Come iOS 6.1, Siri Will Be Able To Help You Purchase Movie Tickets

Siri got nice little boost a few weeks ago when she (or he, depending on your locale) was updated to handle sports information, restaurant reservations and movie listings, but it seems the virtual assistant’s faculty with films will soon extend beyond just rattling off showtimes. According to a handful of images obtained by 9to5Mac, Siri will be able to help users buy movie tickets once iOS 6.1 hits the streets.

It’s perhaps a no-duh next step for Apple — Siri can already do some of the heavy lifting for coordinating dinners, and adding movies to the list could do wonders for the country’s feckless daters. Sadly, you won’t be able to sweet-talk Siri into actually reserving those tickets for you — as 9to5Mac’s developer sources point out, the ability to purchase those desired tickets is powered by Fandango, whose app will launch to complete the transaction.

9to5Mac’s developer sources didn’t expound on how exactly users would get their hands on the tickets, but it seems like a safe bet that Passbook will be involved at least tangentially. Fandango’s was one of the first apps to be updated with Passbook support after all, and at least a few theater chains have come to embrace the iOS feature as a means of issuing tickets (even though some were quicker on the uptake than others). Of course, not every theater plays by Fandango’s rules, and Siri will apparently give users a heads-up by displaying a small ticket symbol next to listings from compatible theaters.

Despite how neat this whole thing could end up being for users, the real winner here is Fandango and I’m looking forward to seeing just how much this move will affect the company’s bottom line. After all, you can bet that this little Siri tweak is going to get a nod whenever Apple officially pushes iOS 6.1 out, and if nothing else Fandango’s app numbers could see a surge — Siri will apparently prompt users to download the Fandango app if they haven’t already.