How could Siri be 'Handy' and 'Smart' a few years back, but not today?
Siri gets it wrong A LOT MORE today than she did when she was new.
As if there is anything more mind blowing that the general public has access to at this point? If you have any further credentials on where the bar should be set, I'm eager to read your reply based on your hypothesis of Artificial Intelligence.
AI in general is amazing, I'll grant you that. But it's a bit rude to ask somebody for his credentials when he's just giving his opinion.
My opinion is that Siri is getting dumber and dumber. I am an actual iPhone and iPad user since iPhone5 and iPad 3. Oh yeah, and I think she can and should be better. Those are my credentials.
I don't know why she seems to have devolved...
But with my use of Siri in the past, she used to tell jokes, would actually almost debate with me on something or say snarky/witty comments, she was more accurate in doing what I asked and was able to do more tasks. I try the same thing on the 6s plus and she is constantly messing up not hearing what i say even if i'm an inch away, she also contantly says "i can't do that" on tasks she could do before, (all this despite software refreshes and iPhone iOS restores.) The same happens on my family's iPhone 6s'.... so i'm not boasting anything, only stating my personal viewpoint of what I think Siri was and now is like.. (again in my eyes.)
Glad your experience with Siri is good, mine and several people (including Apple Technicians, Best Buy Apple salesman, and family and friends) all have said and or agreed to having the same experiences as I have and am having.
My experience directly parallels yours, especially the highlighted passages above.
I don't have any credentials that would impress you. Just a guy who has worked in technology and as a writer and animator and illustrator. But I would imagine when one uses the word 'intelligence' one might expect something more than a shopping app that grabs data from a bunch of commercial sites and lets you buy more crap or make a dinner reservation. If I remember correctly early AI was actually interested in arriving at some model of how the human brain works. This was given up for the most part when folks realized there was money to be made making shopping apps. I'm glad you are happy with this. I hope it's a great new platform to buy stuff. I was just thinking using the words Artificial and Intelligence together might imply something a bit more dynamic, interesting and revolutionary. But I think that time has passed.
Your cred is okay with me.
I always thought the backwards roll with Siri was because of privacy conflicts. Apple is putting privacy on top which doesn't allow Siri to gather as much info as it would need to work any better. Could explain the backwards step in functionality too.
"Backward roll" is the perfect way to explain it. She devolves a little bit more with each new version of iOS.
I never really use Siri because it's pretty worthless in it's current state.
I don't "never" user her. But I did install the Google app about a year ago, and Google gets all of my important requests. I'll still ask Siri the weather or a sports score, or something VERY simple such as "resume podcast", but if I really have to "get it right" or "be there on time", I'm gonna let Google guide me.
The straw that broke this camel's back was when I asked Siri to guide me to "the nearest Texas Roadhouse" (a steakhouse), and she was going to route me to one about 12 miles away...just as I passed by a couple-year-old one that she missed right in damned front of me.
Some things I can forgive, but when it becomes a struggle to just get basic information from a PA while in a car (when I can't look at the screen), then I will go with the solution that works more reliably.
It's estimated that Siri receives over a billion request, from over a million locations per week, as of Summer '15
In fairness, they only tested Viv through ordering food. You and I and everybody else has no idea what Viv is capable of yet,
Only the creators. It's to early to determine its capabilities and how it can or it will assist us in our daily lives.
For example, approximately 8 months ago a man was working under his car when it fell off the jack and top of him, rendering him trapped. The Man said "Hey Siri" to his phone and requested She dial 911. Emergency responders arrived Shortly later and saved his life. I believe Macrumors posted this article.
A.I. may be useful in the right situations, given it doesn't have to be used for food ordering.
That's fine your Siri experience has been sub par, but Siri from then until today has changed a lot. If you have time, open YouTube and watch a few video's of the first iteration of Siri compared to today, galactic changes.
I can't contest to asking Siri jokes, as I use her for more
Useful tasks, such as; multitasking, scheduling, and editing. Maybe you haven't tested Siri or found the right tools to utilize her?
In any case, Siri has evolved immensley and give it another few years or so, when she will be integrated in your car and/or possibility of your home. Times are changing. Where we are today and technology, most iPhone users would not want to live without Siri. At least speaking from my perspective.
I love how voice recognition personal assistants have become so commonplace now. It's like being in Knight Rider's car, or on the starship Enterprise.
But Siri is getting
worse for me and for millions of other users. We all haven't devolved into verbal jelly since Siri first came out. I most certainly have not changed my way of speaking. Siri was at one time a "major" point for staying on iPhone. As a mostly incompetent PA, she no longer is a reason for staying. Better assistants on other devices are a point for making the jump to Android. The other phone and tablet makers keep coming up with new and better products (and they make devices that can accept memory cards), making Apple products, with their "can't upgrade" methodology and their high prices more and more difficult to justify.
When I upgraded from iPhone 5 to iPhone 6, I never even considered breaking away from Apple. But right now I'm very displeased with Apple, for the reasons noted above and in my signature below. When my iPhone 6-Plus breaks, goes AWOL, or just becomes too much of a hassle, that's when I'm on the market, and Apple's sales may fall yet another 15%
