Siri Hacked to Run on an iPod Touch and iPhone 4

[mohsy90]

Looks like that whole marketing strategy to get people to buy the iPhone 4s because of Siri is about to go down the drain. Sure, many will continue to buy the 4S, but millions will be downloading it to their previous generation iPhone the second this hits Cydia.

 

[8CoreWhore]

I suspect 4S Siri is a public beta where Apple is collecting massive data from the users.

Apple did say Siri is in beta -- that would include the entire system running it. To my mind, beta also means limiting the number of people using it.

If by "collecting massive data" you mean the Siri learning process, that may also be true.

 

[arn]

Sorry to debunk this myth - but it's BS.

I've downloaded major upgrades of WinMo on my Samsung phones. And minor bugfix upgrades.

To imply that no smartphones before the Iphone allowed upgrades is complete Apple fan nonsense.

Sorry, I didn't own a WinMo phone, so I wasn't sure of the procedure, but it sounds like it was pretty similar to Android:

Being able to upgrade the OS is dependent on the manufacturer providing such an upgrade package, since each device has to have the basic OS tailored to its hardware. In the case of the Treo, there may well be a WM6 upgrade, since there have been leaked photos of one of the 700s running the new OS. It's not certain, however, and even if it is I don't know when it would be available or whether both the 700w and 700wx would be supported, or just the wx.

And here are instructions appropriately entitled "How To Upgrade To Windows Mobile 6 Without Destroying Your Phone".

It's not in the same league as iPhone updates.

arn

 

[fobfob]

You'd think people would eventually see through these blatant ripoffs where Apple intentionally cripples software updates for capable phones just to bump sales of the latest model.

Umm you have seen the market data haven't you? In case you haven't, it turns out not everyone buys iPhones (!) - and Apple's market share is falling.

Or are you just referring to MR posters?

 

[kalsta]

I suspect 4S Siri is a public beta where Apple is collecting massive data from the users.

There's always little clues in what these guys say on stage and elsewhere - remember, Tim Cook (I think it was) said Siri was beta - I don't think he was just being cute...

There are no ifs or buts folks… 'BETA' is written there for all to see on their website and has been (as far as I know) since day one…

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html

 

[Slurpy2k8]

Looks like that whole marketing strategy to get people to buy the iPhone 4s because of Siri is about to go down the drain. Sure, many will continue to buy the 4S, but millions will be downloading it to their previous generation iPhone the second this hits Cydia.

Uh, no they won't. You really overestimate the percentage of iPhone owners that jailbreak their devices and use Cydia. I know maybe 20 people with iPhones, and only 1 has jailbroken. The vast majority don't bother. I doubt this will affect potential 4S sales in any meaningful way.

 

[iSellMyiPhone]

Very cool! Apple certainly would not allow this to be distributed as it would dissolve one of the key selling points of the iPhone 4S... Siri. It certainly shows that anything is possible with someone who knows what they are doing!

 

[Burger Thing]

Ha Ha. It was expected that the usual suspects will turn this into a anti Trollfest.
So Apple is the only company who pulls marketing tricks, huh?

But I am getting a bit confused here. According to the same deared forum friends Siri was nothing but a gimmick? Now it is the biggest crime not letting the older phones have it?

*looking down now at his Galaxy S2 and wondering if it will see an upgrade to ICS anytime soon*

 

[QuarterSwede]

Uh, no they won't. You really overestimate the percentage of iPhone owners that jailbreak their devices and use Cydia. I know maybe 20 people with iPhones, and only 1 has jailbroken. The vast majority don't bother. I doubt this will affect potential 4S sales in any meaningful way.

Very true. I've jailbroken every iPhone and every iOS from 2 on and the only thing that will get even me to jailbreak iOS 5 is Siri ported and working. iOS 5 is really that good in my opinion, it's just not worth the effort to do unless they're successful in this endeavor.

 

[blackcrayon]

Read this and UNDERSTAND IT. Key words UNDERSTAND IT then get back to me
http://www.androidcentral.com/edito...why-you-shouldn’t-be-distracted-shiny-objects

Add to it that chart is pretty messed up for Apple and needs to be heavily changed. Does the 3G support wannabe multitasking (big feature in iOS4) nope does not. So it really not updated

3GS did not get the extra ring tones in from iOS4 and I know it was locked out of some other features.
Lets not forget the BS siri block on everything other than the iPhone 4s.

Sorry but unless those basic features are added the chart is pretty much bogus.
The link covers the other parts of the problems in trying to make something out of nothing with BS.

So getting an update with some features (3G with iOS 4) or even with MOST features (3GS with iOS 5) is the same as getting no update at all Apple is doing a *much* better job than the Android OEMs of keeping their install base able to run apps with the most up to date APIs and OS features.

The article you're referring to makes some interesting points. Including that low end Android devices "don't deserve updates" to the latest version. Perhaps marketing materials for these devices should include that information up front I think the author is mistaken though if he thinks Siri on the 4S represents "fragmentation" on a level anywhere near an entire OS release, with several major features not to mention hundreds of new APIs, that is not available on the majority of devices until several months after it's released.

 

[314631]

It's interesting that Siri is usable on the iPhone 4 but not the iPod Touch. Now I wonder if the iPad 2 has the same microphone as the iPhone 4 or the Touch? Journalists were able to get quotes from Apple staff that the reason Siri wouldn't come to current generation iPad and the iPhone 4 was because it didn't have a good enough microphone to take advantage of the technology.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Journalists were able to get quotes from Apple staff that the reason Siri wouldn't come to current generation iPad and the iPhone 4 was because it didn't have a good enough microphone to take advantage of the technology.

Now that is complete BS as far as the iPhone 4 goes. From what I understand the 4S mic is the same part that's in the 4.

 

[Matthew Yohe]

Read this and UNDERSTAND IT. Key words UNDERSTAND IT then get back to me
http://www.androidcentral.com/edito...why-you-shouldn’t-be-distracted-shiny-objects

Add to it that chart is pretty messed up for Apple and needs to be heavily changed. Does the 3G support wannabe multitasking (big feature in iOS4) nope does not. So it really not updated

3GS did not get the extra ring tones in from iOS4 and I know it was locked out of some other features.
Lets not forget the BS siri block on everything other than the iPhone 4s.

Sorry but unless those basic features are added the chart is pretty much bogus.
The link covers the other parts of the problems in trying to make something out of nothing with BS.

Are you kidding me? Yes of course I acknowledge that all iOS updates are not the same (ie. 3G not getting multitasking, 3GS not getting some ringtones, 4 not getting Siri), but that's not my point. (And I don't think it was the point of the author of the chart)

Think about it, even though some of those android phones are "lower end" most outpace the 3GS and yet, the 3GS continues to get updates. Sure it doesn't get everything out of an iOS update, but at least it's getting something.

 

[Vermillion9494]

Read this and UNDERSTAND IT. Key words UNDERSTAND IT then get back to me
http://www.androidcentral.com/edito...why-you-shouldn’t-be-distracted-shiny-objects

Add to it that chart is pretty messed up for Apple and needs to be heavily changed. Does the 3G support wannabe multitasking (big feature in iOS4) nope does not. So it really not updated

3GS did not get the extra ring tones in from iOS4 and I know it was locked out of some other features.
Lets not forget the BS siri block on everything other than the iPhone 4s.

Sorry but unless those basic features are added the chart is pretty much bogus.
The link covers the other parts of the problems in trying to make something out of nothing with BS.

You're the one who doesn't understand the chart. You can't grasp the general idea because you can't see the forest for the trees. Has Apple ever released a phone with outdated software? No. Have android phone manufactors done that? Yes. It's that simple. Apple supports their phones for at least two years and two major software updates. Android manufactors don't have that same history.

Also, to limit the chart based in features is hilarious. You're making your case for android that much worse. And to add, it's not just features that get added during updates, it's SECURITY updates as well. Those security updates are 100 times more important then features.

 

[314631]

Now that is complete BS as far as the iPhone 4 goes. From what I understand the 4S mic is the same part that's in the 4.

Certainly appears that way based on what the hackers have done with the iPhone 4. I imagine the statement might be true with the iPad 2 though, that it probably would use the cheaper iPod Touch microphone.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I don't think that Steve would approve.

 

[ufwa]

All of these people crying about Apple ripping them off saw the android software support chart from this week, right?

Umm he chart looks odd.

I can't speak for the androids ones but the iphone and 3g graph doesn't seem right.

counting only the major releases, 1.x, 2.x, 3.x, 4.x, 5.x then

the original iphone stopped at 3.0 which was released in 2009. it never saw 4.0

the 3G stopped at ios 4 which was released last year.

both work out to be ~2 years following release.

should the pattern continue the 3gs will not see ios 6. the 4 would not see ios 7. Assuming each year we get a new version.

it gets tricky though when you start counting 1.x.x. What would you call major and what would be considered minor.

 

[futch]

I told you guys Siri will be hacked into our 4's

Some of you believed we couldn't because of "hardware limitations"

Pfff, yeah right

So it is working on your 4? Didn't think so.

 

[arn]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

It's interesting that Siri is usable on the iPhone 4 but not the iPod Touch. Now I wonder if the iPad 2 has the same microphone as the iPhone 4 or the Touch? Journalists were able to get quotes from Apple staff that the reason Siri wouldn't come to current generation iPad and the iPhone 4 was because it didn't have a good enough microphone to take advantage of the technology.

Link to these quotes?

 

[bmturney]

There were never any technical reasons for not making Siri available on the 4 or 3G... it was/is strictly a marketing move...

There is nothing in the 4S (hardware wise) to easy convince 4 users to move to the 4S... a faster processor... and a slightly better camera... but for many... what Apple has in the 4 is good enough... in order to get people to make the switch to the 4S they needed something BIG that was exclusive to the 4S... intro Siri... I'm sure Apple has a number of other things on the drawing board for a new iPhone 5 this year... but realized that they could not have them production ready in time for a launch in 2011... but they knew they needed to come out with something to keep the buzz, buzzing around the iPhone... so they dropped back.. slapped a better camera and faster processor in the 4 body... and lock down Siri to only work on the 4S... this gives them a quick turn around on a new model... and buys them another year in development for the 5... I'm quite sure when the 5 comes out next year it will be AMAZING... but the 4S was just a "point release" to satisfy the consumers while they work on their next BIG thing...

Don't get me wrong in all of this... I love my 4S.. Siri is AWESOME... but you won't see it "officially" coming to the 4 until the iPhone 5 is out..

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Are you kidding me? Yes of course I acknowledge that all iOS updates are not the same (ie. 3G not getting multitasking, 3GS not getting some ringtones, 4 not getting Siri), but that's not my point. (And I don't think it was the point of the author of the chart)

Think about it, even though some of those android phones are "lower end" most outpace the 3GS and yet, the 3GS continues to get updates. Sure it doesn't get everything out of an iOS update, but at least it's getting something.

thank you for failing to read and understand the editorial I link you to explain why the chart was crap and is a bad chart.

I ask you to read and understand the editorial before you got back to me.

 

[futch]

As some have alluded to, Siri is really the main feature differentiation for iPhone 4S.

It could be Apple knew this and was very concerned the launch would not get traction so they limited Siri to it. It's a strategic decision. It's not to screw anyone, or "force" people to upgrade. Launches are critical.

Also, the 4S is not really an upgrade path from the 4, it's from the 3GS, earlier, and for non-iPhone users. The upgrade path for iPhone 4 users is the 5 or 6.

Another possibility: Under Sarbanes Oxley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes–Oxley_Act), it's likely Apple would be required to charge for Siri in an update. They didn't want to charge for iOS5, so they dished that out separately with the intent of selling Siri to iPhone 4 users in the future - and is waiting for the testing period to pass.

There's always little clues in what these guys say on stage and elsewhere - remember, Tim Cook (I think it was) said Siri was beta - I don't think he was just being cute... I think Siri will come to the 4 soon enough.

Can you explain how not charging for SIRI in an update would potentially violate the Sarbanes Oxley act?

 

[e-coli]

How insanely lame of Apple. This is why I can't stand them sometimes.

 

[miggitymac]

There were never any technical reasons for not making Siri available on the 4 or 3G... it was/is strictly a marketing move...

There is nothing in the 4S (hardware wise) to easy convince 4 users to move to the 4S... a faster processor... and a slightly better camera... but for many... what Apple has in the 4 is good enough... in order to get people to make the switch to the 4S they needed something BIG that was exclusive to the 4S... intro Siri... I'm sure Apple has a number of other things on the drawing board for a new iPhone 5 this year... but realized that they could not have them production ready in time for a launch in 2011... but they knew they needed to come out with something to keep the buzz, buzzing around the iPhone... so they dropped back.. slapped a better camera and faster processor in the 4 body... and lock down Siri to only work on the 4S... this gives them a quick turn around on a new model... and buys them another year in development for the 5... I'm quite sure when the 5 comes out next year it will be AMAZING... but the 4S was just a "point release" to satisfy the consumers while they work on their next BIG thing...

Don't get me wrong in all of this... I love my 4S.. Siri is AWESOME... but you won't see it "officially" coming to the 4 until the iPhone 5 is out..

Agreed. Like it or not, without Siri, the 4S is purely a spec bump from the 4.

They needed something though..so they gave everyone Siri while it was still in beta and made it exclusive to the 4S. Given the amount of sales they've had it seems to have worked. Ridiculous...

 

[Scarrus]

To protect the quality of the Siri experience, Apple may have chose to make it a 4S-only product simply to limit the demand on the servers, and greatly improve the response time. Imagine adding another 40 million iOS users on iPads, iPods and iPhone 4s. Some have already complained of delays in response of the system. I am just fine with people needing to "buy in" to the feature.

And as others have said. Software features not going on older models is common. Everything from Nav software on subsequent car model years to new camera models from Nikon or Canon. Most of that stuff could easily be installed on older models.

Then they should upgrade their Servers and infrastructure so it can fit another 40 milion users!