  9 C  shows a user responding to a notification output, according to some examples. 
         FIG.  9 D  shows a device providing an audio output indicating that a task has been initiated, according to some examples. 
         FIGS.  10 A- 10 E  illustrate a process for providing notifications, according to various examples. 
         FIGS.  11 A- 11 D  illustrate a process for responding to notifications, according to various examples. 
         FIG.  12    illustrates a process for providing notifications, according to various examples. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description of examples, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which are shown by way of illustration specific examples that can be practiced. It is to be understood that other examples can be used and structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the various examples. 
     This generally relates to providing and responding to spoken notifications. Using the techniques discussed herein, spoken notifications may be provided at appropriate times and a user may efficiently respond to such notifications. 
     Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first input could be termed a second input, and, similarly, a second input could be termed a first input, without departing from the scope of the various described examples. The first input and the second input are both inputs and, in some cases, are separate and different inputs. 
     The terminology used in the description of the various described examples herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described examples and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context. 
     1 System and Environment 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a block diagram of system  100  according to various examples. In some examples, system  100  implements a digital assistant. The terms “digital assistant,” “virtual assistant,” “intelligent automated assistant,” or “automatic digital assistant” refer to any information processing system that interprets natural language input in spoken and/or textual form to infer user intent, and performs actions based on the inferred user intent. For example, to act on an inferred user intent, the system performs one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplish the inferred user intent, inputting specific requirements from the inferred user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating output responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visual form. 
     Specifically, a digital assistant is capable of accepting a user request at least partially in the form of a natural language command, request, statement, narrative, and/or inquiry. Typically, the user request seeks either an informational answer or performance of a task by the digital assistant. A satisfactory response to the user request includes a provision of the requested informational answer, a performance of the requested task, or a combination of the two. For example, a user asks the digital assistant a question, such as “Where am I right now?” Based on the user&#39;s current location, the digital assistant answers, “You are in Central Park near the west gate.” The user also requests the performance of a task, for example, “Please invite my friends to my girlfriend&#39;s birthday party next week.” In response, the digital assistant can acknowledge the request by saying “Yes, right away,” and then send a suitable calendar invite on behalf of the user to each of the user&#39;s friends listed in the user&#39;s electronic address book. During performance of a requested task, the digital assistant sometimes interacts with the user in a continuous dialogue involving multiple exchanges of information over an extended period of time. There are numerous other ways of interacting with a digital assistant to request information or performance of various tasks. In addition to providing verbal responses and taking programmed actions, the digital assistant also provides responses in other visual or audio forms, e.g., as text, alerts, music, videos, animations, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , in some examples, a digital assistant is implemented according to a client-server model. The digital assistant includes client-side portion  102  (hereafter “DA client  102 ”) executed on user device  104  and server-side portion  106  (hereafter “DA server  106 ”) executed on server system  108 . DA client  102  communicates with DA server  106  through one or more networks  110 . DA client  102  provides client-side functionalities such as user-facing input and output processing and communication with DA server  106 . DA server  106  provides server-side functionalities for any number of DA clients  102  each residing on a respective user device  104 . 
     In some examples, DA server  106  includes client-facing I/O interface  112 , one or more processing modules  114 , data and models  116 , and I/O interface to external services  118 . The client-facing I/O interface  112  facilitates the client-facing input and output processing for DA server  106 . One or more processing modules  114  utilize data and models  116  to process speech input and determine the user&#39;s intent based on natural language input. Further, one or more processing modules  114  perform task execution based on inferred user intent. In some examples, DA server  106  communicates with external services  120  through network(s)  110  for task completion or information acquisition. I/O interface to external services  118  facilitates such communications. 
     User device  104  can be any suitable electronic device. In some examples, user device  104  is a portable multifunctional device (e.g., device  200 , described below with reference to  FIG.  2 A ), a multifunctional device (e.g., device  400 , described below with reference to  FIG.  4   ), or a personal electronic device (e.g., device  600 , described below with reference to  FIGS.  6 A- 6 B .) A portable multifunctional device is, for example, a mobile telephone that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/or music player functions. Specific examples of portable multifunction devices include the Apple Watch®, iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California Other examples of portable multifunction devices include, without limitation, earphones/headphones, speakers, and laptop or tablet computers. Further, in some examples, user device  104  is a non-portable multifunctional device. In particular, user device  104  is a desktop computer, a game console, a speaker, a television, or a television set-top box. In some examples, user device  104  includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touchpads). Further, user device  104  optionally includes one or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick. Various examples of electronic devices, such as multifunctional devices, are described below in greater detail. 
     Examples of communication network(s)  110  include local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), e.g., the Internet. Communication network(s)  110  is implemented using any known network protocol, including various wired or wireless protocols, such as, for example, Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol. 
     Server system  108  is implemented on one or more standalone data processing apparatus or a distributed network of computers. In some examples, server system  108  also employs various virtual devices and/or services of third-party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/or infrastructure resources of server system  108 . 
     In some examples, user device  104  communicates with DA server  106  via second user device  122 . Second user device  122  is similar or identical to user device  104 . For example, second user device  122  is similar to devices  200 ,  400 , or  600  described below with reference to  FIGS.  2 A,  4 , and  6 A- 6 B . User device  104  is configured to communicatively couple to second user device  122  via a direct communication connection, such as Bluetooth, NFC, BTLE, or the like, or via a wired or wireless network, such as a local Wi-Fi network. In some examples, second user device  122  is configured to act as a proxy between user device  104  and DA server  106 . For example, DA client  102  of user device  104  is configured to transmit information (e.g., a user request received at user device  104 ) to DA server  106  via second user device  122 . DA server  106  processes the information and returns relevant data (e.g., data content responsive to the user request) to user device  104  via second user device  122 . 
     In some examples, user device  104  is configured to communicate abbreviated requests for data to second user device  122  to reduce the amount of information transmitted from user device  104 . Second user device  122  is configured to determine supplemental information to add to the abbreviated request to generate a complete request to transmit to DA server  106 . This system architecture can advantageously allow user device  104  having limited communication capabilities and/or limited battery power (e.g., a watch or a similar compact electronic device) to access services provided by DA server  106  by using second user device  122 , having greater communication capabilities and/or battery power (e.g., a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or the like), as a proxy to DA server  106 . While only two user devices  104  and  122  are shown in  FIG.  1   , it should be appreciated that system  100 , in some examples, includes any number and type of user devices configured in this proxy configuration to communicate with DA server system  106 . 
     Although the digital assistant shown in  FIG.  1    includes both a client-side portion (e.g., DA client  102 ) and a server-side portion (e.g., DA server  106 ), in some examples, the functions of a digital assistant are implemented as a standalone application installed on a user device. In addition, the divisions of functionalities between the client and server portions of the digital assistant can vary in different implementations. For instance, in some examples, the DA client is a thin-client that provides only user-facing input and output processing functions, and delegates all other functionalities of the digital assistant to a backend server. 
     2. Electronic Devices 
     Attention is now directed toward embodiments of electronic devices for implementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant.  FIG.  2 A  is a block diagram illustrating portable multifunction device  200  with touch-sensitive display system  212  in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display  212  is sometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience and is sometimes known as or called a “touch-sensitive display system.” Device  200  includes memory  202  (which optionally includes one or more computer-readable storage mediums), memory controller  222 , one or more processing units (CPUs)  220 , peripherals interface  218 , RF circuitry  208 , audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , microphone  213 , input/output (I/O) subsystem  206 , other input control devices  216 , and external port  224 . Device  200  optionally includes one or more optical sensors  264 . Device  200  optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors  265  for detecting intensity of contacts on device  200  (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive display system  212  of device  200 ). Device  200  optionally includes one or more tactile output generators  267  for generating tactile outputs on device  200  (e.g., generating tactile outputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive display system  212  of device  200  or touchpad  455  of device  400 ). These components optionally communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines  203 . 
     As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure (force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on the touch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force or pressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of a contact has a range of values that includes at least four distinct values and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., at least 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (or measured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinations of sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath or adjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measure force at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of a contact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally, used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitive surface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on the touch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto, and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in units corresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are converted to an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressure is used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in units of pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a user input allows for user access to additional device functionality that may otherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device with limited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on a touch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via a touch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or a physical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button). 
     As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output” refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previous position of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component (e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relative to a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user with the user&#39;s sense of touch. For example, in situations where the device or the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a user that is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of a user&#39;s hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacement will be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding to a perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or the component of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally, interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physical actuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensation such as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement of a physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surface that is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user&#39;s movements. As another example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally, interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitive surface, even when there is no change in smoothness of the touch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a user will be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user, there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a large majority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described as corresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “up click,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, the generated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of the device or a component thereof that will generate the described sensory perception for a typical (or average) user. 
     It should be appreciated that device  200  is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device  200  optionally has more or fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or more components, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in  FIG.  2 A  are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application-specific integrated circuits. 
     Memory  202  includes one or more computer-readable storage mediums. The computer-readable storage mediums are, for example, tangible and non-transitory. Memory  202  includes high-speed random access memory and also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Memory controller  222  controls access to memory  202  by other components of device  200 . 
     In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory  202  is used to store instructions (e.g., for performing aspects of processes described below) for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In other examples, the instructions (e.g., for performing aspects of the processes described below) are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (not shown) of the server system  108  or are divided between the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory  202  and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of server system  108 . 
     Peripherals interface  218  is used to couple input and output peripherals of the device to CPU  220  and memory  202 . The one or more processors  220  run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory  202  to perform various functions for device  200  and to process data. In some embodiments, peripherals interface  218 , CPU  220 , and memory controller  222  are implemented on a single chip, such as chip  204 . In some other embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips. 
     RF (radio frequency) circuitry  208  receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  208  converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  208  optionally includes well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RF circuitry  208  optionally communicates with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry  208  optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near field communication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communication radio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO), HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), near field communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. 
     Audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , and microphone  213  provide an audio interface between a user and device  200 . Audio circuitry  210  receives audio data from peripherals interface  218 , converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker  211 . Speaker  211  converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Audio circuitry  210  also receives electrical signals converted by microphone  213  from sound waves. Audio circuitry  210  converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface  218  for processing. Audio data are retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory  202  and/or RF circuitry  208  by peripherals interface  218 . In some embodiments, audio circuitry  210  also includes a headset jack (e.g.,  312 ,  FIG.  3   ). The headset jack provides an interface between audio circuitry  210  and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone). 
     I/O subsystem  206  couples input/output peripherals on device  200 , such as touch screen  212  and other input control devices  216 , to peripherals interface  218 . I/O subsystem  206  optionally includes display controller  256 , optical sensor controller  258 , intensity sensor controller  259 , haptic feedback controller  261 , and one or more input controllers  260  for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers  260  receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices  216 . The other input control devices  216  optionally include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s)  260  are, optionally, coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g.,  308 ,  FIG.  3   ) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker  211  and/or microphone  213 . The one or more buttons optionally include a push button (e.g.,  306 ,  FIG.  3   ). 
     A quick press of the push button disengages a lock of touch screen  212  or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g.,  306 ) turns power to device  200  on or off. The user is able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. Touch screen  212  is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards. 
     Touch-sensitive display  212  provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user. Display controller  256  receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen  212 . Touch screen  212  displays visual output to the user. The visual output includes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output correspond to user-interface objects. 
     Touch screen  212  has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Touch screen  212  and display controller  256  (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory  202 ) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen  212  and convert the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages, or images) that are displayed on touch screen  212 . In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between touch screen  212  and the user corresponds to a finger of the user. 
     Touch screen  212  uses LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Touch screen  212  and display controller  256  detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch screen  212 . In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in the iPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California. 
     A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen  212  is analogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads described in the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, touch screen  212  displays visual output from device  200 , whereas touch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output. 
     A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen  212  is as described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2, 2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “Multipoint Touchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30, 2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A Touch Screen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen Virtual Keyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. All of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
     Touch screen  212  has, for example, a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution of approximately 160 dpi. The user makes contact with touch screen  212  using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user. 
     In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device  200  includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad is a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen  212  or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen. 
     Device  200  also includes power system  262  for powering the various components. Power system  262  includes a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices. 
     Device  200  also includes one or more optical sensors  264 .  FIG.  2 A  shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller  258  in I/O subsystem  206 . Optical sensor  264  includes charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor  264  receives light from the environment, projected through one or more lenses, and converts the light to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module  243  (also called a camera module), optical sensor  264  captures still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device  200 , opposite touch screen display  212  on the front of the device so that the touch screen display is used as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user&#39;s image is obtained for video conferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, the position of optical sensor  264  can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a single optical sensor  264  is used along with the touch screen display for both video conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition. 
     Device  200  optionally also includes one or more contact intensity sensors  265 .  FIG.  2 A  shows a contact intensity sensor coupled to intensity sensor controller  259  in I/O subsystem  206 . Contact intensity sensor  265  optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric force sensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, or other intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (or pressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensity sensor  265  receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressure information or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment. In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system  212 ). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is located on the back of device  200 , opposite touch screen display  212 , which is located on the front of device  200 . 
     Device  200  also includes one or more proximity sensors  266 .  FIG.  2 A  shows proximity sensor  266  coupled to peripherals interface  218 . Alternately, proximity sensor  266  is coupled to input controller  260  in I/O subsystem  206 . Proximity sensor  266  is performed as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices”; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off and disables touch screen  212  when the multifunction device is placed near the user&#39;s ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call). 
     Device  200  optionally also includes one or more tactile output generators  267 .  FIG.  2 A  shows a tactile output generator coupled to haptic feedback controller  261  in I/O subsystem  206 . Tactile output generator  267  optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devices such as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanical devices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor, solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostatic actuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., a component that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on the device). Contact intensity sensor  265  receives tactile feedback generation instructions from haptic feedback module  233  and generates tactile outputs on device  200  that are capable of being sensed by a user of device  200 . In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system  212 ) and, optionally, generates a tactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g., in/out of a surface of device  200 ) or laterally (e.g., back and forth in the same plane as a surface of device  200 ). In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back of device  200 , opposite touch screen display  212 , which is located on the front of device  200 . 
     Device  200  also includes one or more accelerometers  268 .  FIG.  2 A  shows accelerometer  268  coupled to peripherals interface  218 . Alternately, accelerometer  268  is coupled to an input controller  260  in I/O subsystem  206 . Accelerometer  268  performs, for example, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable Electronic Devices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,” both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers. Device  200  optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s)  268 , a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device  200 . 
     In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory  202  include operating system  226 , communication module (or set of instructions)  228 , contact/motion module (or set of instructions)  230 , graphics module (or set of instructions)  232 , text input module (or set of instructions)  234 , Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions)  235 , Digital Assistant Client Module  229 , and applications (or sets of instructions)  236 . Further, memory  202  stores data and models, such as user data and models  231 . Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory  202  ( FIG.  2 A ) or  470  ( FIG.  4   ) stores device/global internal state  257 , as shown in  FIGS.  2 A and  4   . Device/global internal state  257  includes one or more of: active application state, indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what applications, views or other information occupy various regions of touch screen display  212 ; sensor state, including information obtained from the device&#39;s various sensors and input control devices  216 ; and location information concerning the device&#39;s location and/or attitude. 
     Operating system  226  (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components. 
     Communication module  228  facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports  224  and also includes various software components for handling data received by RF circuitry  208  and/or external port  224 . External port  224  (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the 30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices. 
     Contact/motion module  230  optionally detects contact with touch screen  212  (in conjunction with display controller  256 ) and other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motion module  230  includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact, such as determining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force or pressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact), determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module  230  receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, contact/motion module  230  and display controller  256  detect contact on a touchpad. 
     In some embodiments, contact/motion module  230  uses a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” on an icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensity thresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g., the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholds of particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changing the physical hardware of device  200 ). For example, a mouse “click” threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of a large range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpad or touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations, a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjusting one or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjusting individual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality of intensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity” parameter). 
     Contact/motion module  230  optionally detects a gesture input by a user. Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities of detected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected by detecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event. 
     Graphics module  232  includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch screen  212  or other display, including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness, transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) of graphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, without limitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like. 
     In some embodiments, graphics module  232  stores data representing graphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned a corresponding code. Graphics module  232  receives, from applications etc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and then generates screen image data to output to display controller  256 . 
     Haptic feedback module  233  includes various software components for generating instructions used by tactile output generator(s)  267  to produce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device  200  in response to user interactions with device  200 . 
     Text input module  234 , which is, in some examples, a component of graphics module  232 , provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g., contacts module  237 , e-mail client module  240 , IM module  241 , browser module  247 , and any other application that needs text input). 
     GPS module  235  determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone module  238  for use in location-based dialing; to camera module  243  as picture/video metadata; and to applications that provide location-based services such as weather widgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets). 
     Digital assistant client module  229  includes various client-side digital assistant instructions to provide the client-side functionalities of the digital assistant. For example, digital assistant client module  229  is capable of accepting voice input (e.g., speech input), text input, touch input, and/or gestural input through various user interfaces (e.g., microphone  213 , accelerometer(s)  268 , touch-sensitive display system  212 , optical sensor(s)  264 , other input control devices  216 , etc.) of portable multifunction device  200 . Digital assistant client module  229  is also capable of providing output in audio (e.g., speech output), visual, and/or tactile forms through various output interfaces (e.g., speaker  211 , touch-sensitive display system  212 , tactile output generator(s)  267 , etc.) of portable multifunction device  200 . For example, output is provided as voice, sound, alerts, text messages, menus, graphics, videos, animations, vibrations, and/or combinations of two or more of the above. During operation, digital assistant client module  229  communicates with DA server  106  using RF circuitry  208 . 
     User data and models  231  include various data associated with the user (e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference data, user-specified name pronunciations, data from the user&#39;s electronic address book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to provide the client-side functionalities of the digital assistant. Further, user data and models  231  include various models (e.g., speech recognition models, statistical language models, natural language processing models, ontology, task flow models, service models, etc.) for processing user input and determining user intent. 
     In some examples, digital assistant client module  229  utilizes the various sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices of portable multifunction device  200  to gather additional information from the surrounding environment of the portable multifunction device  200  to establish a context associated with a user, the current user interaction, and/or the current user input. In some examples, digital assistant client module  229  provides the contextual information or a subset thereof with the user input to DA server  106  to help infer the user&#39;s intent. In some examples, the digital assistant also uses the contextual information to determine how to prepare and deliver outputs to the user. Contextual information is referred to as context data. 
     In some examples, the contextual information that accompanies the user input includes sensor information, e.g., lighting, ambient noise, ambient temperature, images or videos of the surrounding environment, etc. In some examples, the contextual information can also include the physical state of the device, e.g., device orientation, device location, device temperature, power level, speed, acceleration, motion patterns, cellular signals strength, etc. In some examples, information related to the software state of DA server  106 , e.g., running processes, installed programs, past and present network activities, background services, error logs, resources usage, etc., and of portable multifunction device  200  is provided to DA server  106  as contextual information associated with a user input. 
     In some examples, the digital assistant client module  229  selectively provides information (e.g., user data  231 ) stored on the portable multifunction device  200  in response to requests from DA server  106 . In some examples, digital assistant client module  229  also elicits additional input from the user via a natural language dialogue or other user interfaces upon request by DA server  106 . Digital assistant client module  229  passes the additional input to DA server  106  to help DA server  106  in intent deduction and/or fulfillment of the user&#39;s intent expressed in the user request. 
     A more detailed description of a digital assistant is described below with reference to  FIGS.  7 A- 7 C . It should be recognized that digital assistant client module  229  can include any number of the sub-modules of digital assistant module  726  described below. 
     Applications  236  include the following modules (or sets of instructions), or a subset or superset thereof:
         Contacts module  237  (sometimes called an address book or contact list);   Telephone module  238 ;   Video conference module  239 ;   E-mail client module  240 ;   Instant messaging (IM) module  241 ;   Workout support module  242 ;   Camera module  243  for still and/or video images;   Image management module  244 ;   Video player module;   Music player module;   Browser module  247 ;   Calendar module  248 ;   Widget modules  249 , which includes, in some examples, one or more of: weather widget  249 - 1 , stocks widget  249 - 2 , calculator widget  249 - 3 , alarm clock widget  249 - 4 , dictionary widget  249 - 5 , and other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets  249 - 6 ;   Widget creator module  250  for making user-created widgets  249 - 6 ;   Search module  251 ;   Video and music player module  252 , which merges video player module and music player module;   Notes module  253 ;   Map module  254 ; and/or   Online video module  255 .       

     Examples of other applications  236  that are stored in memory  202  include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication. 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , contacts module  237  are used to manage an address book or contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state  292  of contacts module  237  in memory  202  or memory  470 ), including: adding name(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or other information with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone module  238 , video conference module  239 , e-mail client module  240 , or IM module  241 ; and so forth. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , microphone  213 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , telephone module  238  are used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in contacts module  237 , modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation, and disconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As noted above, the wireless communication uses any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols, and technologies. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , microphone  213 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , optical sensor  264 , optical sensor controller  258 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , contacts module  237 , and telephone module  238 , video conference module  239  includes executable instructions to initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user and one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , e-mail client module  240  includes executable instructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to user instructions. In conjunction with image management module  244 , e-mail client module  240  makes it very easy to create and send e-mails with still or video images taken with camera module  243 . 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , the instant messaging module  241  includes executable instructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to an instant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit a respective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-based instant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-based instant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view received instant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or received instant messages include graphics, photos, audio files, video files and/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS). 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , GPS module  235 , map module  254 , and music player module, workout support module  242  includes executable instructions to create workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receive workout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select and play music for a workout; and display, store, and transmit workout data. 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , optical sensor(s)  264 , optical sensor controller  258 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and image management module  244 , camera module  243  includes executable instructions to capture still images or video (including a video stream) and store them into memory  202 , modify characteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image or video from memory  202 . 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , and camera module  243 , image management module  244  includes executable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/or video images. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , browser module  247  includes executable instructions to browse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , e-mail client module  240 , and browser module  247 , calendar module  248  includes executable instructions to create, display, modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with user instructions. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , and browser module  247 , widget modules  249  are mini-applications that can be downloaded and used by a user (e.g., weather widget  249 - 1 , stocks widget  249 - 2 , calculator widget  249 - 3 , alarm clock widget  249 - 4 , and dictionary widget  249 - 5 ) or created by the user (e.g., user-created widget  249 - 6 ). In some embodiments, a widget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo! Widgets). 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , and browser module  247 , the widget creator module  250  are used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portion of a web page into a widget). 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , search module  251  includes executable instructions to search for text, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory  202  that match one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified search terms) in accordance with user instructions. 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , RF circuitry  208 , and browser module  247 , video and music player module  252  includes executable instructions that allow the user to download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executable instructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g., on touch screen  212  or on an external, connected display via external port  224 ). In some embodiments, device  200  optionally includes the functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.). 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , and text input module  234 , notes module  253  includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with user instructions. 
     In conjunction with RF circuitry  208 , touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , text input module  234 , GPS module  235 , and browser module  247 , map module  254  are used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associated with maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores and other points of interest at or near a particular location, and other location-based data) in accordance with user instructions. 
     In conjunction with touch screen  212 , display controller  256 , contact/motion module  230 , graphics module  232 , audio circuitry  210 , speaker  211 , RF circuitry  208 , text input module  234 , e-mail client module  240 , and browser module  247 , online video module  255  includes instructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on an external, connected display via external port  224 ), send an e-mail with a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instant messaging module  241 , rather than e-mail client module  240 , is used to send a link to a particular online video. Additional description of the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20, 2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules can be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module can be combined with music player module into a single module (e.g., video and music player module  252 ,  FIG.  2 A ). In some embodiments, memory  202  stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  202  stores additional modules and data structures not described above. 
     In some embodiments, device  200  is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device  200 , the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on device  200  is reduced. 
     The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates device  200  to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that is displayed on device  200 . In such embodiments, a “menu button” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, the menu button is a physical push button or other physical input control device instead of a touchpad. 
       FIG.  2 B  is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  202  ( FIG.  2 A ) or  470  ( FIG.  4   ) includes event sorter  270  (e.g., in operating system  226 ) and a respective application  236 - 1  (e.g., any of the aforementioned applications  237 - 251 ,  255 ,  480 - 490 ). 
     Event sorter  270  receives event information and determines the application  236 - 1  and application view  291  of application  236 - 1  to which to deliver the event information. Event sorter  270  includes event monitor  271  and event dispatcher module  274 . In some embodiments, application  236 - 1  includes application internal state  292 , which indicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitive display  212  when the application is active or executing. In some embodiments, device/global internal state  257  is used by event sorter  270  to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, and application internal state  292  is used by event sorter  270  to determine application views  291  to which to deliver event information. 
     In some embodiments, application internal state  292  includes additional information, such as one or more of: resume information to be used when application  236 - 1  resumes execution, user interface state information that indicates information being displayed or that is ready for display by application  236 - 1 , a state queue for enabling the user to go back to a prior state or view of application  236 - 1 , and a redo/undo queue of previous actions taken by the user. 
     Event monitor  271  receives event information from peripherals interface  218 . Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display  212 , as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripherals interface  218  transmits information it receives from I/O subsystem  206  or a sensor, such as proximity sensor  266 , accelerometer(s)  268 , and/or microphone  213  (through audio circuitry  210 ). Information that peripherals interface  218  receives from I/O subsystem  206  includes information from touch-sensitive display  212  or a touch-sensitive surface. 
     In some embodiments, event monitor  271  sends requests to the peripherals interface  218  at predetermined intervals. In response, peripherals interface  218  transmits event information. In other embodiments, peripherals interface  218  transmits event information only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predetermined noise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration). 
     In some embodiments, event sorter  270  also includes a hit view determination module  272  and/or an active event recognizer determination module  273 . 
     Hit view determination module  272  provides software procedures for determining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views when touch-sensitive display  212  displays more than one view. Views are made up of controls and other elements that a user can see on the display. 
     Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is a set of views, sometimes herein called application views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-based gestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) in which a touch is detected correspond to programmatic levels within a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs is determined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture. 
     Hit view determination module  272  receives information related to sub events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module  272  identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the first sub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determination module  272 , the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view. 
     Active event recognizer determination module  273  determines which view or views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determination module  273  determines that only the hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizer determination module  273  determines that all views that include the physical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, and therefore determines that all actively involved views should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touch sub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with one particular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain as actively involved views. 
     Event dispatcher module  274  dispatches the event information to an event recognizer (e.g., event recognizer  280 ). In embodiments including active event recognizer determination module  273 , event dispatcher module  274  delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined by active event recognizer determination module  273 . In some embodiments, event dispatcher module  274  stores in an event queue the event information, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver  282 . 
     In some embodiments, operating system  226  includes event sorter  270 . Alternatively, application  236 - 1  includes event sorter  270 . In yet other embodiments, event sorter  270  is a stand-alone module, or a part of another module stored in memory  202 , such as contact/motion module  230 . 
     In some embodiments, application  236 - 1  includes a plurality of event handlers  290  and one or more application views  291 , each of which includes instructions for handling touch events that occur within a respective view of the application&#39;s user interface. Each application view  291  of the application  236 - 1  includes one or more event recognizers  280 . Typically, a respective application view  291  includes a plurality of event recognizers  280 . In other embodiments, one or more of event recognizers  280  are part of a separate module, such as a user interface kit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application  236 - 1  inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respective event handler  290  includes one or more of: data updater  276 , object updater  277 , GUI updater  278 , and/or event data  279  received from event sorter  270 . Event handler  290  utilizes or calls data updater  276 , object updater  277 , or GUI updater  278  to update the application internal state  292 . Alternatively, one or more of the application views  291  include one or more respective event handlers  290 . Also, in some embodiments, one or more of data updater  276 , object updater  277 , and GUI updater  278  are included in a respective application view  291 . 
     A respective event recognizer  280  receives event information (e.g., event data  279 ) from event sorter  270  and identifies an event from the event information. Event recognizer  280  includes event receiver  282  and event comparator  284 . In some embodiments, event recognizer  280  also includes at least a subset of: metadata  283 , and event delivery instructions  288  (which include sub-event delivery instructions). 
     Event receiver  282  receives event information from event sorter  270 . The event information includes information about a sub-event, for example, a touch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the event information also includes additional information, such as location of the sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the event information also includes speed and direction of the sub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the device from one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the current orientation (also called device attitude) of the device. 
     Event comparator  284  compares the event information to predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines an event or sub event, or determines or updates the state of an event or sub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator  284  includes event definitions  286 . Event definitions  286  contain definitions of events (e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1 ( 287 - 1 ), event 2 ( 287 - 2 ), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events in an event (e.g., event 1 ( 287 - 1 ) or event 2 ( 287 - 2 )) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touch movement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, the definition for event 1 ( 287 - 1 ) is a double tap on a displayed object. The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touch end) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touch end) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition for event 2 ( 287 - 2 ) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, for example, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitive display  212 , and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associated event handlers  290 . 
     In some embodiments, event definition  286  includes a definition of an event for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, event comparator  284  performs a hit test to determine which user-interface object is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an application view in which three user-interface objects are displayed on touch-sensitive display  212 , when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display  212 , event comparator  284  performs a hit test to determine which of the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respective event handler  290 , the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to determine which event handler  290  should be activated. For example, event comparator  284  selects an event handler associated with the sub-event and the object triggering the hit test. 
     In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (e.g., event 1 ( 287 - 1 ) or event 2 ( 287 - 2 )) also includes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event information until after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-events does or does not correspond to the event recognizer&#39;s event type. 
     When a respective event recognizer  280  determines that the series of sub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions  286 , the respective event recognizer  280  enters an event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other event recognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue to track and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture. 
     In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer  280  includes metadata  283  with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively involved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata  283  includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how event recognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another. In some embodiments, metadata  283  includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy. 
     In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer  280  activates event handler  290  associated with an event when one or more particular sub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer  280  delivers event information associated with the event to event handler  290 . Activating an event handler  290  is distinct from sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view. In some embodiments, event recognizer  280  throws a flag associated with the recognized event, and event handler  290  associated with the flag catches the flag and performs a predefined process. 
     In some embodiments, event delivery instructions  288  include sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-event without activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event delivery instructions deliver event information to event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved views receive the event information and perform a predetermined process. 
     In some embodiments, data updater  276  creates and updates data used in application  236 - 1 . For example, data updater  276  updates the telephone number used in contacts module  237 , or stores a video file used in video player module. In some embodiments, object updater  277  creates and updates objects used in application  236 - 1 . For example, object updater  277  creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of a user-interface object. GUI updater  278  updates the GUI. For example, GUI updater  278  prepares display information and sends it to graphics module  232  for display on a touch-sensitive display. 
     In some embodiments, event handler(s)  290  includes or has access to data updater  276 , object updater  277 , and GUI updater  278 . In some embodiments, data updater  276 , object updater  277 , and GUI updater  278  are included in a single module of a respective application  236 - 1  or application view  291 . In other embodiments, they are included in two or more software modules. 
     It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding event handling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies to other forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices  200  with input devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. For example, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinated with single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movements such as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs; movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements; biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilized as inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a portable multifunction device  200  having a touch screen  212  in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen optionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI)  300 . In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabled to select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers  302  (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses  303  (not drawn to scale in the figure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward), and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upward and/or downward) that has made contact with device  200 . In some implementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphic does not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon optionally does not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap. 
     Device  200  also includes one or more physical buttons, such as “home” or menu button  304 . As described previously, menu button  304  is used to navigate to any application  236  in a set of applications that is executed on device  200 . Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen  212 . 
     In one embodiment, device  200  includes touch screen  212 , menu button  304 , push button  306  for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s)  308 , subscriber identity module (SIM) card slot  310 , headset jack  312 , and docking/charging external port  224 . Push button  306  is, optionally, used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device  200  also accepts verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone  213 . Device  200  also, optionally, includes one or more contact intensity sensors  265  for detecting intensity of contacts on touch screen  212  and/or one or more tactile output generators  267  for generating tactile outputs for a user of device  200 . 
       FIG.  4    is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments. Device  400  need not be portable. In some embodiments, device  400  is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device (such as a child&#39;s learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device (e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device  400  typically includes one or more processing units (CPUs)  410 , one or more network or other communications interfaces  460 , memory  470 , and one or more communication buses  420  for interconnecting these components. Communication buses  420  optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications between system components. Device  400  includes input/output (I/O) interface  430  comprising display  440 , which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface  430  also optionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)  450  and touchpad  455 , tactile output generator  457  for generating tactile outputs on device  400  (e.g., similar to tactile output generator(s)  267  described above with reference to  FIG.  2 A ), sensors  459  (e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contact intensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s)  265  described above with reference to  FIG.  2 A ). Memory  470  includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory  470  optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from CPU(s)  410 . In some embodiments, memory  470  stores programs, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structures stored in memory  202  of portable multifunction device  200  ( FIG.  2 A ), or a subset thereof. Furthermore, memory  470  optionally stores additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in memory  202  of portable multifunction device  200 . For example, memory  470  of device  400  optionally stores drawing module  480 , presentation module  482 , word processing module  484 , website creation module  486 , disk authoring module  488 , and/or spreadsheet module  490 , while memory  202  of portable multifunction device  200  ( FIG.  2 A ) optionally does not store these modules. 
     Each of the above-identified elements in  FIG.  4    is, in some examples, stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the above-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above. The above-identified modules or programs (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules are combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  470  stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  470  stores additional modules and data structures not described above. 
     Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces that can be implemented on, for example, portable multifunction device  200 . 
       FIG.  5 A  illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu of applications on portable multifunction device  200  in accordance with some embodiments. Similar user interfaces are implemented on device  400 . In some embodiments, user interface  500  includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: 
     Signal strength indicator(s)  502  for wireless communication(s), such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;
         Time  504 ;   Bluetooth indicator  505 ;   Battery status indicator  506 ;   Tray  508  with icons for frequently used applications, such as:
           Icon  516  for telephone module  238 , labeled “Phone,” which optionally includes an indicator  514  of the number of missed calls or voicemail messages;   Icon  518  for e-mail client module  240 , labeled “Mail,” which optionally includes an indicator  510  of the number of unread e-mails;   Icon  520  for browser module  247 , labeled “Browser;” and   Icon  522  for video and music player module  252 , also referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module  252 , labeled “iPod;” and   
           Icons for other applications, such as:
           Icon  524  for IM module  241 , labeled “Messages;”   Icon  526  for calendar module  248 , labeled “Calendar;”   Icon  528  for image management module  244 , labeled “Photos;”   Icon  530  for camera module  243 , labeled “Camera;”   Icon  532  for online video module  255 , labeled “Online Video;”   Icon  534  for stocks widget  249 - 2 , labeled “Stocks;”   Icon  536  for map module  254 , labeled “Maps;”   Icon  538  for weather widget  249 - 1 , labeled “Weather;”   Icon  540  for alarm clock widget  249 - 4 , labeled “Clock;”   Icon  542  for workout support module  242 , labeled “Workout Support;”   Icon  544  for notes module  253 , labeled “Notes;” and   Icon  546  for a settings application or module, labeled “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device  200  and its various applications  236 .   
               

     It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in  FIG.  5 A  are merely exemplary. For example, icon  522  for video and music player module  252  is optionally labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labels are, optionally, used for various application icons. In some embodiments, a label for a respective application icon includes a name of an application corresponding to the respective application icon. In some embodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinct from a name of an application corresponding to the particular application icon. 
       FIG.  5 B  illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g., device  400 ,  FIG.  4   ) with a touch-sensitive surface  551  (e.g., a tablet or touchpad  455 ,  FIG.  4   ) that is separate from the display  550  (e.g., touch screen display  212 ). Device  400  also, optionally, includes one or more contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors  457 ) for detecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface  551  and/or one or more tactile output generators  459  for generating tactile outputs for a user of device  400 . 
     Although some of the examples which follow will be given with reference to inputs on touch screen display  212  (where the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detects inputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display, as shown in  FIG.  5 B . In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,  551  in  FIG.  5 B ) has a primary axis (e.g.,  552  in  FIG.  5 B ) that corresponds to a primary axis (e.g.,  553  in  FIG.  5 B ) on the display (e.g.,  550 ). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detects contacts (e.g.,  560  and  562  in  FIG.  5 B ) with the touch-sensitive surface  551  at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display (e.g., in  FIG.  5 B,  560    corresponds to  568  and  562  corresponds to  570 ). In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts  560  and  562 , and movements thereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,  551  in  FIG.  5 B ) are used by the device to manipulate the user interface on the display (e.g.,  550  in  FIG.  5 B ) of the multifunction device when the touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should be understood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other user interfaces described herein. 
     Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily with reference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in some embodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with input from another input device (e.g., a mouse-based input or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click (e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). As another example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture (e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detect the contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneously detected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are, optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are, optionally, used simultaneously. 
       FIG.  6 A  illustrates exemplary personal electronic device  600 . Device  600  includes body  602 . In some embodiments, device  600  includes some or all of the features described with respect to devices  200  and  400  (e.g.,  FIGS.  2 A- 4   ). In some embodiments, device  600  has touch-sensitive display screen  604 , hereafter touch screen  604 . Alternatively, or in addition to touch screen  604 , device  600  has a display and a touch-sensitive surface. As with devices  200  and  400 , in some embodiments, touch screen  604  (or the touch-sensitive surface) has one or more intensity sensors for detecting intensity of contacts (e.g., touches) being applied. The one or more intensity sensors of touch screen  604  (or the touch-sensitive surface) provide output data that represents the intensity of touches. The user interface of device  600  responds to touches based on their intensity, meaning that touches of different intensities can invoke different user interface operations on device  600 . 
     Techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity are found, for example, in related applications: International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/040061, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Displaying User Interface Objects Corresponding to an Application,” filed May 8, 2013, and International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/069483, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display Output Relationships,” filed Nov. 11, 2013, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     In some embodiments, device  600  has one or more input mechanisms  606  and  608 . Input mechanisms  606  and  608 , if included, are physical. Examples of physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatable mechanisms. In some embodiments, device  600  has one or more attachment mechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, can permit attachment of device  600  with, for example, hats, eyewear, earrings, necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, chains, trousers, belts, shoes, purses, backpacks, and so forth. These attachment mechanisms permit device  600  to be worn by a user. 
       FIG.  6 B  depicts exemplary personal electronic device  600 . In some embodiments, device  600  includes some or all of the components described with respect to  FIGS.  2 A,  2 B, and  4   . Device  600  has bus  612  that operatively couples I/O section  614  with one or more computer processors  616  and memory  618 . I/O section  614  is connected to display  604 , which can have touch-sensitive component  622  and, optionally, touch-intensity sensitive component  624 . In addition, I/O section  614  is connected with communication unit  630  for receiving application and operating system data, using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), cellular, and/or other wireless communication techniques. Device  600  includes input mechanisms  606  and/or  608 . Input mechanism  606  is a rotatable input device or a depressible and rotatable input device, for example. Input mechanism  608  is a button, in some examples. 
     Input mechanism  608  is a microphone, in some examples. Personal electronic device  600  includes, for example, various sensors, such as GPS sensor  632 , accelerometer  634 , directional sensor  640  (e.g., compass), gyroscope  636 , motion sensor  638 , and/or a combination thereof, all of which are operatively connected to I/O section  614 . 
     Memory  618  of personal electronic device  600  is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, for storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more computer processors  616 , for example, cause the computer processors to perform the techniques and processes described below. The computer-executable instructions, for example, are also stored and/or transported within any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Personal electronic device  600  is not limited to the components and configuration of  FIG.  6 B , but can include other or additional components in multiple configurations. 
     As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactive graphical user interface object that is, for example, displayed on the display screen of devices  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  800 , and/or  810  ( FIGS.  2 A,  4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  8 A,  8 C,  9 A- 9 D ). For example, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink) each constitutes an affordance. 
     As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input element that indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user is interacting. In some implementations that include a cursor or other location marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touchpad  455  in  FIG.  4    or touch-sensitive surface  551  in  FIG.  5 B ) while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider or other user interface element), the particular user interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations that include a touch screen display (e.g., touch-sensitive display system  212  in  FIG.  2 A  or touch screen  212  in  FIG.  5 A ) that enables direct interaction with user interface elements on the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen acts as a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by the contact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of a particular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, or other user interface element), the particular user interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations, focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region of the user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor or movement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tab key or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); in these implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance with movement of focus between different regions of the user interface. Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, the focus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on a touch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as to communicate the user&#39;s intended interaction with the user interface (e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interface with which the user is intending to interact). For example, the location of a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) over a respective button while a press input is detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicate that the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposed to other user interface elements shown on a display of the device). 
     As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristic intensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact based on one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. The characteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number of intensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during a predetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting the contact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or after detecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an end of the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity of the contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity of the contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionally based on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of the contact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an average value of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value of the intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of the intensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of the intensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, the duration of the contact is used in determining the characteristic intensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of the intensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds includes a first intensity threshold and a second intensity threshold. In this example, a contact with a characteristic intensity that does not exceed the first threshold results in a first operation, a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensity threshold and does not exceed the second intensity threshold results in a second operation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the second threshold results in a third operation. In some embodiments, a comparison between the characteristic intensity and one or more thresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one or more operations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation or forgo performing the respective operation) rather than being used to determine whether to perform a first operation or a second operation. 
     In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity. For example, a touch-sensitive surface receives a continuous swipe contact transitioning from a start location and reaching an end location, at which point the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, the characteristic intensity of the contact at the end location is based on only a portion of the continuous swipe contact, and not the entire swipe contact (e.g., only the portion of the swipe contact at the end location). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm is applied to the intensities of the swipe contact prior to determining the characteristic intensity of the contact. For example, the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of: an unweighted sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing algorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an exponential smoothing algorithm. In some circumstances, these smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensities of the swipe contact for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity. 
     The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface is characterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds, such as a contact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensity threshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more other intensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform operations typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform operations that are different from operations typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensity below the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominal contact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is no longer detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordance with movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface without performing an operation associated with the light press intensity threshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unless otherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent between different sets of user interface figures. 
     An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between the light press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deep press intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between the contact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on the touch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimes referred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface. In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero. In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is greater than zero. 
     In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations are performed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respective press input or in response to detecting the respective press input performed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), where the respective press input is detected based at least in part on detecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality of contacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments, the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective press input). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of the respective press input). 
     In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoid accidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines or selects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationship to the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensity threshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensity threshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or some reasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, in some embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of the respective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press input is detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of the contact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and, optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g., the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity of the contact, depending on the circumstances). 
     For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed in response to a press input associated with a press-input intensity threshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are, optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase in intensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, an increase in intensity of a contact from an intensity below the hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-input intensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to the press-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where an operation is described as being performed in response to detecting a decrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensity threshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response to detecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-input intensity threshold. 
     3. Digital Assistant System 
       FIG.  7 A  illustrates a block diagram of digital assistant system  700  in accordance with various examples. In some examples, digital assistant system  700  is implemented on a standalone computer system. In some examples, digital assistant system  700  is distributed across multiple computers. In some examples, some of the modules and functions of the digital assistant are divided into a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion resides on one or more user devices (e.g., devices  104 ,  122 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  800 , and/or  810 ) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., server system  108 ) through one or more networks, e.g., as shown in  FIG.  1   . In some examples, digital assistant system  700  is an implementation of server system  108  (and/or DA server  106 ) shown in  FIG.  1   . It should be noted that digital assistant system  700  is only one example of a digital assistant system, and that digital assistant system  700  can have more or fewer components than shown, can combine two or more components, or can have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in  FIG.  7 A  are implemented in hardware, software instructions for execution by one or more processors, firmware, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits, or a combination thereof. 
     Digital assistant system  700  includes memory  702 , one or more processors  704 , input/output (I/O) interface  706 , and network communications interface  708 . These components can communicate with one another over one or more communication buses or signal lines  710 . 
     In some examples, memory  702  includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as high-speed random access memory and/or a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium (e.g., one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices). 
     In some examples, I/O interface  706  couples input/output devices  716  of digital assistant system  700 , such as displays, keyboards, touch screens, and microphones, to user interface module  722 . I/O interface  706 , in conjunction with user interface module  722 , receives user inputs (e.g., voice input, keyboard inputs, touch inputs, etc.) and processes them accordingly. In some examples, e.g., when the digital assistant is implemented on a standalone user device, digital assistant system  700  includes any of the components and I/O communication interfaces described with respect to devices  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  800 , or  810  in  FIGS.  2 A,  4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  8 A,  8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . In some examples, digital assistant system  700  represents the server portion of a digital assistant implementation, and can interact with the user through a client-side portion residing on a user device (e.g., devices  104 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  800 , or  810 ). 
     In some examples, the network communications interface  708  includes wired communication port(s)  712  and/or wireless transmission and reception circuitry  714 . The wired communication port(s) receives and send communication signals via one or more wired interfaces, e.g., Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc. The wireless circuitry  714  receives and sends RF signals and/or optical signals from/to communications networks and other communications devices. The wireless communications use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols, and technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol. Network communications interface  708  enables communication between digital assistant system  700  with networks, such as the Internet, an intranet, and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN), and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices. 
     In some examples, memory  702 , or the computer-readable storage media of memory  702 , stores programs, modules, instructions, and data structures including all or a subset of: operating system  718 , communications module  720 , user interface module  722 , one or more applications  724 , and digital assistant module  726 . In particular, memory  702 , or the computer-readable storage media of memory  702 , stores instructions for performing the processes described below. One or more processors  704  execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and reads/writes from/to the data structures. 
     Operating system  718  (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communications between various hardware, firmware, and software components. 
     Communications module  720  facilitates communications between digital assistant system  700  with other devices over network communications interface  708 . For example, communications module  720  communicates with RF circuitry  208  of electronic devices such as devices  200 ,  400 , and  600  shown in  FIGS.  2 A,  4 ,  6 A- 6 B , respectively. Communications module  720  also includes various components for handling data received by wireless circuitry  714  and/or wired communications port  712 . 
     User interface module  722  receives commands and/or inputs from a user via I/O interface  706  (e.g., from a keyboard, touch screen, pointing device, controller, and/or microphone), and generate user interface objects on a display. User interface module  722  also prepares and delivers outputs (e.g., speech, sound, animation, text, icons, vibrations, haptic feedback, light, etc.) to the user via the I/O interface  706  (e.g., through displays, audio channels, speakers, touch-pads, etc.). 
     Applications  724  include programs and/or modules that are configured to be executed by one or more processors  704 . For example, if the digital assistant system is implemented on a standalone user device, applications  724  include user applications, such as games, a calendar application, a navigation application, or an email application. If digital assistant system  700  is implemented on a server, applications  724  include resource management applications, diagnostic applications, or scheduling applications, for example. 
     Memory  702  also stores digital assistant module  726  (or the server portion of a digital assistant). In some examples, digital assistant module  726  includes the following sub-modules, or a subset or superset thereof: input/output processing module  728 , speech-to-text (STT) processing module  730 , natural language processing module  732 , dialogue flow processing module  734 , task flow processing module  736 , service processing module  738 , and speech synthesis processing module  740 . Each of these modules has access to one or more of the following systems or data and models of the digital assistant module  726 , or a subset or superset thereof: ontology  760 , vocabulary index  744 , user data  748 , task flow models  754 , service models  756 , and ASR systems  758 . 
     In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and models implemented in digital assistant module  726 , the digital assistant can perform at least some of the following: converting speech input into text; identifying a user&#39;s intent expressed in a natural language input received from the user; actively eliciting and obtaining information needed to fully infer the user&#39;s intent (e.g., by disambiguating words, games, intentions, etc.); determining the task flow for fulfilling the inferred intent; and executing the task flow to fulfill the inferred intent. 
     In some examples, as shown in  FIG.  7 B , I/O processing module  728  interacts with the user through I/O devices  716  in  FIG.  7 A  or with a user device (e.g., devices  104 ,  200 ,  400 , or  600 ) through network communications interface  708  in  FIG.  7 A  to obtain user input (e.g., a speech input) and to provide responses (e.g., as speech outputs) to the user input. I/O processing module  728  optionally obtains contextual information associated with the user input from the user device, along with or shortly after the receipt of the user input. The contextual information includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and/or preferences relevant to the user input. In some examples, the contextual information also includes software and hardware states of the user device at the time the user request is received, and/or information related to the surrounding environment of the user at the time that the user request was received. In some examples, I/O processing module  728  also sends follow-up questions to, and receive answers from, the user regarding the user request. When a user request is received by I/O processing module  728  and the user request includes speech input, I/O processing module  728  forwards the speech input to STT processing module  730  (or speech recognizer) for speech-to-text conversions. 
     STT processing module  730  includes one or more ASR systems  758 . The one or more ASR systems  758  can process the speech input that is received through I/O processing module  728  to produce a recognition result. Each ASR system  758  includes a front-end speech pre-processor. The front-end speech pre-processor extracts representative features from the speech input. For example, the front-end speech pre-processor performs a Fourier transform on the speech input to extract spectral features that characterize the speech input as a sequence of representative multi-dimensional vectors. Further, each ASR system  758  includes one or more speech recognition models (e.g., acoustic models and/or language models) and implements one or more speech recognition engines. Examples of speech recognition models include Hidden Markov Models, Gaussian-Mixture Models, Deep Neural Network Models, n-gram language models, and other statistical models. Examples of speech recognition engines include the dynamic time warping based engines and weighted finite-state transducers (WFST) based engines. The one or more speech recognition models and the one or more speech recognition engines are used to process the extracted representative features of the front-end speech pre-processor to produce intermediate recognitions results (e.g., phonemes, phonemic strings, and sub-words), and ultimately, text recognition results (e.g., words, word strings, or sequence of tokens). In some examples, the speech input is processed at least partially by a third-party service or on the user&#39;s device (e.g., device  104 ,  200 ,  400 , or  600 ) to produce the recognition result. Once STT processing module  730  produces recognition results containing a text string (e.g., words, or sequence of words, or sequence of tokens), the recognition result is passed to natural language processing module  732  for intent deduction. In some examples, STT processing module  730  produces multiple candidate text representations of the speech input. Each candidate text representation is a sequence of words or tokens corresponding to the speech input. In some examples, each candidate text representation is associated with a speech recognition confidence score. Based on the speech recognition confidence scores, STT processing module  730  ranks the candidate text representations and provides the n-best (e.g., n highest ranked) candidate text representation(s) to natural language processing module  732  for intent deduction, where n is a predetermined integer greater than zero. For example, in one example, only the highest ranked (n=1) candidate text representation is passed to natural language processing module  732  for intent deduction. In another example, the five highest ranked (n=5) candidate text representations are passed to natural language processing module  732  for intent deduction. 
     More details on the speech-to-text processing are described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/236,942 for “Consolidating Speech Recognition Results,” filed on Sep. 20, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In some examples, STT processing module  730  includes and/or accesses a vocabulary of recognizable words via phonetic alphabet conversion module  731 . Each vocabulary word is associated with one or more candidate pronunciations of the word represented in a speech recognition phonetic alphabet. In particular, the vocabulary of recognizable words includes a word that is associated with a plurality of candidate pronunciations. For example, the vocabulary includes the word “tomato” that is associated with the candidate pronunciations of / / and / /. Further, vocabulary words are associated with custom candidate pronunciations that are based on previous speech inputs from the user. Such custom candidate pronunciations are stored in STT processing module  730  and are associated with a particular user via the user&#39;s profile on the device. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for words are determined based on the spelling of the word and one or more linguistic and/or phonetic rules. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are manually generated, e.g., based on known canonical pronunciations. 
     In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are ranked based on the commonness of the candidate pronunciation. For example, the candidate pronunciation / / is ranked higher than / /, because the former is a more commonly used pronunciation (e.g., among all users, for users in a particular geographical region, or for any other appropriate subset of users). In some examples, candidate pronunciations are ranked based on whether the candidate pronunciation is a custom candidate pronunciation associated with the user. For example, custom candidate pronunciations are ranked higher than canonical candidate pronunciations. This can be useful for recognizing proper nouns having a unique pronunciation that deviates from canonical pronunciation. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are associated with one or more speech characteristics, such as geographic origin, nationality, or ethnicity. For example, the candidate pronunciation / / is associated with the United States, whereas the candidate pronunciation / / is associated with Great Britain. Further, the rank of the candidate pronunciation is based on one or more characteristics (e.g., geographic origin, nationality, ethnicity, etc.) of the user stored in the user&#39;s profile on the device. For example, it can be determined from the user&#39;s profile that the user is associated with the United States. Based on the user being associated with the United States, the candidate pronunciation / / (associated with the United States) is ranked higher than the candidate pronunciation / / (associated with Great Britain). In some examples, one of the ranked candidate pronunciations is selected as a predicted pronunciation (e.g., the most likely pronunciation). 
     When a speech input is received, STT processing module  730  is used to determine the phonemes corresponding to the speech input (e.g., using an acoustic model), and then attempt to determine words that match the phonemes (e.g., using a language model). For example, if STT processing module  730  first identifies the sequence of phonemes / / corresponding to a portion of the speech input, it can then determine, based on vocabulary index  744 , that this sequence corresponds to the word “tomato.” 
     In some examples, STT processing module  730  uses approximate matching techniques to determine words in an utterance. Thus, for example, the STT processing module  730  determines that the sequence of phonemes / / corresponds to the word “tomato,” even if that particular sequence of phonemes is not one of the candidate sequence of phonemes for that word. 
     Natural language processing module  732  (“natural language processor”) of the digital assistant takes the n-best candidate text representation(s) (“word sequence(s)” or “token sequence(s)”) generated by STT processing module  730 , and attempts to associate each of the candidate text representations with one or more “actionable intents” recognized by the digital assistant. An “actionable intent” (or “user intent”) represents a task that can be performed by the digital assistant, and can have an associated task flow implemented in task flow models  754 . The associated task flow is a series of programmed actions and steps that the digital assistant takes in order to perform the task. The scope of a digital assistant&#39;s capabilities is dependent on the number and variety of task flows that have been implemented and stored in task flow models  754 , or in other words, on the number and variety of “actionable intents” that the digital assistant recognizes. The effectiveness of the digital assistant, however, also dependents on the assistant&#39;s ability to infer the correct “actionable intent(s)” from the user request expressed in natural language. 
     In some examples, in addition to the sequence of words or tokens obtained from STT processing module  730 , natural language processing module  732  also receives contextual information associated with the user request, e.g., from I/O processing module  728 . The natural language processing module  732  optionally uses the contextual information to clarify, supplement, and/or further define the information contained in the candidate text representations received from STT processing module  730 . The contextual information includes, for example, user preferences, hardware, and/or software states of the user device, sensor information collected before, during, or shortly after the user request, prior interactions (e.g., dialogue) between the digital assistant and the user, and the like. As described herein, contextual information is, in some examples, dynamic, and changes with time, location, content of the dialogue, and other factors. 
     In some examples, the natural language processing is based on, e.g., ontology  760 . Ontology  760  is a hierarchical structure containing many nodes, each node representing either an “actionable intent” or a “property” relevant to one or more of the “actionable intents” or other “properties.” As noted above, an “actionable intent” represents a task that the digital assistant is capable of performing, i.e., it is “actionable” or can be acted on. A “property” represents a parameter associated with an actionable intent or a sub-aspect of another property. A linkage between an actionable intent node and a property node in ontology  760  defines how a parameter represented by the property node pertains to the task represented by the actionable intent node. 
     In some examples, ontology  760  is made up of actionable intent nodes and property nodes. Within ontology  760 , each actionable intent node is linked to one or more property nodes either directly or through one or more intermediate property nodes. Similarly, each property node is linked to one or more actionable intent nodes either directly or through one or more intermediate property nodes. For example, as shown in  FIG.  7 C , ontology  760  includes a “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., an actionable intent node). Property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time” (for the reservation), and “party size” are each directly linked to the actionable intent node (i.e., the “restaurant reservation” node). 
     In addition, property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and “location” are sub-nodes of the property node “restaurant,” and are each linked to the “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., the actionable intent node) through the intermediate property node “restaurant.” For another example, as shown in  FIG.  7 C , ontology  760  also includes a “set reminder” node (i.e., another actionable intent node). Property nodes “date/time” (for setting the reminder) and “subject” (for the reminder) are each linked to the “set reminder” node. Since the property “date/time” is relevant to both the task of making a restaurant reservation and the task of setting a reminder, the property node “date/time” is linked to both the “restaurant reservation” node and the “set reminder” node in ontology  760 . 
     An actionable intent node, along with its linked property nodes, is described as a “domain.” In the present discussion, each domain is associated with a respective actionable intent, and refers to the group of nodes (and the relationships there between) associated with the particular actionable intent. For example, ontology  760  shown in  FIG.  7 C  includes an example of restaurant reservation domain  762  and an example of reminder domain  764  within ontology  760 . The restaurant reservation domain includes the actionable intent node “restaurant reservation,” property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time,” and “party size,” and sub-property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and “location.” Reminder domain  764  includes the actionable intent node “set reminder,” and property nodes “subject” and “date/time.” In some examples, ontology  760  is made up of many domains. Each domain shares one or more property nodes with one or more other domains. For example, the “date/time” property node is associated with many different domains (e.g., a scheduling domain, a travel reservation domain, a movie ticket domain, etc.), in addition to restaurant reservation domain  762  and reminder domain  764 . 
     While  FIG.  7 C  illustrates two example domains within ontology  760 , other domains include, for example, “find a movie,” “initiate a phone call,” “find directions,” “schedule a meeting,” “send a message,” and “provide an answer to a question,” “read a list,” “providing navigation instructions,” “provide instructions for a task” and so on. A “send a message” domain is associated with a “send a message” actionable intent node, and further includes property nodes such as “recipient(s),” “message type,” and “message body.” The property node “recipient” is further defined, for example, by the sub-property nodes such as “recipient name” and “message address.” 
     In some examples, ontology  760  includes all the domains (and hence actionable intents) that the digital assistant is capable of understanding and acting upon. In some examples, ontology  760  is modified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or by modifying relationships between the nodes within the ontology  760 . 
     In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related actionable intents are clustered under a “super domain” in ontology  760 . For example, a “travel” super-domain includes a cluster of property nodes and actionable intent nodes related to travel. The actionable intent nodes related to travel includes “airline reservation,” “hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” “find points of interest,” and so on. The actionable intent nodes under the same super domain (e.g., the “travel” super domain) have many property nodes in common. For example, the actionable intent nodes for “airline reservation,” “hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” and “find points of interest” share one or more of the property nodes “start location,” “destination,” “departure date/time,” “arrival date/time,” and “party size.” 
     In some examples, each node in ontology  760  is associated with a set of words and/or phrases that are relevant to the property or actionable intent represented by the node. The respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node are the so-called “vocabulary” associated with the node. The respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node are stored in vocabulary index  744  in association with the property or actionable intent represented by the node. For example, returning to  FIG.  7 B , the vocabulary associated with the node for the property of “restaurant” includes words such as “food,” “drinks,” “cuisine,” “hungry,” “eat,” “pizza,” “fast food,” “meal,” and so on. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the node for the actionable intent of “initiate a phone call” includes words and phrases such as “call,” “phone,” “dial,” “ring,” “call this number,” “make a call to,” and so on. The vocabulary index  744  optionally includes words and phrases in different languages. 
     Natural language processing module  732  receives the candidate text representations (e.g., text string(s) or token sequence(s)) from STT processing module  730 , and for each candidate representation, determines what nodes are implicated by the words in the candidate text representation. In some examples, if a word or phrase in the candidate text representation is found to be associated with one or more nodes in ontology  760  (via vocabulary index  744 ), the word or phrase “triggers” or “activates” those nodes. Based on the quantity and/or relative importance of the activated nodes, natural language processing module  732  selects one of the actionable intents as the task that the user intended the digital assistant to perform. In some examples, the domain that has the most “triggered” nodes is selected. In some examples, the domain having the highest confidence value (e.g., based on the relative importance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In some examples, the domain is selected based on a combination of the number and the importance of the triggered nodes. In some examples, additional factors are considered in selecting the node as well, such as whether the digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted a similar request from a user. 
     User data  748  includes user-specific information, such as user-specific vocabulary, user preferences, user address, user&#39;s default and secondary languages, user&#39;s contact list, and other short-term or long-term information for each user. In some examples, natural language processing module  732  uses the user-specific information to supplement the information contained in the user input to further define the user intent. For example, for a user request “invite my friends to my birthday party,” natural language processing module  732  is able to access user data  748  to determine who the “friends” are and when and where the “birthday party” would be held, rather than requiring the user to provide such information explicitly in his/her request. 
     It should be recognized that in some examples, natural language processing module  732  is implemented using one or more machine learning mechanisms (e.g., neural networks). In particular, the one or more machine learning mechanisms are configured to receive a candidate text representation and contextual information associated with the candidate text representation. Based on the candidate text representation and the associated contextual information, the one or more machine learning mechanisms are configured to determine intent confidence scores over a set of candidate actionable intents. Natural language processing module  732  can select one or more candidate actionable intents from the set of candidate actionable intents based on the determined intent confidence scores. In some examples, an ontology (e.g., ontology  760 ) is also used to select the one or more candidate actionable intents from the set of candidate actionable intents. 
     Other details of searching an ontology based on a token string are described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/341,743 for “Method and Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” filed Dec. 22, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In some examples, once natural language processing module  732  identifies an actionable intent (or domain) based on the user request, natural language processing module  732  generates a structured query to represent the identified actionable intent. In some examples, the structured query includes parameters for one or more nodes within the domain for the actionable intent, and at least some of the parameters are populated with the specific information and requirements specified in the user request. For example, the user says “Make me a dinner reservation at a sushi place at  7 .” In this case, natural language processing module  732  is able to correctly identify the actionable intent to be “restaurant reservation” based on the user input. According to the ontology, a structured query for a “restaurant reservation” domain includes parameters such as {Cuisine}, {Time}, {Date}, {Party Size}, and the like. In some examples, based on the speech input and the text derived from the speech input using STT processing module  730 , natural language processing module  732  generates a partial structured query for the restaurant reservation domain, where the partial structured query includes the parameters {Cuisine=“Sushi”} and {Time=“7 pm”}. However, in this example, the user&#39;s utterance contains insufficient information to complete the structured query associated with the domain. Therefore, other necessary parameters such as {Party Size} and {Date} are not specified in the structured query based on the information currently available. In some examples, natural language processing module  732  populates some parameters of the structured query with received contextual information. For example, in some examples, if the user requested a sushi restaurant “near me,” natural language processing module  732  populates a {location} parameter in the structured query with GPS coordinates from the user device. 
     In some examples, natural language processing module  732  identifies multiple candidate actionable intents for each candidate text representation received from STT processing module  730 . Further, in some examples, a respective structured query (partial or complete) is generated for each identified candidate actionable intent. Natural language processing module  732  determines an intent confidence score for each candidate actionable intent and ranks the candidate actionable intents based on the intent confidence scores. In some examples, natural language processing module  732  passes the generated structured query (or queries), including any completed parameters, to task flow processing module  736  (“task flow processor”). In some examples, the structured query (or queries) for the m-best (e.g., m highest ranked) candidate actionable intents are provided to task flow processing module  736 , where m is a predetermined integer greater than zero. In some examples, the structured query (or queries) for the m-best candidate actionable intents are provided to task flow processing module  736  with the corresponding candidate text representation(s). 
     Other details of inferring a user intent based on multiple candidate actionable intents determined from multiple candidate text representations of a speech input are described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 14/298,725 for “System and Method for Inferring User Intent From Speech Inputs,” filed Jun. 6, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Task flow processing module  736  is configured to receive the structured query (or queries) from natural language processing module  732 , complete the structured query, if necessary, and perform the actions required to “complete” the user&#39;s ultimate request. In some examples, the various procedures necessary to complete these tasks are provided in task flow models  754 . In some examples, task flow models  754  include procedures for obtaining additional information from the user and task flows for performing actions associated with the actionable intent. 
     As described above, in order to complete a structured query, task flow processing module  736  needs to initiate additional dialogue with the user in order to obtain additional information, and/or disambiguate potentially ambiguous utterances. When such interactions are necessary, task flow processing module  736  invokes dialogue flow processing module  734  to engage in a dialogue with the user. In some examples, dialogue flow processing module  734  determines how (and/or when) to ask the user for the additional information and receives and processes the user responses. The questions are provided to and answers are received from the users through I/O processing module  728 . In some examples, dialogue flow processing module  734  presents dialogue output to the user via audio and/or visual output, and receives input from the user via spoken or physical (e.g., clicking) responses. Continuing with the example above, when task flow processing module  736  invokes dialogue flow processing module  734  to determine the “party size” and “date” information for the structured query associated with the domain “restaurant reservation,” dialogue flow processing module  734  generates questions such as “For how many people?” and “On which day?” to pass to the user. Once answers are received from the user, dialogue flow processing module  734  then populates the structured query with the missing information, or pass the information to task flow processing module  736  to complete the missing information from the structured query. 
     Once task flow processing module  736  has completed the structured query for an actionable intent, task flow processing module  736  proceeds to perform the ultimate task associated with the actionable intent. Accordingly, task flow processing module  736  executes the steps and instructions in the task flow model according to the specific parameters contained in the structured query. For example, the task flow model for the actionable intent of “restaurant reservation” includes steps and instructions for contacting a restaurant and actually requesting a reservation for a particular party size at a particular time. For example, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation, restaurant=ABC Café, date=3/12/2012, time=7 pm, party size=5}, task flow processing module  736  performs the steps of: (1) logging onto a server of the ABC Café or a restaurant reservation system such as OPENTABLE®, (2) entering the date, time, and party size information in a form on the website, (3) submitting the form, and (4) making a calendar entry for the reservation in the user&#39;s calendar. 
     In some examples, task flow processing module  736  employs the assistance of service processing module  738  (“service processing module”) to complete a task requested in the user input or to provide an informational answer requested in the user input. For example, service processing module  738  acts on behalf of task flow processing module  736  to make a phone call, set a calendar entry, invoke a map search, invoke or interact with other user applications installed on the user device, and invoke or interact with third-party services (e.g., a restaurant reservation portal, a social networking website, a banking portal, etc.). In some examples, the protocols and application programming interfaces (API) required by each service are specified by a respective service model among service models  756 . Service processing module  738  accesses the appropriate service model for a service and generates requests for the service in accordance with the protocols and APIs required by the service according to the service model. 
     For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online reservation service, the restaurant submits a service model specifying the necessary parameters for making a reservation and the APIs for communicating the values of the necessary parameter to the online reservation service. When requested by task flow processing module  736 , service processing module  738  establishes a network connection with the online reservation service using the web address stored in the service model, and sends the necessary parameters of the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size) to the online reservation interface in a format according to the API of the online reservation service. 
     In some examples, natural language processing module  732 , dialogue flow processing module  734 , and task flow processing module  736  are used collectively and iteratively to infer and define the user&#39;s intent, obtain information to further clarify and refine the user intent, and finally generate a response (i.e., an output to the user, or the completion of a task) to fulfill the user&#39;s intent. The generated response is a dialogue response to the speech input that at least partially fulfills the user&#39;s intent. Further, in some examples, the generated response is output as a speech output. In these examples, the generated response is sent to speech synthesis processing module  740  (e.g., speech synthesizer) where it can be processed to synthesize the dialogue response in speech form. In yet other examples, the generated response is data content relevant to satisfying a user request in the speech input. 
     In examples where task flow processing module  736  receives multiple structured queries from natural language processing module  732 , task flow processing module  736  initially processes the first structured query of the received structured queries to attempt to complete the first structured query and/or execute one or more tasks or actions represented by the first structured query. In some examples, the first structured query corresponds to the highest ranked actionable intent. In other examples, the first structured query is selected from the received structured queries based on a combination of the corresponding speech recognition confidence scores and the corresponding intent confidence scores. In some examples, if task flow processing module  736  encounters an error during processing of the first structured query (e.g., due to an inability to determine a necessary parameter), the task flow processing module  736  can proceed to select and process a second structured query of the received structured queries that corresponds to a lower ranked actionable intent. The second structured query is selected, for example, based on the speech recognition confidence score of the corresponding candidate text representation, the intent confidence score of the corresponding candidate actionable intent, a missing necessary parameter in the first structured query, or any combination thereof. 
     Speech synthesis processing module  740  is configured to synthesize speech outputs for presentation to the user. Speech synthesis processing module  740  synthesizes speech outputs based on text provided by the digital assistant. For example, the generated dialogue response is in the form of a text string. Speech synthesis processing module  740  converts the text string to an audible speech output. Speech synthesis processing module  740  uses any appropriate speech synthesis technique in order to generate speech outputs from text, including, but not limited, to concatenative synthesis, unit selection synthesis, diphone synthesis, domain-specific synthesis, formant synthesis, articulatory synthesis, hidden Markov model (HMM) based synthesis, and sinewave synthesis. In some examples, speech synthesis processing module  740  is configured to synthesize individual words based on phonemic strings corresponding to the words. For example, a phonemic string is associated with a word in the generated dialogue response. The phonemic string is stored in metadata associated with the word. Speech synthesis processing module  740  is configured to directly process the phonemic string in the metadata to synthesize the word in speech form. 
     In some examples, instead of (or in addition to) using speech synthesis processing module  740 , speech synthesis is performed on a remote device (e.g., the server system  108 ), and the synthesized speech is sent to the user device for output to the user. For example, this can occur in some implementations where outputs for a digital assistant are generated at a server system. And because server systems generally have more processing power or resources than a user device, it is possible to obtain higher quality speech outputs than would be practical with client-side synthesis. 
     Additional details on digital assistants can be found in the U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982, entitled “Intelligent Automated Assistant,” filed Jan. 10, 2011, and U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/251,088, entitled “Generating and Processing Task Items That Represent Tasks to Perform,” filed Sep. 30, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     4. Providing Spoken Notifications 
       FIGS.  8 A- 8 C and  9 A- 9 D  show exemplary systems and techniques for providing and responding to spoken notifications. These figures illustrate some example processes discussed below, including processes  1000  and  1100  of  FIGS.  10 A- 10 E and  11 A- 11 D , respectively. 
       FIG.  8 A  shows an electronic device providing an output associated with a notification when a user of the device is not speaking, according to some examples. Specifically, in  FIG.  8 A , device  800  (e.g., a user&#39;s phone) receives a notification. The notification is a text message from the user&#39;s mom asking “where are you?”. According to the techniques discussed below, device  800  determines that the user is not speaking after receipt of the text message. For example, device  800  determines that within a first predetermined duration after receiving the text message, the user is not speaking for a second predetermined duration. Device  800  thus causes accessory device  810  to provide a spoken output of the text message. In this manner, spoken notification outputs may be provided at appropriate times, such as when a user is not speaking. 
     Device  800  is, for example, implemented using devices  200 ,  400 , or  600 , discussed above. In some examples, device  800  includes the modules and functions of a digital assistant described above in  FIGS.  7 A- 7 C . In some examples, device  800  includes at least some of the components and functions of system  820 , described below. In the example of  FIG.  8 A , device  800  is a smart phone. However, device  800  device may be any type of device, such as a phone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, wearable device (e.g., smart watch), television, speaker, vehicle console, or any combination thereof. 
     Accessory device  810  is, for example, implemented using device  200 ,  400 , or  600 . In some examples, accessory device  810  includes at least some of the components and functions of system  820 , described below. In some examples, accessory device  810  is a peripheral device to device  800 , external to device  800 , and/or has the same user as device  800 . In some examples, accessory device  810  is communicatively coupled to device  800  to enable exchange of data and/or commands between the devices (e.g., via Bluetooth and/or any other communication protocol discussed with respect to RF circuitry  208 ). In the example of  FIG.  8 A , device  810  is a headset (e.g., wireless earbuds). However, device  810  may be any type of device, such as a phone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, wearable device (e.g., smart watch), television, speaker, vehicle console, or any combination thereof. 
     In some examples, accessory device  810  includes one or more controllers (e.g., controller  222 ), processors (e.g., processor  220 ), memories (e.g., memory  202 ), microphones (e.g., microphone  213 ), audio output components (e.g., earbuds or ear pieces), and communication modules and interfaces (e.g., wireless circuitry  714 ). In some examples, the controller(s) and/or processor(s) of device  810  have fewer functionalities than the controller(s) and/or processor(s) of device  800 . For example, the controller(s) and/or processor(s) of device  810  facilitate the performance of limited functionalities such as audio signal processing, battery management, and wireless communications management. 
     In some examples, accessory device  810  is unable to operate a digital assistant or can operate a digital assistant with limited capability. In some examples, accessory device  810  can operate a digital assistant with full capability. Thus, in some examples, device  810  includes at least some of the modules and functions of a digital assistant discussed above with respect to  FIGS.  7 A- 7 C . For example, device  810  can detect a trigger phrase for initiating a digital assistant (e.g., “Hey Siri”) and transmit speech input to other devices (e.g., device  800 ) for further processing. However, in some examples, device  810  cannot perform certain processing tasks such as automatic speech recognition, intent determination, task flow processing, and the like. In some examples, device  810  (e.g., earbuds) does not include a graphical user interface to display information and includes only an audio interface to facilitate user interaction with the device. 
       FIG.  8 B  shows system  820  for providing and responding to spoken notifications, according to some examples. In some examples, system  820  is implemented on a standalone computer system (e.g., device  104 ,  122 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  800 , or  810 ). In some examples, system  820  is distributed across multiple devices (e.g., devices  800  and  810 ), with the modules and functions of system  820  divided up in any manner between devices  800  and  810 . In some examples, some of the modules and functions of system  820  are divided into a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion resides on one or more user devices (e.g., devices  800  and/or  810 ) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., server system  108 ,  900 ) through one or more networks, e.g., as shown in  FIG.  1   . System  820  is implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carry out the principles discussed herein. 
     System  820  is exemplary, and thus system  820  can have more or fewer components than shown, can combine two or more components, or can have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Further, although the below discussion describes functions being performed at a single component of system  820 , such functions can be performed at other components of system  820  and such functions can be performed at more than one component of system  820 . 
     System  820  includes notifications module  830 . Notifications module  830  receives indications of notifications and causes outputs associated with notifications (notification outputs) to be provided. In some examples, receiving an indication of a notification includes receiving (or generating) the notification at an electronic device. For example, in  FIG.  8 A , device  800  receives the text message “where are you?” from the user&#39;s mom. In some examples, receiving an indication of a notification includes receiving the indication from an external electronic device that received the notification. For example, when device  800  (here the external device) receives the notification, device  800  sends an indication of the notification to device  810  and device  810  receives the indication from device  800 . 
     In some examples, a notification includes a text message, an email message, an instant message, an emergency alert, a phone/video call notification, a voice mail notification, an application notification (e.g., a notification provided by an application installed on device  800 , such as a news notification, a delivery notification, a flight gate change notification), or a combination thereof. In some examples, devices  800  and/or  810  generate a notification. Exemplary device generated notifications include a low battery notification, a software update notification, and the like. 
     System  820  includes sensor module  840 . Sensor module  840  includes sensor(s) such as speech sensor(s)  842  (e.g., microphones) and/or vibration sensor(s)  844  (e.g., bone conduction microphones, accelerometers, gyroscopes, velocity sensors, pressure sensors). In some examples, sensor module  840  obtains data stream(s) from respective sensor(s) in accordance with notifications module  830  receiving an indication of a notification. In some examples, sensor module  840  is implemented on device  810  (e.g., device  810  includes speech sensor(s) and/or vibration sensor(s)). In some examples, sensor module  840  (e.g., implemented on device  810 ) sends (e.g., streams) data stream(s) to device  800  and device  800  obtains the data stream(s). Obtaining data stream(s) can allow determination of whether a user is speaking. Determining whether a user is speaking may allow provision of notification outputs when the user is not speaking. This can provide a desirable user experience by preventing a user from being interrupted by spoken notification outputs while speaking. 
     In some examples, sensor module  840  concurrently obtains data streams for a predetermined duration. For example, after an indication of a notification is received, sensor module  840  concurrently samples data from a microphone and a bone conduction microphone for a predetermined duration (e.g., 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 seconds). Thus, sensor module  840  can sample data for a predetermined duration (e.g., time window) to detect user speech (e.g., determine whether the user is speaking) during that duration. As discussed below, in some examples, if user speech is detected for the predetermined duration, a notification output is not provided. In some examples, if user speech is not detected within the predetermined duration, a notification output is provided. The predetermined duration can thus represent a time window during which notification outputs can be provided. 
     System  820  includes determination module  850 . Determination module  850  determines whether to provide a notification output in accordance with notifications module  830  receiving an indication of a notification. In some examples, determining whether to provide a notification output includes determining whether a user would be interrupted by the notification output. In some examples, determining whether a user would be interrupted by a notification output includes determining whether a user is speaking. For example, if it is determined that a user is speaking, listening, e.g., to media or another person, or otherwise engaged in an activity, it is determined that the user would be interrupted by the notification output. For example, if it is determined that the user is not speaking, listening, or otherwise engaged in an activity, it is determined that the user would not be interrupted by the notification output. 
     In some examples, determining whether a user would be interrupted by a notification output additionally or alternatively includes determining whether the notification is important, timely, and/or relevant, as discussed below with respect to notifications model  854 . For example, if a notification is determined as important, timely, and/or relevant, it is determined that a user would not be interrupted by the notification output. For example, if a notification is determined as not important, not timely, and/or not relevant, it is determined that a user would be interrupted by the notification output. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  obtains data stream(s) from sensor module  840  and determines whether a user is speaking based on processing the obtained data stream(s). In some examples, determination module  850  is implemented on device  810  so that device  810  processes data stream(s) locally to determine whether a user is speaking. In some examples, determination module is implemented on device  800  so that device  810  sends data stream(s) to device  800  and device  800  processes the data stream(s). In some examples, some functions and components of determination module  850  are implemented on device  800  and others are implemented on device  810 . For example, device  810  processes some types of data streams (e.g., data streams from a vibration sensor) while device  800  processes other types of data streams (e.g., data streams from a microphone). 
     In some examples, determination module  850  includes speech detector  852  configured to process data streams. In some examples, speech detector  852  includes a voice activity detector (VAD) configured to detect speech in a data stream. In some examples, speech detector  852  divides an input data stream into frames (e.g., portions) of a predetermined length, e.g., 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 milliseconds. In some examples, speech detector  852  determines whether each frame indicates that a user is speaking (indicates user speech). For example, speech detector  852  determines a probability of user speech for each frame and/or makes a “yes” or “no” decision regarding the presence of user speech for each frame. In this manner, speech detector  852  can identify the boundaries of user speech in a data stream and determine the duration(s) during which a user is speaking or not speaking. 
     In some examples, determining that a user is not speaking includes determining that the user is not speaking for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 seconds). In some examples, determining that the user is not speaking includes determining that a portion of a data stream having the predetermined duration indicates no user speech. For example, if speech detector  852  determines that a 2 second portion of a data stream indicates no user speech, determination module  850  determines that the user is not speaking. Thus, notification outputs may be advantageously provided during pauses in (or cessation of) user speech. 
     In some examples, determining that a user is speaking includes determining that the user is speaking for a predetermined duration, such as the time window for which data stream(s) are obtained. For example, if speech detector  852  detects user speech for the entire time window (e.g., no pause in user speech of a predetermined duration in the time window), determination module  850  determines that the user is speaking. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  determines whether a first data stream obtained from a speech sensor (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech. In some examples, determining whether the first data stream indicates user speech includes analyzing the time domain and/or frequency domain features of the first data stream to determine whether such features indicate human speech. Exemplary time domain features include zero crossing rates, short-time energy, spectral energy, spectral flatness, and autocorrelation. Exemplary frequency domain features include mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, linear predictive cepstral coefficients, and mel-frequency discrete wavelet coefficients. In addition to analyzing such features, one of skill in the art will appreciate that any other suitable technique (e.g., comparing the data stream to a human speech model) may be employed to determine whether a data stream indicates user speech. For example, speech detector  852  processes the first data stream to determine that a 2 second portion of the data stream indicates user speech. For example, speech detector  852  determines that each frame of a consecutive series of frames (having a collective 2 second duration) indicates user speech. 
     Processing only the first data stream may not always accurately determine whether a user of device  810  is speaking. In particular, although processing the first data stream may accurately determine whether speech is generally present, such processing may be unable to distinguish the speech of the user of device  810  from other speech (e.g., background noise including speech). For example if the user is in a noisy environment (e.g., a coffee shop) and is not speaking, processing only the first data stream may incorrectly result in determining that the user is speaking. Accordingly, in some examples, a second data stream is processed (e.g., in addition to or alternatively to the first data stream) to determine whether a user is speaking. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  determines whether a second data stream obtained from a vibration sensor (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech. In some examples, determining that the second data stream indicates user speech includes determining that the second data stream indicates vibrations consistent with user speech. For example, when vibration sensor  844  includes a bone conduction microphone, determining that the second data stream indicates user speech includes determining that the second data stream (e.g., accelerometer data) indicates vibrations consistent with sound conduction through human skull bones. For example, speech detector  852  processes the second data stream to determine that a 2 second portion of the data stream indicates user speech. 
     Processing the second data stream may more accurately determine whether a user of device  810  is speaking. Specifically, the second data stream (e.g., from a bone conduction microphone of device  810 ) may be more sensitive to speech of the user while being less sensitive to background noise. For example, the bone conduction microphone may produce relatively strong signals when the user is speaking by detecting skull vibrations caused by user speech. However, even in the presence of background noise, the bone conduction microphone may produce relatively weak signals (or no signal) when the user is not speaking because background noise may not cause sufficient vibration of a user&#39;s skull. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  determines whether a user is speaking based on the first and the second data streams. For example, if the first and second data streams (of portions thereof) both indicate user speech, the data streams likely indicate that the user is speaking during a particular duration. Thus, in accordance with determining that both the first and second data streams indicate user speech, determination module  850  determines that the user is speaking (e.g., for a particular duration). As another example, if the first data stream (or a portion thereof) indicates user speech and the second data stream (or a portion thereof) indicates no user speech, the data streams likely indicate background speech, not user speech. Thus, in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates user speech and determining that the second data stream indicates no user speech, determination module  850  determines that the user is not speaking (e.g., for a particular duration). 
     In some examples, determination module  850  concurrently obtains data streams and processes the data streams in parallel to determine whether a user is speaking. Thus, in some examples, portions of the first and second data streams used to determine whether a user is speaking have a same duration and are obtained at a same time. For example, speech detector  852  determines that a 2 second long first portion of the first data stream indicates user speech. Speech detector  852  concurrently determines that a 2 second long second portion of the second data stream (obtained at the same time as the first portion) indicates no user speech. Speech detector  852  thus determines that the user is not speaking for the 2 second duration (e.g., the detected speech is merely background noise). 
     In some examples, determination module  850  determines that a duration of a portion of a data stream indicating user speech is below a threshold duration (e.g., 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1 seconds). In some examples, in accordance with such determination, determination module  850  determines that the user is not speaking (e.g., during that duration). This may prevent incorrectly interpreting short sensor signals as user speech. For example, short sounds (e.g., cough, sneeze, throat clearing, and the like) produced by the user of device  810  may result in short portions of the second data stream (e.g., from a vibration sensor) indicating user speech. However, because these portions may have durations below a threshold duration, these portions are not incorrectly interpreted as user speech. For example, speech detector  852  determines that within a 2 second portion of the second data stream, a 0.3 second portion indicates user speech (e.g., the user sneezed), while the remainder of the 2 second portion indicates no user speech. However, because the duration of the 0.3 second portion is below a threshold duration, speech detector  852  determines that the user is not speaking during the 0.3 second portion. Thus, speech detector  852  determines that the user is not speaking during the entire 2 second portion. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  only determines whether to provide an output associated with a current (e.g., most recent) notification. For example, if determination module  850  determines that a user is speaking during a time window after the notification is received, after the time window, the notification output is not later provided. For example, determination module  850  does not obtain data stream(s) after the time window to determine again whether to provide the notification output. In some examples, determination module  850  again obtains data stream(s) to determine whether to provide an output associated with a subsequent notification upon receiving an indication of the subsequent notification. 
     In other examples, determination module  850  determines (e.g., determines again) whether to provide an output associated with a previous notification (previous notification output). In some examples, determination module  850  determines whether to provide a previous notification output in accordance with notifications module  830  receiving an indication of a subsequent (e.g., current) notification. In some examples, determination module  850  determines whether to provide a previous notification output if a relevance score of the previous notification is high, as discussed below with respect to notifications model  854 . In some examples, the previous notification output is provided along with a current notification output. In this manner, if a previous notification output is initially not provided (e.g., a user is speaking when (or shortly after) the previous notification was received), the previous notification output may be later provided along with a current notification output. 
     Providing an previous notification output can be desirable for a variety of reasons. For instance, it may be desirable to provide a previous notification output if the previous notification is short (e.g., a short text message) to quickly provide a user with all unread messages. Thus, in some examples, determination module  850  determines whether a length (e.g., number of words, length of audio) of a previous notification is below a threshold length. In some examples, if the length is determined to be below the threshold length, determination module  850  determines whether to provide the previous notification output according to the techniques discussed herein. 
     As another example, providing a previous notification output may be desirable to provide context for a current notification output. For example, if a previous message from a sender says “Let&#39;s get dinner,” and a current message from the same sender says “at an Italian restaurant,” it may be desirable to output both messages. Thus, in some examples, determination module  850  determines whether a previous notification is relevant to a current notification. In some examples, if a previous notification is determined to be relevant to a current notification, determination module  850  determines whether to provide the previous notification output according to the techniques discussed herein. 
     Exemplary factors used to determine whether a previous notification is relevant to a current notification include the senders of the notifications (e.g., whether the notifications are from the same sender), the times of the notifications (e.g., whether the notifications are received within a short time period), the contents of the notifications (e.g., whether the notifications relate to a same subject), whether the previous notification has been output (e.g., already read), and the like. For example, determination module  850  determines that the text message “at an Italian restaurant” is relevant to the previous text message “Let&#39;s get dinner” because the messages are from a same sender, the messages are received within a short time period (e.g., 1 minute), and/or the messages relate to the subject of dining. Thus, if the previous notification output (“let&#39;s get dinner”) is initially not provided, the previous notification output can be later provided with a current notification output (“at an Italian restaurant”). For example, after receiving the message “at an Italian restaurant,” a user is determined to be not speaking, and both the notification outputs “let&#39;s get dinner” and “at an Italian restaurant” are sequentially provided. 
     In some examples, in accordance with a determination that a user is not speaking, notifications module  830  causes a notification output to be provided. In some examples, causing a notification output to be provided includes providing the output with a speaker of an electronic device (e.g., device  810  provides the output with a speaker). In some examples, causing a notification output to be provided includes causing an external electronic device to provide the output (e.g., notifications module  830  causes device  810  to provide the output). In some examples, the output includes an audio output, displayed output (e.g., textual output), haptic output, or a combination thereof. In some examples, a notification output includes a content (e.g., textual content, audio content, video content) of the notification. In some examples, a notification output does not include a content of the notification, but rather includes an audio, haptic, and/or visual alert of the notification (e.g., a chime, vibration, and/or displayed icon). 
     In  FIG.  8 A , the user is determined to be not speaking. Specifically, during a 7 second time window after the text message was received, a 2 second duration of no user speech is determined. During that duration, device  810  provides the audio output “Mom says ‘where are you?’” 
     In some examples, in accordance with a determination that a user is speaking, notifications module  830  forgoes causing a notification output to be provided (e.g., an output including the content of the notification). In some examples, in accordance with a determining that a user is speaking, notifications module  830  causes a second output associated with the notification to be provided (e.g., at device  810 ). In some examples, the second output is shorter in duration than the output that would be provided if the user were not speaking. For example, an output provided for a currently speaking user includes a short sound, such as a chime, whistle, or bell noise. In contrast, an output provided for a currently non-speaking user includes the entire content (e.g., textual and/or audio content) of a notification, for instance. In this manner, notification outputs can be appropriately adapted based on whether a user is speaking. 
       FIG.  8 C  shows an electronic device providing an output associated with a notification when a user of the device is speaking, according to some examples. Specifically, in  FIG.  8 C , device  800  receives a text message from the user&#39;s mom. Device  800  sends an indication of the received notification to device  810  and, in response, device  810  samples data streams from a microphone and a vibration sensor for a 7 second time window. It is determined based on the data streams that the user is speaking during the time window (e.g., no 2 second pause in user speech within the 7 second window). Thus, device  810  forgoes outputting the content of the text message while the user is speaking. Rather, as shown, device  810  provides a short “ding” sound to alert the user of the text message. 
     In some examples, notifications module  830  causes a notification output to be provided for a maximum duration (e.g., 10, 20, or 30 seconds). In some examples, after the maximum duration has elapsed, notifications module  830  terminates the provision of the notification output. This may prevent device  810  from providing notification outputs for undesirably long durations. For example, if device  800  receives a message including the text of an entire novel, device  810  does not provide audio output of the entire novel. 
     In some examples, while notifications module  830  causes a current notification output to be provided (e.g., while device  810  provides the notification output), notifications module  830  receives an indication of a second (e.g., subsequent) notification. For example, while device  810  outputs “mom says ‘where are you?’”, device  800  receives a subsequent notification, a text message from Carly asking “what&#39;s for dinner?”. In some examples, in accordance with receiving an indication of a subsequent notification, notifications module  830  causes an output associated with the subsequent notification (subsequent notification output) to be provided after providing the current notification output. For example, device  810  provides the spoken output of “Carly says ‘what&#39;s for dinner?”’ after providing the spoken output of “mom says ‘where are you?’”. 
     In some examples, causing a subsequent notification output to be provided is performed without determining whether the user is speaking. In other examples, causing a subsequent notification output to be provided is performed in accordance with determining that the user is not speaking. In some examples, only a predetermined number (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5) of subsequent notification outputs are provided and/or subsequent notification outputs are only provided for a predetermined duration (e.g., 10, 20, or 30 seconds). This may prevent device  810  from providing notification outputs for an undesirably long duration (e.g., if the user of device  810  is a member of a particularly active group chat). 
     In some examples, notifications module  830  determines whether a user has already been alerted of a notification. In some examples, in accordance with determining that a user has already been alerted of the notification, notifications module  830  forgoes causing an output associated with the notification to be provided (e.g., at device  810 ). For example, notifications module  830  does not cause sensor module  840  and/or determination module  850  to obtain data stream(s) and determine whether a user is speaking. In this manner, the same notification may not be repeatedly provided. 
     In some examples, determining whether a user has already been alerted of a notification includes determining that an external electronic device has provided an output associated with the notification. For example, notifications module  830  determines that a computer (external to devices  800  and  810 ) has already provided the text message “where are you?” (e.g., via a display). In some examples, in accordance with determining that an external electronic device has provided an output associated with the notification, notifications module  830  forgoes causing further outputs associated with the notification to be provided. For example, notifications module  830  does not cause device  810  to output “mom says ‘where are you?’”. 
     In some examples, determining whether a user has already been alerted of a notification includes determining that the user has interacted with the notification at an electronic device. In some examples, determining that a user has interacted with the notification includes determining that the user has selected the notification (e.g., selected a message), listened to the notification (e.g., listened to a voice mail), deleted the notification, replied to the notification, viewed the notification (e.g., was looking at and/or touching device  800  when the notification was received), and the like. For example, notifications module  830  determines that the user has already selected the text message “where are you?” on device  800 . In some examples, in accordance with determining that the user has interacted with a notification, notifications module  830  forgoes causing an output associated with the notification to be provided. 
     Returning to  FIG.  8 B , system  820  further includes termination module  860 . Termination module  860  is configured to terminate (e.g., cease) the provision of notification outputs responsive to various user inputs. Thus, users may quickly terminate unwanted notification outputs at device  810  according to the techniques discussed below. 
     In some examples, while device  810  provides a notification output, termination module  860  (e.g., implemented on device  810 ) detects a speech input. In some examples, detecting a speech input includes determining that a user is speaking according to the techniques discussed herein. In some examples, in response to detecting a speech input, termination module  860  causes device  810  to cease providing notification output. In this manner, a user may quickly stop unwanted notification outputs by speaking to device  810 . 
     In some examples, while device  810  provides a notification output, termination module  860  detects a signal indicating device removal. For example, accelerometer(s) of device  810  detect a signal indicating removal of device  810  from a user&#39;s ear and sends the signal to termination module  860 . In some examples, in response to detecting such signal, termination module  860  causes device  810  to cease providing notification output. In this manner, a user may quickly stop unwanted notification outputs by removing device  810  from the user&#39;s ear (or another position occupied by device  810 ). 
     In some examples, while device  810  provides an output associated with a notification, termination module  860  detects a predetermined gesture performed at the device. Exemplary predetermined gestures include a tap gesture, a double-tap gesture, a single finger swipe gesture, a double finger swipe gesture, and the like. In some examples, termination module  860  detects such gestures using pressure sensor(s), touch sensor(s), and/or accelerometer(s) included in device  810 . In some examples, in response to detecting a predetermined gesture, termination module  860  causes device  810  to cease providing notification output. In this manner, a user may quickly stop unwanted notification outputs by performing a gesture (e.g., a double tap) at device  810 . 
     As discussed, one aspect of the present disclosure relates to determining whether to provide a notification output by determining whether a user is speaking. However, whether a user is speaking may be only one of many factors considered when determining whether to provide a notification output. For example, determining whether to provide a notification output may be alternatively or additionally based on a determined importance of the notification (e.g., its urgency) and/or a determined timeliness of the notification (e.g., whether it is currently a good time to provide the notification output), as discussed below. 
     In some examples, determination module  850  includes notifications model  854 . In some examples, notifications model  854  is configured to determine an importance of a notification and/or a timeliness of a notification according to the techniques discussed below. In some examples, notifications model  854  includes one or more neural networks (e.g., recurrent neural networks (RNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNS), and the like) and/or other machine learned models trained to determine the importance and/or timeliness of notifications. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  determines an importance score of a notification that represents the notification&#39;s importance. In some examples, notifications model  854  determines an importance score of a notification based on context information associated with the notification (notification context). Exemplary notification context includes the sender of the notification, whether the user has previously received notifications from the sender, previous user responses to notifications from the sender, the time of the notification, the content of the notification, the relevance of the notification to a previous notification, the length of the notification, the type of the notification (e.g., text message, email, application notification), the relevance of the notification to a user&#39;s current context, user notification settings, and the like. In some examples, notifications model  854  determines such context information and uses such context information (or a combination of such context information) to determine and/or adjust an importance score of a notification. 
     For example, if notifications model  854  determines that the sender of a notification is a user favorite contact (e.g., the user&#39;s mom), an importance score of the notification is increased (e.g., above a threshold). As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that the sender of a notification is not a user favorite contact (e.g., an unknown source, a user blocked spam email provider, etc.), an importance score of the notification is decreased (e.g., below a threshold). As another example, notifications model  854  performs content and/or sentiment analysis on the content of a notification to determine an importance score of the notification. For example, if sentiment and/or content analysis indicates that a notification is urgent (e.g., includes terms like “now,” “important,” “urgent,” etc.), an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a notification is relevant to a previous notification (e.g., the notifications relate to a same subject and/or are from a same sender), an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a length of a notification is short (e.g., below a threshold number of words, less than a threshold time), an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a type of the notification is a predetermined type (e.g., text message), an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a type of the notification is not a predetermined type (e.g., an email, application notification), an importance score of the notification is decreased. 
     As another example, notifications model  854  performs content analysis on a notification to determine whether the notification is relevant to a user&#39;s current context (e.g., current location, current activity being performed, and the like). For example, if a user&#39;s current context indicates that he or she is waiting for a flight (e.g., as determined by user location and/or calendar data) and a notification is determined to be relevant to the flight (e.g., includes a flight gate change information) an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if a user&#39;s current context indicates that he or she is in a workout session (e.g., as determined based on a workout application being initiated), and the notification is determined to be relevant to the workout (e.g., includes information relating to calories burned), an importance score of the notification is increased. As another example, if a user notification setting indicates a preference for a certain type of notification (e.g., text messages), importance scores of those types of notifications are increased. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  determines whether an importance score for a notification exceeds (or does not exceed) one or more thresholds. For example, an importance score below a lower threshold (low importance score) indicates that the corresponding notification is not important and an importance score above an upper threshold (high importance score) indicates that the corresponding notification is important. In some examples, notifications model  854  causes notifications module  830  to provide an output associated with a notification in accordance with determining that an importance score of the notification exceeds a threshold. For example, in  FIG.  8 A , the text message from the user&#39;s mom asking “where are you?” is determined to have a high importance score because (1) the user&#39;s mom is a user favorite contact and/or (2) the user has previously received notifications from his mom. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  determines a timeliness score of a notification that represents the notification&#39;s timeliness. In some examples, notifications model  854  determines a timeliness score of a notification based on context information associated with the a user (user context). Exemplary user context includes a location of a user, a user notification setting, a device setting (e.g. low power mode, do not disturb mode), a rate of travel of a user, a current activity the user is engaged in (e.g., driving, turning while driving, in a meeting, in a workout session, listening to music, watching a movie), a state of the user (e.g., sleeping, awake), how recently a user terminated provided notification outputs (as discussed above), whether a user is speaking (as discussed above), whether another device has provided a notification output, whether a user is in a conversation, and the like. In some examples, notifications model  854  determines such context information and uses such context information (or a combination of such context information) to determine and/or adjust a timeliness score of a notification. 
     For example, if notifications model  854  determines that device  800  is in a do not disturb mode, a timeliness score of a notification is decreased (e.g., below a threshold). As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a user is currently engaged in a first set of predetermined activities (e.g., in a meeting as determined from calendar data, in a workout session as determined from a workout application being initiated), a timeliness score of a notification is decreased. As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a user is currently engaged in a second set of predetermined activities (e.g., listening to music) a timeliness score of a notification is increased (e.g., above a threshold). As another example, if it is determined that a user recently (e.g., a predetermined duration ago) terminated a previous notification output, a timeliness score of a notification is decreased. As another example, if it is determined that a user is speaking (as discussed above), a timeliness score of a notification is decreased. As another example, if it is determined that the user is not speaking, a timeliness score of a notification is increased. 
     As another example, notifications model  854  collects and analyzes information from one or more sensors of sensor module  840  and determines whether the information indicates that the user is in a conversation. For example, notifications model  854  determines the times during which a user is or is not speaking according to the above discussed techniques and determines whether the times are consistent with user conversation (e.g., a time duration having alternating periods of user speech and no user speech). As another example, notifications model  854  determines whether a direction of sound is directed towards a user, whether the sound includes human speech, and/or a proximity of a source of the sound. In some examples, notifications model  854  collects and analyzes the information before, during, or after a notification is received (e.g., for a predetermined duration) or regardless of whether a notification is received (e.g., continuously collects the information). In some examples, if the information indicates that the user is in conversation, a timeliness score of a notification is increased. In some examples, if the information indicates that the user is not in conversation, a timeliness score of a notification is decreased. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  determines whether a timeliness score of a notification exceeds (or does not exceed) one or more thresholds. For example, a timeliness score below a lower threshold (low timeliness score) indicates that the corresponding notification is not timely and a timeliness score above an upper threshold (high timeliness score) indicates that the corresponding notification is timely. In some examples, notifications model  854  causes notifications module  830  to provide an output associated with a notification in accordance with determining that a timeliness score of the notification exceeds a threshold. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  determines a relevance score of a notification based on a timeliness score of the notification and/or an importance score of the notification. Thus, in some examples, notifications model  854  combines determined importance and timeliness scores of a notification to determine an aggregate relevance score indicating whether a notification should be provided (e.g., indicating a notification&#39;s current relevance). For example, a relevance score above a threshold (high relevance score) indicates that a corresponding notification output should be provided, while a relevance score below a threshold (low relevance score) indicates that a corresponding notification output should not be provided. Thus, in some examples, notifications model  854  causes notifications module  830  to provide an output associated with a notification in accordance with determining that a relevance score of the notification exceeds a threshold. Determining a relevance score based on both importance and timeliness scores may improve determination of when to provide notification outputs. For example, an undesirable notification from a spam provider may be determined as timely (e.g., the user is not in a meeting) but not important. Thus, a relevance score of the undesirable notification is determined to be low, so an output of the spam message is not provided. 
     In some examples, notifications model  854  includes training module  856 . Training module  856  is configured to train notifications model  854  to determine whether a notification is important, timely, and/or relevant (e.g., to determine importance, timeliness, and/or relevance scores). In some examples, training module  856  trains notification model  854  using data obtained from many users. In some examples, such data indicates appropriate (and/or inappropriate) user contexts to provide notification outputs. For example, such data indicates that users generally do not want notification outputs while in a meeting and/or generally want notification outputs while listening to music. Accordingly, training notification model  854  using data obtained from many users allows improved determination of scores (e.g., importance scores, timeliness scores, relevance scores) of notifications. For example, notification model  854  is trained to determine a high timeliness score of a notification when it is determined that a user is listening to music (e.g., because the training data indicates that most users want notification outputs while listening to music). 
     In some examples, training module  856  trains notification model  854  using data obtained for a particular user (e.g., the user of device&#39;s  800  and  810 ). In some examples, such data indicates appropriate (and/or inappropriate) user contexts to provide notification outputs for a particular user. Accordingly, training notification model  854  using such data allows personalized determination of whether to provide a notification output. For example, if such data indicates that the user of device  800  does not want to notification outputs while listening to music, notification model  854  is trained to determine a low timeliness score of a notification when it is determined that the user is listening to music. 
     In some examples, training module  856  collects user engagement and data trains notification model  854  using the data. User engagement data includes data relating to user interaction with a notification (and/or notification output) at devices  800  and/or  810 . For example, user engagement data indicates whether a user has interacted with a notification (e.g., replied to a notification, deleted a notification, dismissed a notification) and/or whether a user has terminated a notification output. Training notifications model  854  using user engagement data may improve determination of whether to provide a notification output for a particular user. 
     For example, suppose notifications model  854  determines based on context information that a notification output should not be provided (e.g., determines a low relevance score of the notification). However, user engagement data collected by training module  856  indicates that the user interacted with the notification (e.g., replied to it). This may indicate that notifications model  854  should have determined to provide the notification output based on the context information (e.g., should have determined a high relevance score). Thus, based on such user engagement data, notifications model  854  is trained to determine high relevance scores of subsequent notifications associated with contexts matching (or similar to) the context. In this manner, device  810  can provide notification outputs for desirable subsequent notifications. 
     As another example, suppose notifications model  854  determines based on context information that a notification output should be provided (e.g., determines a high relevance score for the notification). Device  810  thus provides the notification output. However, user engagement data collected by training module  856  indicates that while device  810  provided the notification output, the user terminated the notification output. This may indicate that notifications model  854  should have not determined to provide the notification output based on the context information (e.g., should have determined a low relevance score). Thus, based on such user engagement data, notifications model  854  is trained to determine low relevance scores of subsequent notifications associated with contexts matching (or similar to) the context. In this manner, device  810  may not provide notification outputs for undesirable subsequent notifications. 
     In some examples, a score of a notification (e.g., importance score, timeliness score, relevance score) affects whether it is determined that a user is speaking. For example, when notifications module  830  receives an indication of a notification, notifications model  854  determines a score of the notification. In some examples, in accordance with determining that a score of a notification is below a threshold, it is not determined whether a user is speaking. For example, sensor module  840  does not obtain data stream(s) and determination module  850  does not determine whether the data stream(s) indicate user speech. In some examples, in accordance with determining that a score of a notification is above a threshold, it is determined whether a user is speaking, as discussed above. In this manner, in some examples, only highly relevant notifications cause devices  800  and/or  810  to obtain data streams to determine whether a user is speaking (and thus whether to provide a notification output). 
     In some examples, a score of a notification affects how it is determined whether a user is speaking. For example, a time window for which a data stream is obtained is based on a determined relevance score of a notification. For example, sensor module  840  adjusts the time window based on a determined relevance score for a notification. For example, sensor module  840  extends the time window if a relevance score of a notification is high (e.g., compared to if the relevance score were not high). This extends the time window during which highly relevant notification outputs can be provided, which in turn may increase the chance of providing such notification outputs. As another example, the predetermined duration used to determine that a user is not speaking is based on a determined relevance score for a notification. For example, determination module  850  adjusts the predetermined duration based on a relevance score of a notification. For example, determination module  850  decreases the predetermined duration if a relevance score of the notification is high (e.g., compared to if the relevance score were not high). In this manner, highly relevant notification outputs may be provided during shorter pauses in user speech, increasing the chance of providing such outputs. 
     In some examples, a score of a notification affects how a notification output is provided. For example, a notification output can be provided with different volumes, different speeds, different tones, different colors, different fonts, different sizes, different versions (e.g., a shorter version including only the source of the notification and/or only the first sentence of the notification), and the like. For example, if a score of a notification is determined to be high, notifications module  830  causes the notification output to be provided with a higher volume and/or causes the entire content of the notification to be provided. As another example, if a score of a notification is determined to be low, notifications module  830  causes the notification output to be provided with a lower volume and/or causes a shorter version of the notification output to be provided (e.g., provides only the name of the sender). 
     In some examples, a score of a notification affects when a notification output is provided. For example, if an importance score of a notification is high, but a current timeliness score of the notification is low, notifications module  830  waits until the timeliness score is high to provide the notification output. In this manner, notifications module  830  can wait for appropriate times to provide important notification outputs. For example, if a user is currently in a meeting and receives an important notification, notifications model  854  determines that a timeless score of the notification is low. However, after the user is done with the meeting, notifications model  854  determines that the timeliness score is now high. Notifications module  830  thus causes the notification output to be provided after the meeting. As another example, if a user is currently speaking and receives an important notification, notifications model  854  determines that a timeliness score of the notification is low (e.g., because the user is speaking). However, when the user is not speaking, notifications model  854  determines that the timeliness score is now high. Notifications module  830  thus causes the notification output to the provided when the user is done speaking. 
     5. Responding to Spoken Notifications 
       FIG.  9 A  shows a flow diagram of a process for responding to spoken notifications, according to some examples. In  FIG.  9 A , devices  810 ,  800 , and digital assistant (DA) server  900  interact to respond to spoken notifications. In some examples, DA server  900  is implemented using digital assistant server  106  discussed above with respect to  FIG.  1   . In some examples, devices  810  and  800  are client devices and communicate with DA server  900  and/or each other though one or more networks, e.g., as shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     Although some processes below are described as being performed by particular devices (e.g., devices  800 ,  810 ,  900 ), such processes can be performed at other devices and can be performed at more than one device (e.g., at devices  800  and  900 ). Further, the processes below may be performed by any system or device, or component thereof, described herein, including but not limited to device  800 , device  810 , DA server  900 , and/or system  820 . 
     In some examples, an output associated with a received notification (notification output) is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). For example, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , device  810  provides a notification output (e.g., with a device speaker). In some examples, device  800  causes device  810  to provide a notification output. 
       FIG.  9 B  shows device  810  providing a notification output, according to some examples. Specifically, in  FIG.  9 B , device  800  (e.g., a user&#39;s phone) receives a text message from the user&#39;s mom asking “where are you?” Device  800  causes device  810  to provide the audio output “Mom says ‘where are you?’” according to the above discussed techniques. 
     Returning to  FIG.  9 A , in some examples, after a notification output is provided, one or more data streams from one or more sensors are obtained (e.g., by sensor module  840 ). For example, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , device  810  obtains data stream(s) from sensor(s) included in device  810 . In some examples, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , device  810  sends (e.g., streams) the data stream(s) to device  800  and device  800  obtains the data stream(s). 
     In some examples, at least a portion of the data stream(s) include data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with a notification. Obtaining data stream(s) can thus allow a user to respond to a notification output. For example, when the notification output is “Mom says ‘where are you?’”, data representing the received speech input “reply I&#39;m at home” may be obtained. The speech input may then be processed to perform the task of replying to the user&#39;s mom. 
       FIG.  9 C  shows a user responding to a notification output, according to some examples. Specifically, in  FIG.  9 C , the user provides the speech input “reply I&#39;m at home” after device  810  provides the audio output “Mom says ‘where are you?’” Device  810  obtains data stream(s) including data representing the speech input. 
     In some examples, a speech input does not include a trigger phrase for initiating a digital assistant (e.g., “Wake up,” “Hey Siri,” “Hey Assistant,” and the like). In this manner, a user may efficiently respond to a notification output without needing to initiate a digital assistant with a trigger phrase. 
     In some examples, obtaining data streams includes concurrently obtaining the data streams for a predetermined duration. The predetermined duration can thus represent a time window during which device  810  listens for speech input responding to a notification output. For example, if no user speech is detected during the time window, device  810  ceases listening for speech input (e.g., ceases obtaining data stream(s)). 
     In some examples, sensor module  840  adjusts the time window based on a notification. For example, if a score (e.g., relevance score) of the notification is determined to be high (e.g., by notifications model  854 ), sensor module  840  extends the time window (e.g., compared to if the score was not high). This may advantageously extend the time window during which users may respond to relevant notifications (e.g., because users may wish to respond to relevant notifications). As another example, if notifications model  854  determines that a length of a notification is above a threshold (e.g., the notification includes greater than a threshold number of words), sensor module  840  extends the time window. This may extend the time window during which users may respond to long notifications (e.g., because users may take longer to respond to long notifications). 
     In some examples, it is determined, based on obtained data stream(s), whether a user associated with an electronic device (e.g., devices  800  and  810 ) is speaking (e.g., by determination module  850 ). Determining whether a user is speaking is performed according to any of the techniques discussed above with respect to  FIGS.  8 A- 8 C . For example, determining whether a user is speaking includes determining whether a data stream obtained from a vibration sensor (e.g., bone conduction microphone) indicates user speech for a predetermined duration (e.g., 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 seconds). As shown in  FIG.  9 A , in some examples, device  800  determines whether a user is speaking based on data stream(s) obtained from device  810 . In other examples, device  810  determines whether a user is speaking (e.g., determination module  850  is implemented at least partially on device  810 ). In the example of  FIG.  9 C , it is determined that the user is speaking based on the speech input “reply I&#39;m at home.” 
     In some examples, in accordance with a determination that a user is speaking, at least a portion of obtained data stream(s) are provided to an external electronic device. In some examples, the external electronic device is external to the device that determined that the user is speaking. In some examples, the portion includes a data stream obtained from a speech sensor (e.g., microphone). In some examples, the portion includes data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with a notification (e.g., “reply I&#39;m home”). Exemplary tasks associated with a notification include replying to a notification, forwarding a notification, deleting a notification, flagging a notification as important, calling a sender of the notification, repeating the notification, marking a notification as read/unread, retrieving information about the notification (e.g., the sender, time), and the like. 
     In some examples, the external electronic device is DA server  900 . For example, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , device  800  provides data representing a received speech input (e.g., received from device  810 ) to DA server  900  (e.g., via one or more networks, as shown in  FIG.  1   ). DA server  900  thus receives the data from device  800 . In some examples, the external electronic device is device  800 . For example, device  810  provides data representing a received speech input to device  800  and device  800  receives the data. In some examples, device  800  further sends the data to a second external electronic device (e.g., DA server  900 ). 
     Providing data representing a received speech input to an external electronic device allows the speech input to be processed to initiate a task associated with a notification. For example, as discussed below, device  800  and/or DA server  900  processes the speech input “reply I&#39;m at home” to initiate the task of replying to the user&#39;s mom. Further, providing such data in accordance with a determination that a user is speaking may prevent audio data (e.g., background speech) obtained by user devices  800  and/or  810  from being sent to other devices (e.g., DA server  900 ) when a user is not speaking. Operating user devices  800  and/or  810  in this manner may improve user privacy, as audio data obtained at user devices may not be automatically sent to other devices. Rather, the audio data may only be sent when they indicate user speech (e.g., that requests performance of a task associated with a notification output). 
     In some examples, in accordance with a determination that a user is not speaking, providing data stream(s) to an external electronic device is forgone. In some examples, determining that a user is not speaking includes determining that data stream(s) indicate no user speech for a predetermined duration (e.g., the time window during which device  810  listens for speech input responding to a notification output), according to the above discussed techniques. In some examples, in accordance with a determination that a user is not speaking, data stream(s) are discarded (e.g., by device  800  and/or  810 ). Operating devices  800  and/or  810  in this manner may improve user privacy. Specifically, as discussed, audio data obtained at user devices  800  and/or  810  may only be sent to other devices when the data indicate user speech. The audio data may be discarded if the data do not indicate user speech. 
     In some examples, it is determined whether a speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with a notification. In some examples, such determination includes determining an intent based on the speech input and determining whether the intent is an intent to perform an action associated with a notification. In some examples, the intent(s) to perform an action associated with a notification are predetermined based on a type and/or content of the notification. For example, a message notification (e.g., text message, instant message, email) has corresponding intents of replying to the notification, forwarding the notification, deleting the notification, flagging the notification as important, calling a sender of the notification, repeating the notification, marking the notification as read/unread, retrieving information about the notification (e.g., the sender, time), and the like. However, the intents of retrieving weather information and performing a web search, for instance, are not intents corresponding to a message notification. As another example, a weather notification (e.g., provided by a weather application) has a corresponding intent of retrieving further weather information (e.g., associated with the speech input “what&#39;s the weather like there Thursday?”). However, the intent of replying to a message is not an intent corresponding to a weather notification. In the example of  FIG.  9 C , it is determined that the speech input “reply ‘I&#39;m at home’” is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the message notification “where are you?” 
     In some examples, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , DA server  900  determines whether a speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with a notification (e.g., using natural language processing module  732 ). In other examples, device  800  and/or  810  determines whether a speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with a notification (e.g., using natural language processing module  732  implemented on device  800  and/or  810 ). 
     In some examples, in accordance with determining that a speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with a notification, a task is initiated. In some examples, initiating a task includes performing the task (e.g., replying “I&#39;m home” to the user&#39;s mom). In some examples, the task is initiated based on a determined intent (e.g., determined based on the speech input). For example, a task of replying to the text message asking “where are you?” is initiated based on the determined intent of replying to a notification. In some examples, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , DA server  900  initiates the task (e.g., using task flow processing module  736 ). In other examples, device  800  and/or  810  initiates the task (e.g., using task flow processing module  736  implemented on device  800  and/or  810 ). 
     Initiating a task in this manner can allow only tasks relevant to provided notification outputs to be initiated. For example, suppose the user in  FIG.  9 C  asks “what&#39;s the weather like?” to a friend after device  810  provides the notification output “mom says ‘where are you?’” The speech input “what&#39;s the weather like?” is intended for the user&#39;s friend, not a digital assistant. Although the speech input may still be processed to determine an intent, the determined intent (e.g., getting weather information) is not an intent to perform an action associated with the notification output. Thus, no task based on the intent is initiated, and no results based on the task are provided to the user. For example, device  810  does not undesirably output “it&#39;s 45 degrees and raining” responsive to the user asking “what&#39;s the weather like?” to a friend. 
     In some examples, an indication that a task has been initiated is received. In some examples, device  800  receives an indication that a task has been initiated from DA server  900 . For example, DA server  900  generates an indication that a task has been initiated (e.g., instructions to perform a task, such as replying to a text message). In some examples, as shown in  FIG.  9 A , DA server  900  sends an indication that a task has been initiated to device  800 . In some examples, device  800  performs a task based on the indication (e.g., replies to the text message) and generates a response based on performing the task (e.g., “ok, I replied ‘I&#39;m at home’”), according to the techniques discussed with respect to  FIGS.  7 A- 7 C . 
     In some examples, device  810  receives an indication that a task has been initiated from device  800 . For example, DA server  900  generates a result based on an initiation of the task. In some examples, DA server  900  sends the result to device  800 . For example, DA server  900  generates instructions to reply to a text message and sends the result to device  800 . In some examples, device  800  uses the result to generate an indication that a task has been initiated. For example, device  800  executes the instructions to reply to the text message and generates an indication that device  800  has replied to the text message (e.g., the response “ok I replied I&#39;m at home”). In some examples, device  800  sends an indication that the task has been initiated to device  810 . 
     In some examples, an output based on a received indication that a task has been initiated is caused to be provided. In some examples, an output based on a received indication includes an audio output, textual output, and/or haptic output indicating that a task has been initiated. For example, when device  800  receives the indication from DA server  900 , device  800  causes device  810  to provide an output based on the received indication, as shown in  FIG.  9 A . For example, device  800  causes device  810  to provide a response generated based on performing a task. 
       FIG.  9 D  shows device  810  providing an audio output indicating that a task has been initiated, according to some examples. Specifically, consistent with the above-described techniques, device  810  provides the audio output “ok I replied ‘I&#39;m at home’” after the user says “reply I&#39;m at home” in  FIG.  9 C . 
     In some examples, when device  810  receives an indication that a task has been initiated from device  800 , device  810  causes an output based on the received indication to be provided. For example, in  FIG.  9 D , device  810  provides an output (e.g., “ok I replied I&#39;m at home”) with a speaker of the device. 
     6. Process for Providing Notifications 
       FIGS.  10 A- 10 E  illustrate process  1000  for providing notifications, according to various examples. Process  1000  is performed, for example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, process  1000  is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system  100 ), and the blocks of process  1000  are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA server  106 ) and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of process  1000  are divided up between the server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portions of process  1000  are described herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server system, it will be appreciated that process  1000  is not so limited. In other examples, process  1000  is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device  104 ) or only multiple client devices. In process  1000 , some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in combination with the process  1000 . 
     At block  1002 , an indication of a notification is received (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). In some examples, receiving the indication of the notification includes receiving the indication from an external electronic device, the notification being received at the external electronic device, as shown in block  1004 . In some examples, receiving the indication of the notification includes receiving the notification at an electronic device, as shown in block  1006 . 
     At block  1008 , in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification: one or more data streams from one or more sensors are obtained (e.g., by sensor module  840 ). In some examples, obtaining the one or more data streams includes concurrently obtaining the one or more data streams for a predetermined duration, as shown in block  1010 . In some examples, the predetermined duration is based on a determined relevance score of the notification. In some examples, the electronic device includes the one or more sensors. In some examples, the electronic device comprises a headset. In some examples, obtaining the one or more data streams includes obtaining the one or more data streams from an external electronic device including the one or more sensors, as shown in block  1012 . In some examples, the one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor. In some examples, the one or more data streams include a first data stream obtained from the microphone and a second data stream obtained from the vibration sensor. 
     At block  1014 , it is determined, based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking (e.g., by determination module  850 ). In some examples, determining that the user is not speaking includes determining, based on the one or more data streams, that the user is not speaking for a second predetermined duration, as shown in block  1016 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1018 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1020 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and in accordance with determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking, determining that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1022 . 
     In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1024 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1026 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, determining that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1028 . In some examples, determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking includes determining that a first portion of the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking. In some examples, determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking includes determining that a second portion of the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking. In some examples, the first portion and the second portion have a same duration. In some examples, the first portion and the second portion are obtained at a same time. 
     In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that the one or more data streams include a third portion indicating that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1030 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes determining that a duration of the third portion is below a threshold duration, as shown in block  1032 . In some examples, determining whether the user associated with the electronic device is speaking includes in accordance with a determination that the duration of the third portion is below the threshold duration, determining that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1034 . 
     At block  1036 , in accordance with a determination that the user is not speaking: an output associated with the notification is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). In some examples, the output associated with the notification includes a content of the notification. In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided includes providing the output with a speaker of the electronic device, as shown in block  1038 . In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided includes causing the external electronic device to provide the output, as shown in block  1040 . 
     In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: causing the output associated with the notification to be provided is forgone (e.g., by notifications module  830 ), as shown in block  1042 . In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: a second output associated with the notification is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ), the second output being shorter in duration than the first output, as shown in block  1044 . 
     In some examples, while providing the output, a speech input is detected (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1046 . In some examples, in response to detecting the speech input, the output is terminated (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1048 . 
     In some examples, while providing the output, a signal indicative of device removal is detected (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1050 . In some examples, in response to detecting the signal indicative of device removal, the output is terminated (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1052 . 
     In some examples, while providing the output, a predetermined gesture performed at the electronic device is detected (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1054 . In some examples, in response to detecting the predetermined gesture performed at the electronic device, the output is terminated (e.g., by termination module  860 ), as shown in block  1056 . 
     In some examples, while causing the output associated with the notification to be provided, an indication of a second notification is received (e.g., by notifications module  830 ), as shown in block  1058 . In some examples, in accordance with receiving the indication of the second notification: an output associated with the second notification is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ) after the output associated with the notification is provided, as shown in block  1060 . 
     In some examples, it is determined whether a second external electronic device has provided a second output associated with the notification (e.g., by determination module  850 ), as shown in block  1062 . In some examples, in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has provided the second output associated with the notification: causing the output associated with the notification to be provided is forgone, as shown in block  1064 . In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided is performed in accordance with determining that the second external electronic device has not provided the second output associated with the notification. 
     In some examples, an importance score of the notification based on context information associated with the notification is determined (e.g., by notifications model  854 ), as shown in block  1066 . In some examples, it is determined whether the importance score exceeds a first threshold (e.g., by notifications model  854 ), as shown in block  1068 . In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided is performed in accordance with determining that the importance score exceeds the first threshold. 
     In some examples, a timeliness score of the notification based on context information associated with the user is determined (e.g., by notifications model  854 ), as shown in block  1070 . In some examples, it is determined whether the timeliness score exceeds a second threshold (e.g., by notifications model  854 ), as shown in block  1072 . In some examples, causing the output associated with the notification to be provided is performed in accordance with determining that the timeliness score exceeds the second threshold. 
     The operations described above with reference to  FIGS.  10 A- 10 E  are optionally implemented by components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . For example, the operations of process  1000  may be implemented by system  820 , device  800 , device  810 , and/or DA server  900 , or any component thereof. It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . 
     7. Process for Responding to Notifications 
       FIGS.  11 A- 11 D  illustrate process  1100  for responding to notifications, according to various examples. Process  1100  is performed, for example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, process  1100  is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system  100 ), and the blocks of process  1100  are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA server  106 ) and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of process  1100  are divided up between the server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portions of process  1100  are described herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server system, it will be appreciated that process  1100  is not so limited. In other examples, process  1100  is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device  104 ) or only multiple client devices. In process  1100 , some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in combination with the process  1100 . 
     At block  1102 , a first output associated with a received notification is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). In some examples, causing the first output to be provided includes providing the first output with a speaker of the electronic device (e.g., device  810 ), as shown in block  1104 . In some examples, the electronic device comprises a headset. In some examples, causing the first output to be provided includes causing a second external electronic device (e.g.,  810 ) to provide the first output, as shown in block  1106 . 
     At block  1108 , after the first output is provided: one or more data streams from one or more sensors are obtained (e.g., by sensor module  840 ). In some examples, the one or more sensors include a microphone and a vibration sensor. In some examples, the one or more data streams include a first data stream obtained from the microphone and a second data stream obtained from the vibration sensor. In some examples, the electronic device (e.g.,  810 ) includes the one or more sensors. In some examples, the second external electronic device (e.g.,  810 ) includes the one or more sensors. 
     In some examples, obtaining the one or more data streams includes concurrently obtaining the one or more data streams for a predetermined duration, as shown in block  1110 . In some examples, obtaining the one or more data streams includes obtaining the one or more data streams from the second external electronic device (e.g., device  810 ), as shown in block  1112 . 
     At block  1114 , it is determined based on the one or more data streams, whether a user associated with the electronic device is speaking (e.g., by determination module  850 ). In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes determining whether the second data stream indicates that the user is speaking for a second predetermined duration, as shown in block  1116 . In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes determining that the second data stream includes a portion indicating that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1118 . In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes determining whether a duration of the portion indicating that the user is speaking is below a threshold duration, as shown in block  1120 . In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes in accordance with determining that the duration is below the threshold duration, determining that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1122 . 
     In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking, as shown in block  1124 . In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1126 . In some examples, determining whether the user is speaking includes in accordance with determining that the first data stream indicates that the user is speaking and determining that the second data stream indicates that the user is not speaking, determining that the user is not speaking, as shown in block  1128 . 
     At block  1130 , in accordance with a determination that the user is speaking: at least a portion of the one or more data streams to is provided to an external electronic device (e.g.,  800 ,  900 ), the portion including data representing a received speech input requesting performance of a task associated with the notification. In some examples, the speech input does not include a trigger phrase for initiating a digital assistant. 
     In some examples, at the external electronic device (e.g.,  800 ): the data representing the received speech input requesting performance of the task associated with the notification is received from the electronic device (e.g.,  810 ), as shown in block  1132 . In some examples, at the external electronic device (e.g.,  800 ): the data is sent to a second external electronic device (e.g.,  900 ), as shown in block  1134 . In some examples, at the external electronic device (e.g.,  800 ): in accordance with sending the data to the second external electronic device: a result based on the initiation of the task is received from the second external electronic device, as shown in block  1136 . In some examples, at the external electronic device: in accordance with receiving the result based on the initiation of the task: the indication that the task has been initiated is sent to the electronic device (e.g.,  810 ), as shown in block  1138 . 
     In some examples, at the external electronic device (e.g.,  900 ): the data representing the received speech input requesting performance of the task associated with the notification is received from the electronic device (e.g.,  800 ), as shown in block  1040 . In some examples, at the external electronic device: it is determined whether the speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification, as shown in block  1042 . In some examples, at the external electronic device: in accordance with determining that the speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification: the task is initiated, as shown in block  1144 . In some examples, at the external electronic device: in accordance with determining that the speech input is associated with an intent to perform an action associated with the notification, the indication that the task has been initiated is sent to the electronic device (e.g.,  800 ), as shown in block  1146 . 
     In some examples, in accordance with determining that the user is not speaking: providing the one or more data streams to the external electronic device is forgone, as shown in block  1148 . In some examples, in accordance with determining that the user is not speaking: the one or more data streams are discarded, as shown in block  1150 . 
     At block  1152 , an indication that the task has been initiated is received from the external electronic device (e.g.,  800  or  900 ). 
     At block  1154 , a second output based on the received indication is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). In some examples, causing the second output to be provided includes providing the second output with the speaker of the electronic device (e.g.,  810 ), as shown in block  1156 . In some examples, causing the second output to be provided includes causing the second external electronic device (e.g.,  810 ) to provide the second output, as shown in block  1158 . 
     The operations described above with reference to  FIGS.  11 A- 11 D  are optionally implemented by components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . For example, the operations of process  1100  may be implemented by system  820 , device  800 , device  810 , and/or DA server  900 , or any component thereof. It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . 
     8. Process for Providing Notifications 
       FIG.  12    illustrates process  1200  for providing notifications, according to various examples. Process  1200  is performed, for example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In some examples, process  1200  is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system  100 ), and the blocks of process  1200  are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA server  106 ) and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of process  1200  are divided up between the server and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portions of process  1200  are described herein as being performed by particular devices of a client-server system, it will be appreciated that process  1200  is not so limited. In other examples, process  1200  is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device  104 ) or only multiple client devices. In process  1200 , some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed in combination with the process  1200 . 
     At block  1202 , an indication of a notification is received (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). 
     At block  1204 , in accordance with receiving the indication of the notification, it is determined whether an output associated with the notification would interrupt a user associated with an electronic device (e.g.,  800 ,  810 ) (e.g., by determination module  850 ). In some examples, determining whether the output associated with the notification would interrupt the user includes determining whether the user is speaking, listening, e.g., to media or another person, or otherwise engaged in an activity. In some examples, determining whether the output associated with the notification would interrupt the user includes determining whether the notification is important, timely, and/or relevant. 
     At block  1206 , in accordance with a determination that the output would not interrupt the user, the output is caused to be provided (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). 
     At block  1208 , in accordance with a determination that the output would interrupt the user, causing the output to be provided is forgone (e.g., by notifications module  830 ). 
     The operations described above with reference to  FIG.  12    are optionally implemented by components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . For example, the operations of process  1200  may be implemented by system  820 , device  800 , device  810 , and/or DA server  900 , or any component thereof. It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implemented based on the components depicted in  FIGS.  1 - 4 ,  6 A- 6 B,  7 A- 7 C,  8 A- 8 C, and  9 A- 9 D . 
     In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs including instructions for performing any of the methods or processes described herein. 
     In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that comprises means for performing any of the methods or processes described herein. 
     In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that comprises a processing unit configured to perform any of the methods or processes described herein. 
     In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., a portable electronic device) is provided that comprises one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for performing any of the methods or processes described herein. 
     The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined by the claims. 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of data available from various sources to improve the relevance of notification outputs provided for a user. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records relating to a user&#39;s health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying or personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to provide notification outputs relevant for a particular user. Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user&#39;s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, in the case of collecting context information associated with users (e.g., to improve the determination of whether notifications are relevant), the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation in the collection of personal information data during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In another example, users can select not to provide context information for determination of whether notifications are relevant. In yet another example, users can select to limit the length of time such context information is maintained. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an app that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing such personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, the relevance of a notification can be determined based on non-personal information data (e.g., the content of the notification) or a bare minimum amount of personal information, such as the content being requested by the device associated with a user, other non-personal information available to a model that determines whether notifications are relevant, or publicly available information.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20230519
Publication Date: 20241126
Grant Date: 20241126
Priority Date: 20190506
Inventors: YORK, WILLIAM M.
FISH, Rebecca P.
GUPTA, Gagan A.
HUANG, XINYUAN
NIETO, Heriberto
PHIPPS, BENJAMIN S.
PIERSOL, KURT
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F3/04883", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L2015/088", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/1815", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L2015/223", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L25/78", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L25/78", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/167", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L25/78", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/16", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/033", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/22", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/167", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L2015/223", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L2015/088", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L25/78", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/1815", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04883", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G10L15/222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 73047220