Disappointed Siri is unavailable for iPhone 4

[CSpackler]

Oh come on, the iPhone 4 can run Siri. The 3GS can probably run it. What the heck is it doing that it absolutely requires the processing power of dual cores? Floating point mathematics? Video encoding? I don't think so. Sure you have the voice recognition and the algorithms associated with that, but the 4's processor is no slouch, and it has no problem with 3D gfx processing which requires huge amounts of complex math. Siri outsources some of the work to Apple's servers anyway.

I'm reasonably confident Siri will run on the 4.

 

[X3NIA]

I think all of you forget that Apple is still a business, though one of our favorites it still has the main goal of a business: Profit.

I was waiting for a new phone (I'm on verizon) and with the iPhone4 being so late in its cycle when it came to Verizon I decided to wait. Having Siri on the new phone as a new feature makes me glad I waited and will make me satisfied with both my purchase and my decision to wait... Sure, the 4 could've had it added but it wouldn't have warranted my purchase and I would've kept waiting for a better, more exclusive iPhone that REALLY felt like an upgrade.

Apple got another sale from me, just like many of you, because they put Siri exclusively on the new phone.

 

[NoHo]

The tech is clearly there

Not really. Have you looked at the tech specs of the iPhone 4 vs the iPhone 4S? Clearly different.

 

[paulrbeers]

Here's why it isn't on the iPhone 4:

1. The data stream sent to the cloud isn't a wave file. It takes the spoke text, converts it to some bit streams and sends it to the servers.
2. In order to accomplish 1, you need a hefty processor. The Devs have stated they run it thru one of the GPU's in the A5.
3. iPhone 4 only has one GPU and it has to use that one GPU constantly just to display what's on your phone!
4. If they truly are utilizing the GPU, as has been previously stated, the GPU in the iphone 4 is no where near as powerful as either GPU in the A5 and thus would take a much longer time to accomplish step 1.

 

[kolax]

2. In order to accomplish 1, you need a hefty processor. The Devs have stated they run it thru one of the GPU's in the A5.
3. iPhone 4 only has one GPU and it has to use that one GPU constantly just to display what's on your phone!

So you expect to see a free update on the iPad 2 for Siri then? Or will it be an iPad 3 feature purely for marketing purposes..

Well, of course the iPhone 4's GPU is constantly in use to display what's on your phone. Do you know how a GPU works and what its purpose is at all?

 

[mark28]

Clearly?

Which parts of the A4 chip are the same as the A5 chip and how does that relate to how Siri uses it?

I'm glad that's clear for you, because I really have no idea how all that works.

Siri is software, not hardware.

 

[paulrbeers]

So you expect to see a free update on the iPad 2 for Siri then? Or will it be an iPad 3 feature purely for marketing purposes..

Well, of course the iPhone 4's GPU is constantly in use to display what's on your phone. Do you know how a GPU works and what its purpose is at all?

Well the other issue with the iPad is that half the models sold are Wifi only. Since there isn't a guarantee that the wifi models will have a constant data connection, siri won't be able to work at all times which would probably cause a lot of confusion...

And yeah, I do know what a GPU is. That's why I said what I said... I'm making it blatantly obvious that the only GPU in the iphone would be tied up. Theoretically though, a GPU can do more than just display 2D images on a screen so there could be some processing bandwidth remaining to do Siri text conversions, but I'm going to guess that there isn't a lot of processing power left on the iPhone 4 as these aren't desktop class GPU's.

 

[impulse462]

Agreed with others here. Just because the iPhone 4 is likely technically capable of running Siri, that does not necessarily mean that the user experience will be the same. Apple is very attentive to the user experience on their products.

You are probably right. But if you noticed, Apple never mentioned that Siri couldn't run on the iPhone 4 due to lack of sufficient processing power. Siri uploads everything to Apple's servers. Nothing too CPU-intensive is running (from what I've read).

Simply put, if the Apple doesn't think the user experience is up to par, it won't be on that device. Whether or not customers agree with that tactic is up to them.

 

[AIP5]

You might be right, but then again you might not be. Siri seems like something that COULD be really intensive on the CPU and the A4 chip might struggle with it. I really don't know though.

Well, judging by the Siri app, even my 3GS handles Siri like butter. But who knows, the OS integration might require a dual core for the seamless experience that Apple is known for.

But then, there is the disabling of the Siri app on those who have already the app to consider... why disable it with a notice saying "buy the 4S" when it's working fine?

 

[kolax]

Well the other issue with the iPad is that half the models sold are Wifi only. Since there isn't a guarantee that the wifi models will have a constant data connection, siri won't be able to work at all times which would probably cause a lot of confusion...

And yeah, I do know what a GPU is. That's why I said what I said... I'm making it blatantly obvious that the only GPU in the iphone would be tied up. Theoretically though, a GPU can do more than just display 2D images on a screen so there could be some processing bandwidth remaining to do Siri text conversions, but I'm going to guess that there isn't a lot of processing power left on the iPhone 4 as these aren't desktop class GPU's.

So you don't think Siri will ever come to the iPad because you think people won't understand that for Siri to find out the weather it needs an internet connection?

The GPU in the iPhone would be tied up displaying what's on screen thus wouldn't be able to do anything else. Is that what you're saying?

 

[paulrbeers]

So you don't think Siri will ever come to the iPad because you think people won't understand that for Siri to find out the weather it needs an internet connection?

The GPU in the iPhone would be tied up displaying what's on screen thus wouldn't be able to do anything else. Is that what you're saying?

The iphone 4 (not the 4S) only has one GPU. It is also not the same GPU as the two GPU's found in the 4S. So if Siri was built to use the "unused" GPU (when all the iphone 4S is doing is displaying 2D images) in the 4S then it can't be used on a device with only 1 GPU that is constantly being used right?

Now, anyone who knows anything about GPU's, displaying 2D images on displays is pretty light work for most modern GPU's, but already we know that the the GPU in the iphone 4 is considerably weaker (to the tune of about x4 weaker) than even one of the GPU's in the iPhone 4S so even if you could use the remaining "video processing bandwidth" that might not be utilized by just displaying 2D images on the iPhone 4, what would be left probably isn't enough to do the Audio to data conversion in a reasonable amount of time.

All of this is speculation on my part, but falls in line with the information previously posted here at macrumors and in statements released by developers...

And YES I do think that Apple would hold off giving Siri to iPads because of the lack of guarentee that there would be a constant data connection. Apple likes to give everyone the same experience when possible.

 

[bassett700]

Good point.

Now can someone please help me figure out why I can't get Adobe Creative Suite 5 to run on my Windows 3.1 machine?

Understand the point you're trying to make but it's apples/oranges. Adobe Creative Suite won't run on your old computer because of a combination of hardware (old chip) and OS (3.1). Since the Iphone 4 can handle IOS5, what is it specifically about the hardware that won't allow Siri to run (that is, besides restrictions imposed by Apple)? There are games, for example, that won't play on a Windows 7 system not because of the OS but because of hardware (graphics card). Maybe paulrbeers comments above provide some insight.

 

[gtmac]

Well, judging by the Siri app, even my 3GS handles Siri like butter. But who knows, the OS integration might require a dual core for the seamless experience that Apple is known for.

But then, there is the disabling of the Siri app on those who have already the app to consider... why disable it with a notice saying "buy the 4S" when it's working fine?

I agree it runs very well on 3GS, I don't have the app but a friend does.

I was very surprised with their clever, Siri found a new home on the 4S and will be leaving for home on October 14, 2011.

Technically they aren't killing the app they are killing the servers supporting the app.

 

[iEnvy]

Siri is innovative but its also a needed selling point for the 4S.

 

[comper]

Siri app worked fine on iP4. Dragon Go and Dragon Dictation both work fine as well. I understand the new Siri is more integrated into the phone, but not enough to say that it has to have an A5 chip. It's definitely exclusive to iP4s to make it a stand-out feature, which is understandable since there were so many other expectations that weren't met.

 

[IcyStorm]

1-2 million iPhone 4S users around launch. Maybe, oh, I don't know, they don't want their servers to be overwhelmed as iOS 5.0 launches on the iPhone 4 and iPad 2?

Second reason is definitely to make the 4S seem more like a larger upgrade.

 

[kolax]

The iphone 4 (not the 4S) only has one GPU. It is also not the same GPU as the two GPU's found in the 4S. So if Siri was built to use the "unused" GPU (when all the iphone 4S is doing is displaying 2D images) in the 4S then it can't be used on a device with only 1 GPU that is constantly being used right?

Now, anyone who knows anything about GPU's, displaying 2D images on displays is pretty light work for most modern GPU's, but already we know that the the GPU in the iphone 4 is considerably weaker (to the tune of about x4 weaker) than even one of the GPU's in the iPhone 4S so even if you could use the remaining "video processing bandwidth" that might not be utilized by just displaying 2D images on the iPhone 4, what would be left probably isn't enough to do the Audio to data conversion in a reasonable amount of time.

All of this is speculation on my part, but falls in line with the information previously posted here at macrumors and in statements released by developers...

It has a dual-core GPU, not the same as two separate GPUs. The iPhone 4's GPU is still very powerful. What do you think the iPhone 4's GPU would be doing when it is displaying the Siri screen? There's a lot of unused power to just display that. Going from a graphics intensive game to display "Siri"..