For those who thought iPhone 4 hardware wasn't good enough for Siri

[JCCL]

Seems it could run just fine, must of the processing is done at Apple servers
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/15/siri-ported-to-an-iphone-4-old-phone-learns-a-new-trick/

 

[Marksest]

This probably isn't the best example, considering that the GPU acceleration was disabled so it looks like siri runs like crap.

 

[TM WAZZA]

All it needs is the GPU acceleration right?

 

[alexlovesmacs]

All it needs is the GPU acceleration right?

"Currently, the hack is missing an iPhone 4 GPU driver that keeps things running buttery smooth on the elder phone, and Cupertino won't authenticate Siri's commands coming from it either".

From Engadget.

 

[mickbab]

Just my guess that once Apple sorts out usage of Siri that it will be expanded to other countries, more languages, and more devices. Hence the current "beta" label. I don't think it's just a hardware issue.

I'm sure Apple was hammered enough on the first day with the influx of iPhone 4S buyers testing out their new toy, if the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and possibly more were all trying to access the Siri servers as well, the whole system would have just died.

My guess is that Apple will continue to build up their servers and work on the Siri software, and then take it out of beta and release it worldwide and on more devices.

 

[Gregintosh]

I don't know if they will put it on older devices, even out of beta. Siri is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade.

Take that away, and you still have processing power and the camera but those aren't "killer" features since the iPhone 4 is already plenty fast and takes decent enough photos for most users.

The real "killer" app for the 4S is Siri.

The fact that Apple's servers would refuse to authenticate the commands and the fact that Siri must go through the servers to be really useful, means that Apple may be able to shut out hackers from the server side. So even if they get it working on the client side, the command range may be very limited or even not responsive at all.

While I would LOVE to play with it myself, I think this is the kind of product that will really come into its own around Generation 2 or 3. Which is exciting because as good as it may be now (seeing some mixed reviews) it is clearly headed in a very good direction soon.

 

[Vundu]

We all know the real reason so not sure why this is a surprise. It's a selling point.