Apple Brings in New Exec to 'Fix' Siri and Apple Intelligence

[novagamer]

Kim Vorrath shipped iOS. This is why she was on the VisionOS team, because the CEO wants/wanted it to be a platform for the next decade.

If Macrumors actually had journalism instead of focusing on whatever the “lowest price we’ve ever seen this week on Macbooks or Anker Products!” they’d do the literal 5 minutes of research and figure out why this is a paradigm shift and more than just name her a “bug wrangler”.

https://www.patentlyapple.com/2019/08/interesting-shift-puts-key-software-manager-that-kept-ios-on-track-for-first-iphone-now-on-apples-headset-os-team.html

Sounds like someone actually got feedback to the top of Apple, finally.


edit: looks like they added some contextual links, good job. One of them has a comment with a valid critique about the write up from 2014 being slipshod and semi-inaccurate which is ironic

 

[smulji]

The bad news is this will probably take several years. The good news is we’ve been waiting for more than a decade for a better Siri so at least a shift is allegedly happening.

I remember reading something several years ago about internal employees saying improving Siri was near impossible due to the architecture / foundation of how Siri was built - or something to that effect. So at this point they might as well start at ground Siri if it will assist in making large leaps and progressions in the coming years. The unfortunate part is many people are unwilling to continue to wait and wait and wait. I would have bet my life (not really) that I would never switch to android. And if I knew an easy way to combat all my hide my email accounts and didn’t feel so trapped in the ecosystem, I’d probably be switching this year. I’m getting close to throwing the flag, though.

We're at the point where Apple doesn't have another decade to turn their AI ship around. They're competitors are improving fast.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Apple fans don’t care. The vocal minority make it seem like the masses are ready to jump ship, but it’s not the case.

Most iPhone users aren't "Apple Fans", they are smartphone users with an iPhone.

 

[I7guy]

Most iPhone users aren't "Apple Fans", they are smartphone users with an iPhone.

I don’t know that for a fact or not, and it’s imo.

 

[NervousFish2]

The knowledgeable people who were engaged in the endeavor couldn’t be used in other functional areas.

I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Who are the knowledgeable people, and what specific areas? And how is the EU involved?

 

[SFjohn]

The substandard nature of Siri was always a mystery to me. "Why? Why? Why?"

Privacy. Privacy. Privacy. 😉

 

[I7guy]

I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Who are the knowledgeable people, and what specific areas? And how is the EU involved?

The updates for the dma guidelines strained apples resources. I don’t think those updates were a nothing -burger, but that is in my opinion.

 

[Circa1984]

A change was needed, wish you luck Kim. But I think a great project manager and buggy code fixer is not the issue here. It’s content, its user interaction, it’s better logic, it’s end user testing, and it’s … common sense. I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams that even Tim Cook is happy with the current state of Siri - I would have to think he’s shaking his head when he too gets an absurd response to a question… or no response at all. This should be an all hands on deck project to make Siri the best in the industry ASAP … not iterative improvements over a decade.

 

[npmacuser5]

I found the way I used Siri had an impact on how effective Siri is. Not saying Siri does not need significant upgrades. First change waiting a couple seconds after saying Siri. Depending upon variables like networks and devices, portions of the request get lost if spoken to fast. As such, in complete or nonexistent answers. The way that works best for me to Siri, use the Apple Watch Crown. The screen will show when Siri is ready, no need to use Siri word, and the results are significantly better. The above for Apple. Make Siri respond to a request. Example, Siri, response “yes” give command.

 

[smulji]

A change was needed, wish you luck Kim. But I think a great project manager and buggy code fixer is not the issue here. It’s content, its user interaction, it’s better logic, it’s end user testing, and it’s … common sense. I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams that even Tim Cook is happy with the current state of Siri - I would have to think he’s shaking his head when he too gets an absurd response to a question… or no response at all. This should be an all hands on deck project to make Siri the best in the industry ASAP … not iterative improvements over a decade.

As long as Apple is delivering on shareholder value, he's happy.

 

[flybass]

So, the executive responsible for the dumpster fire that is Apple’s VR headset is supposed to fix AI? Great.

 

[picpicmac]

So how many conflicting declarations will this (and similar) threads contain by the end?

That is, there will be a declaration that AI is not wanted and is bad for humanity... and then there will be the Apple bashers who will complaining that Apple should have done this (AI, Siri) years ago.

 

[NT1440]

We're at the point where Apple doesn't have another decade to turn their AI ship around. They're competitors are improving fast.

And losing money every step of the way. Even openAI’s $200 a month subscription loses money.

There is no path to a profitable business here, and the tens of billions (let alone NVIDIA’s absurd market valuation) are NEVER going to be recouped.

Deepseek just blew these idiots out of the water at a price that guarantees there will never be a return on AI capex investments.

Having so much of the stock market propped up by these outrageous claims of the future means there’s a gigantic crash heading our way. There is NO new hyperscale product category on the horizon, so Silicon Valley’s valuations are going to crash back to earth in the not to distant future. This will cascade across the entire economy as so many hedge funds have tied up American 401K’s in this crap.

It’s going to be 07-09 all over again, but likely bigger.

But yea, totally worth it to automate pointless emails and spit out ****** code.

 

[Jason2000]

We have heard this before so I am not going to get excited until I see the improvements myself. Good luck Apple.

 

[novagamer]

Deepseek just blew these idiots out of the water at a price that guarantees there will never be a return on AI capex investments.

Care to provide a technical source for this claim?

ROI is another story, but technically? Please.

 

[Artemis70]

Kim Vorrath shipped iOS. This is why she was on the VisionOS team, because the CEO wants/wanted it to be a platform for the next decade.

If Macrumors actually had journalism instead of focusing on whatever the “lowest price we’ve ever seen this week on Macbooks or Anker Products!” they’d do the literal 5 minutes of research and figure out why this is a paradigm shift and more than just name her a “bug wrangler”.

I hope you are right. I don't think that Siri nor Apple Intelligence need a "bug wrangler" nor someone who puts (often impossible) deadlines on developers. If she is as good as your links show, she will make sure that deadlines are met without additional pressure on development, leading to actual quality.

 

[novagamer]

I hope you are right. I don't think that Siri nor Apple Intelligence need a "bug wrangler" nor someone who puts (often impossible) deadlines on developers. If she is as good as your links show, she will make sure that deadlines are met without additional pressure on development, leading to actual quality.

Yeah, I think Vision Pro is a good indicator she’s still strong in this area. Releasing Vision Pro was likely Tim Cook’s decision, but getting it to where it is from zero is still impressive regardless of if the product was really ready for prime time.

In some ways it echoes the original iPhone, not having copy paste etc. Personally I think there are hardware and form factor tradeoffs that shouldn’t have been made in the first shipping version of the headset, but they did get it out.

I’m not sure if she has domain expertise in AI or not and I think that does matter, but I also think she’s smart enough to surround herself with experts and raw feedback in a way that maybe some of these other executives have not been. I personally don’t think Tim Cook uses Siri very often, and doesn’t use competitor’s products enough to understand the potential.

We know on record that Craig used ChatGPT sometime in 2021/2022 but they still decided to ship an essentially broken and underbaked Apple Intelligence, I expect it’ll be Summer 2026 before we see a solid version of it across their platforms, assuming some of the technical hurdles even can be solved at all. Apple needs to allow WFH or start paying leading AI Computer Scientists 500k+ a year to get them to move local to the campus, actual research talent is scarce in the industry but I have seen some good papers recently from Apple so they have some people who know what they’re doing internally.

All of those people who left OpenAI etc. should be poached given the pocketbook Apple has, especially since their privacy approach probably aligns better with the values of those individuals. We’ll see.

 

[9081094]

A change was needed, wish you luck Kim. But I think a great project manager and buggy code fixer is not the issue here. It’s content, its user interaction, it’s better logic, it’s end user testing, and it’s … common sense. I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams that even Tim Cook is happy with the current state of Siri - I would have to think he’s shaking his head when he too gets an absurd response to a question… or no response at all. This should be an all hands on deck project to make Siri the best in the industry ASAP … not iterative improvements over a decade.

I totally agree with you but this should have happened long time ago. By the time they get Siri workable the assistants from competitors are able touch read your mind. If it would only take Apple a year to make Siri useful the incompetence of Apple’s leadership is even bigger than I thought.

 

[smulji]

No one can “fix” generative AI. It is a “yes, and” technology. It just spits out results, and no one should trust they aren’t hallucinations.

This entire field is a dead end and every continued training round (which costs exponentially more) gives diminishing returns.

If you want to automate emails, fine, but this should technology should NEVER be used in any type of critical systems or workflows without a large team of humans to check its work.

None of this is worth the money, ecological resources, or focus the Tech industry and governments have poured into it.

So, what are your thoughts on the $500 billion Project Stargate initiative announced by Trump, Ellison, Altman?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Now they admit things need fixing and Siri is bad. What a bunch of idiots.

Not that I would ever defend their work on Siri, but I seem to recall that Apple has (internally) restructured their teams and tried to overhaul their voice assistant.

This is like the 3rd or 4th attempt. So it's not "Now", it's been an ongoing thing that they just can't seem to move forward on.

Obviously, the whole issue is quite a bit different after the advent of LLMs. It should be far more doable now than previously.

But I feel we've heard something like this story pop up every other years for the last 3-5 years?

Whatever it is, this story seems to indicate that the AI Siri that they've showcased is very far from being finished and will not launch until iOS 19 at the earliest. That's what I'm gathering from this.

Very disappointing if true.

 

[kirky29]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I wish we could just pick which assistant we want. I'd ditch Siri in a heartbeat and just use ChatGPT. It's not perfect, but it has honestly changed my life, in the sense of learning, fact-finding and problem solving. Not only for my paid job but personal projects too.

Siri has never solved anything for me, it struggles to turn my house lights on and off. I asked ChatGPT looked at my home network and it found issues, told me how to fix them, and now my Home network and Home Assistant is better than it has ever been. Just one of the ways it helps me daily.

 

[I7guy]

The board only sees shareholder value. Full Stop. They're incompetent and complicit.

Okay, if that viewpoint then that is your viewpoint. They are still the ones in power, as is Cook. For those who wax hyperbole about apple, it’s going to be a long few years.

 

[SBlue1]

I just want Siri to be able to do what ChatGPG does but with the system.

 

[Manzanito]

I think they need to retire the name "Siri" at this point. It's been run into the ground. Start fresh with a new name and a new approach.

Better yet, keep the name of they would, but leave no trace of the existing code.

 

[Joshuaorange]

I think they need to retire the name "Siri" at this point. It's been run into the ground. Start fresh with a new name and a new approach.

I don’t know about that. Samsung destroyed the Galaxy Note name so bad they had to recall the entire Note 7 production and yet here we are, Samsung still makes them toda…. Uh, yeah you’re right.