Since I've used this thing - never have I reserved so many meals. Flown abroad and visited the theatre as much as I do now. The only problem is that I can't afford to pay for them and have gone bankrupt as a consequence. Thanks Vivian!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Siri Creators Debuting New AI Assistant 'Viv' Next Week
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I get the feeling that Siri has been made more ‘PC’ and lots of the fun things you used to amuse yourself and others with have been removed. Remember the long string of replies you’d get if you asked it to open the pod bay doors? Very dumbed down. Or asked where to dispose of a body? All gone.
Siri still feels like a gen 1 product.
[doublepost=1462464655][/doublepost]Apple of course will not acquire this in the mistaken belief that Siri is adequate.
[doublepost=1462464655][/doublepost]Apple of course will not acquire this in the mistaken belief that Siri is adequate.
I have not seen frequent use of meme except for in the past month and I read a ton of forums and stories on the web. The apple hate is especially strong in the past month as well, much more then ever before.
I hope they don't incorporate something like this into the manned mission to Mars.
"What are you doing...Dave?"
"What are you doing...Dave?"
"When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce."
Sun Tzu
Siri is the biggest feature on my iPhone that I've never used more than a handful of times.
What I'll never understand is that my parents and older relatives use it for everything. What they see in Siri that I don't will forever be a mystery to me.
Siri, beloved by old people.
What I'll never understand is that my parents and older relatives use it for everything. What they see in Siri that I don't will forever be a mystery to me.
Siri, beloved by old people.
(iPod Touch in pocket, hold down home button): "Set timer for 10 mins" (an example of HOW useful a physical home button is - you just feel it and press it, no messing about, you KNOW what it will do when you long press.)
I have other examples but they escape me for now. I am 41, hardly old by any standard, and virtual assistants just save fiddling about when you're busy or when it's stupid to need to type out a simple query.
(iPod Touch in pocket, hold down home button): "Set timer for 10 mins" (an example of HOW useful a physical home button is - you just feel it and press it, no messing about, you KNOW what it will do when you long press.)
I have other examples but they escape me for now. I am 41, hardly old by any standard, and virtual assistants just save fiddling about when you're busy or when it's stupid to need to type out a simple query.
That's the trouble, it doesn't do everything and it's not always consistent.
By the time I've deduced if Siri can or can't do it, thought of how to word it, unlocked with Touch ID, held down the button until Siri wakes, speak, and the possibly that it either doesn't connect/understand me/or the feature isn't supported I'd rather have just done it the way that I know works.
So what you do is, over months or years, experiment and deduce what Siri CAN do competently and repeatedly well, and allow (her?) to play to (her?) strengths, and exploit what DOES work well. No technology is perfect, you use what works and make your life easier and more efficient by discovering those things and making them part of your routine.
You wouldn't wait until you were 2 minutes away from needing Siri to do an URGENT task to find out (she?) cannot do that - you practice and refine, and learn from the weaknesses, eh, in the same way that NASA wouldn't be buying an untested type of screw to use on a mars probe, and testing them out a month before launch, LOL.
Example: I brew fresh coffee nightly, and need it to brew for 4 mins. It took me ONE try to change "Set timer 4 mins" to "Set timer FOR 4 mins", because (she?) mistook the former phrase as being "Set timer FOR minutes", to which she replied "For how long?" - it is ONLY 4 mins that trips (her?) up, because of that subtly ambiguous meaning.
Last edited:
Siri gets it wrong A LOT MORE today than she did when she was new.
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.
My experience directly parallels yours, especially the highlighted passages above.
Your cred is okay with me.
"Backward roll" is the perfect way to explain it. She devolves a little bit more with each new version of iOS.
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.
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%
Last edited:
You must be bored, Captain multi-quote
Staggering how people find the time in their day to piece together long-winded multiple snippet-quoting replies like this. If you've got nothing to do, I'll airmail you 100 pairs of my holey socks, and you can darn them for me for £1 an hour.
Okay, I deserved that.
But in my defense, I don't do it often, it took me less than 10 minutes to reply because I'm a quick-wit (hah!) and I type fast. And there's a button for "add to multiquote", which actually allows me to do that and AVOID 7 posts.
Oh yeah, I try to avoid double-posts and dangling participles, I make an effort to get my spelling and other grammar right, and I actually separate my text into real paragraphs.
With all THAT effort, I surprise myself at how fast I'm usually in and out. Well, except when somebody complains that I multiposted...
I'll tell you what, if you show me the EULA against it, I promise I'll stop.
P.S. I'm a Yankee who never goes to the bank to get my cash converted, so I don't work for pounds, euros, pesos, or yen. Payment in US Dollars, please.
P.P.S. You should buy new socks. If you're only paying that amount, you really cannot afford my services. For anything.
But in my defense, I don't do it often, it took me less than 10 minutes to reply because I'm a quick-wit (hah!) and I type fast. And there's a button for "add to multiquote", which actually allows me to do that and AVOID 7 posts.
Oh yeah, I try to avoid double-posts and dangling participles, I make an effort to get my spelling and other grammar right, and I actually separate my text into real paragraphs.
With all THAT effort, I surprise myself at how fast I'm usually in and out. Well, except when somebody complains that I multiposted...
I'll tell you what, if you show me the EULA against it, I promise I'll stop.
P.S. I'm a Yankee who never goes to the bank to get my cash converted, so I don't work for pounds, euros, pesos, or yen. Payment in US Dollars, please.
P.P.S. You should buy new socks. If you're only paying that amount, you really cannot afford my services. For anything.
I never asked for your credentials and the conversation between myself and the Macrumors user was on a basis where we regularly talk. How can you speak for 'Millions of other users'? Where is your source for millions of users? At any rate, Siri has advanced dramatically from when she was first introduced by Scott Forstall. I agree Siri has its shortcomings, but don't tell me it's 'Not a reason for staying', if you feel that way, then enjoy Android.
Can you elaborate on how Siri is becoming 'Dumber and Dumber'? Siri is great for the scheduling, notes, and E-Mails. And no, I don't ask for Siri for jokes all day long on my cell phone.
Google Voice has improved as well, but I don't believe Google Voice is intuitive as Siri. Siri is way more personal.
Enjoy Android and their bloated float ware and horrible UI. As far as your experience to Texas Roadhouse, it happens, it's not a reason to say the 'Straw that back the camels back." You must of been moody and hungry that day.
My credentials are I'm on an opionionated website where I call it as I see it.
That's all I really needed to know. I'm good with that, and I'm not going to demand all manner of proof and statistics from you. It would be impolite on an opinionated website where we all call it as we see it.
Besides, have you heard? I'm seriously considering going into business darning socks!
Macrumors always reminds me of that Louis CK bit where he talks about the greatest technology being wasted on the crappiest generation of non-contributing whiners. I use Siri all the time but then, I don't expect her to make me breakfast and arrange dinner and airline tickets for me either. It's amazing how frequently she can answer queries and how she turns several minutes of fiddling with my phone into a matter of a 5-second, clearly spoken request.
I love it but to each his own. For some of you, Siri will always be a glass half-empty. It's a shame she has to serve such an entitled generation.
I love it but to each his own. For some of you, Siri will always be a glass half-empty. It's a shame she has to serve such an entitled generation.
Last edited:
You don't have to work there to make an observation and then to say (on an opinionated website/blog/forum) that you think that's how they do it!
It's good to know that our fact-checkers are fully engaged in the conversation this evening. It might mean "The End of Civilization" if somebody was allowed to get away with an unlicensed or careless application of dramatic hyperbole.
For example, if I say it's millions, then I mean it's me and a bunch of other people who have agreed with me in some past forum posts. I mean, it HAS to be millions, so to me it's the same thing!
By the way, bacon may make everything taste better, but I truly love dramatic hyperbole, which is best when I am the one serving it!