Apple Shutting Down Existing Siri App with iPhone 4S Launch

I'm not sure why everyone is so down about the 4S. It really is amazing! Siri looks like it works incredibly well--even better than the app. I'm legitimately excited

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I like that Siri is finally moving on, but dislike them shutting down the original as I am not getting a 4s, at least for a while

Thank god Siri was a free application or I can imagine people would be pissed it shutting down Oct 15th...

I never had this app. Was it free? I'd be kinda mad if I had paid for an app that suddenly ceased to function.

EDIT: Answered above

I'm a little bummed that they're shutting it down, because I, like others am not going to replace my 5 month old iPhone 4 right now. But truthfully, it's worked pretty spotty and buggy since Spring of 2010, and my suspicions as to why were confirmed yesterday: Apple has been developing it inside in preparation for this release, while letting the production app wither on the vine. Oh well. Maybe I'll sell my iPad and give myself a full-priced iPhone 4S for Christmas.

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It makes sense that they would. Protect the biggest selling point of the 4S over the 4.
It's pretty lame, but does make sense.

Apple maintains a number of apps; they could maintain this one too. But if they have to move on some time, at least this was free!

I would say a primary reason is likely that the app is just not as good as the current state of Siri: making it a really bad, misleading, but easy-to-try free demo! People who don’t know better (and even tech bloggers who do) would try that app and use it to judge the 4S feature.

And users of the app would be disappointed when work goes into the built-in feature instead of the app anyway.

I was asking suri random questions and my gf said "suri, find me a prostitute"

it did! LOL... try it

Sure are a lot of hookers in Dallas

Schtumple said:

Thank god Siri was a free application or I can imagine people would be pissed it shutting down Oct 15th...

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You think being free will stop people from being pissed? You're underestimating the innate capacity for indignation from cheapskates

Mr. Chewbacca said:

I was asking suri random questions and my gf said "suri, find me a prostitute"

it did! LOL... try it

Sure are a lot of hookers in Dallas

Click to expand...

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I can't wait until I tell my 4s "pwn android fans on macrumors" and it then proceeds to slice and dice

coder12 said:

I'm not sure why everyone is so down about the 4S. It really is amazing! Siri looks like it works incredibly well--even better than the app. I'm legitimately excited

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What does being upset about the end of the Siri app have to do with being down on the new iPhone? I think that the new iPhone looks fantastic. I love the way that Siri has been implemented in the OS. I really want to have that Siri functionality on my iPad 2 (and why can't I, exactly?). But, failing that, why can't they leave me the old app functionality?

millertime021 said:

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It makes sense that they would. Protect the biggest selling point of the 4S over the 4.
It's pretty lame, but does make sense.

Click to expand...

nagromme said:

...I would say a primary reason is likely that the app is just not as good as the current state of Siri: making it a really bad, misleading, but easy-to-try free demo! People who don’t know better (and even tech bloggers who do) would try that app and use it to judge the 4S feature.

And users of the app would be disappointed when work goes into the built-in feature instead of the app anyway.

Click to expand...

Okay, so protect the feature of the iPhone and protect against the wrong impressions by the uninformed public by removing the app from the store, but why not leave the lower end functionality active for people who already have and use the old app? Really?

Apple could argue (and it would be a weak, weasily argument for them) that the previous service/app uses a back end server to do the voice recognition work and they are no longer continuing that server/backend service in favor of devices that are fast enough to do the work real time on the device.

From that light I could see them asking themselves why they are maintaining infrastructure that competes with/undermines the major feature of their flagship product.

Dissappointed or Dissatisfied? Both!

I will not waste time complaining. I just want to know of an alternative to Siri since I still have over a year before AT&T will allow me to buy another iPhone. I know Google Search is similar but it lacks quite a bit of the good features. Any ideas on an alternative??? Thanx!

litlphoenix said:

I will not waste time complaining. I just want to know of an alternative to Siri since I still have over a year before AT&T will allow me to buy another iPhone. I know Google Search is similar but it lacks quite a bit of the good features. Any ideas on an alternative??? Thanx!

Click to expand...

You can buy a new iPhone anytime you want...

nws0291 said:

You can buy a new iPhone anytime you want...

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Only if I want to pay twice as much for the phone. I do not wish to do so for the Siri feature. It's good but not that good.

I didn't know about that program it would have been ideal for me.

The Siri App replies "I didn't get that..." way too often to be useful. It was more for amusement than anything else. The integrated Siri will have to be a quantum leap better to actually get use.

litlphoenix said:

I will not waste time complaining. I just want to know of an alternative to Siri since I still have over a year before AT&T will allow me to buy another iPhone. I know Google Search is similar but it lacks quite a bit of the good features. Any ideas on an alternative??? Thanx!

Click to expand...

There isn't an alternative to Siri at the moment. There are voice commands, but Siri is tech you can have a conversation with. Both have dictation options, sure, but Siri is far more advanced than anything else out there.

And it'll probably stay that way for a long while. AI is a lot harder to copy than hardware. I doubt anything other than the iPhone will have such capabilities for at least a few years. But, like always, the Android camp will simply crap itself with spec-comparisons [not realizing that iPhone 4S + iOS 5 + A5 is a faster combination than anything else out there because of Apple's integrated optimization], and miss the bigger picture.

haha!

I kinda figured Siri's days were numbered as a free app on the existing hardware. I showed it to my boss yesterday on my iPhone4 and his eyes popped out and quickly downloaded it. Had I only known!

But, the idea of one of the Apple live demo guys doing "Get me a hooker" would have been hilarious, especially if one showed up onstage for afterwards.

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I do think it's a shame that Apple has chosen to pull the app preventing existing users from accessing it. I understand that Apple sees the ideal implementation being only possible with the newest hardware, but anything that assists in using an iOS device by reducing distractions should be encouraged - not just for people who qualify for an upgrade and are able to go and purchase it. I'd glady pay for an app like the prior Siri version that works on some level. I think it's a gross underestimation that iOS users will (en masse) complain that it may not function as seamlessly as it may on an A5 equipped device. There are a vocal minority who complain about everything. They don't, however, represent most users. I'd like to try Siri. In fact, I am eligible to upgrade my 4. I may do so. I might even do it sooner if I had some experience with the most intriguing app the 4s offers. Alas, the app is no longer available for download and its current version will lose support in a week and a half. Not sure that's the best decision, but they forgot to ask me.

Snowy_River said:

I really want to have that Siri functionality on my iPad 2 (and why can't I, exactly?).

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That's a big question - there seems to be no technical reason it wouldn't work on the iPad 2. If they cripple the feature to not work on that hardware, it's taking away a pretty nice selling point from the latest version of one of their biggest selling devices.

So the app that worked on all iPhones will now be replaced by a feature that only runs on the iPhone 4S? Isn't that a bit lame?

baryon said:

So the app that worked on all iPhones will now be replaced by a feature that only runs on the iPhone 4S? Isn't that a bit lame?

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The argument is that the new version is a big improvement over the previous one.