Siri's Biggest Upgrade Won't Arrive Until iOS 19

[McScooby]

I got an Uber the other day, ordered via the app on my phone.

Said driver picks me up & I start the journey.

At this point my iPhone kicks into driving mode.

I suspect this is linked into Siri the way it’s handled, so I’d want it to be contextually aware not just in conversation, but how apps interact with what’s going on - ie. If I order a cab & start moving then obviously I’m not driving.

 

[9081094]

It's always "next year Siri will finally be better"

I think everyone is pretty skeptical at this point

So a good personal assistant will only be available for iPhone 15 pro and up.

By the time it’s supposed to be ready, we are talking about 2026 and maybe later.

More than 13 years ago Apple made a commercial of what Siri is capable of:

I still can’t ask Siri to set two seperate timers today. Try it… it doesn’t work in Dutch Siri.

In the meantime all (also the cheap) mobile phones running android are able to do all the things Apple promises for 2026 today. I’m curious what those are capable of in 2026.

There must be something going very wrong with the development of iOS. I can’t see how they’re able to stay competitive.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

The sort of stories that remind me why I don't even bother with Apple Maps -- still -- after all these years

Thank you for sharing -- saved me the energy of even trying AM again

I actually really like Apple Maps until I run into situations like this. If the route doesn’t get complicated, Apple Maps is great for me due to the UI design as I find it clearer and easier to use while driving, unless I try to use Siri to add destinations during an active route. Both Apple and google maps are good products. But Siri needs to be smarter than it is.

 

[HouseLannister]

The revamped Siri will require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer due to Apple Intelligence compatibility.

Just because Apple Intelligence currently requires a 15 Pro or better, doesn't mean future versions of Apple Intelligence will work on them too. If the rumored RAM increase to 12 GB pans out on the 17 models, it is quite possible there will start to be phones that run iOS 18 AI and phones that run the newer AI.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I actually really like Apple Maps until I run into situations like this. If the route doesn’t get complicated, Apple Maps is with it to me for the UI design as I find it clearer and easier to use while driving, unless I try to use Siri to add destinations during an active route. Both Apple and google maps are good products. But Siri needs to be smarter.

I'm sort of the opposite type of user

All the UI and all that goes out the window for me if the core of the product and why I'm using it fails from time to time.
I just prefer to stick with what works best for actually navigating, POI, up to date business info, etc and stick with one thing.

I have loads of qualms with Google stuff, but Maps is probably my favorite thing of theirs
Who knows though -- they'll probably eventually somehow ruin that too -- like everything else

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I'm sort of the opposite type of user

All the UI and all that goes out the window for me if the core of the product and why I'm using it fails from time to time.
I just prefer to stick with what works best for actually navigating, POI, up to date business info, etc and stick with one thing.

There is no doubt that google maps is still a far more mature product. But ui elements in Siri for searching for things are more convenient to reach over and navigate while driving. But, if Siri and Maps tied together the way that they should I would never have to use anything but voice to alter my route while driving. Instead, trying to use Siri to alter my route results in my being a distracted driver when I get frustrated and switch over to google maps.

 

[9081094]

Another commercial from Apple of how Siri should work 13 years!!!! ago already. In what state is it today?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Another commercial from Apple of how Siri should work 13 years!!!! ago already. In what state is it today?

To really put in context how little has happened in the 13 years since then (2012), go 13 years before 2012 to 1999 and look at how WILDLY different tech was in 1999 vs 2012

That was progress

2012 to now has been some serious Apple stagnation when viewed through that lens

It's not an accident either -- it's Tim Cook and what direction he chose to take the company in.

It's stock buybacks and engineering products and product lines to drive component upgrade charges, new purchases and subscription services

In short -- this is not a product driven company as it once was
Yes - it obviously still "has products", but their role in the overall plan and success is now different under Cook

 

[UliBaer]

This is like a sign in my favorite bar: "Free beer... - ...tomorrow!"

 

[awisdom]

Apple is beyond pathetic these days. Unbelievably bad.

 

[9081094]

To really put in context how little has happened in the 13 years since then (2012), go 13 years before 2012 to 1999 and look at how WILDLY different tech was in 1999 vs 2012

That was progress

2012 to now has been some serious Apple stagnation when viewed through that lens

It's not an accident either -- it's Tim Cook and what direction he chose to take the company in.

It's stock buybacks and engineering products and product lines to drive component upgrade charges, new purchases and subscription services

In short -- this is not a product driven company as it once was
Yes - it obviously still "has products", but their role in the overall plan and success is now different under Cook

Still I’m curious for how long Apple can sustain this kind of business before the threshold will go the other way.

Let’s fase it Android is far ahead of iOS 18 today;
Apples A18 pro is slower than Qualcomm snapdragon X elite gen 4;
Apple is much pricier than competitors with higher technical specifications;
Apple is nowhere that far with AI (if you like AI or not);
Competitors have same built quality today.

I’m just wondering how Apple is able to compete in the future.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Still I’m curious for how long Apple can sustain this kind of business before the threshold will go the other way.

Let’s fase it Android is far ahead of iOS 18 today;
Apples A18 pro is slower than Qualcomm snapdragon X elite gen 4;
Apple is much pricier than competitors with higher technical specifications;
Apple is nowhere that far with AI (if you like AI or not);
Competitors have same built quality today.

I’m just wondering how Apple is able to compete in the future.

To Apple's credit, the ecosystem is still really good and you do see and feel a lot of benefit when you're "all in" on their phone/tablet/computer .. some homekit stuff, etc

I think they have more sustainability runway than we might think if they keep that ball rolling

It's sort of a "sum is greater than the individual parts" situation in many ways

Just toggling some switches or changing the temp in my space in the Mac sidebar is pretty sweet (as one example of many)

And several times per day I end up using the Universal Clipboard

I also have come to enjoy the iPhone notifications coming to my Mac ... I don't really use the iPhone mirroring itself, but I like the notifications all coming to my Mac so I don't have to check the phone much at all

 

[9081094]

To Apple's credit, the ecosystem is still really good and you do see and feel a lot of benefit when you're "all in" on their phone/tablet/computer .. some homekit stuff, etc

I think they have more sustainability runway than we might think if they keep that ball rolling

It's sort of a "sum is greater than the individual parts" situation in many ways

I understand what you’re saying. However every competitor have created a sort of ecosystem the same way Apple does. Microsoft is working better together with Android than iOS. I don’t like windows but the majority still work with windows. Apple should make iOS work better with them too or it will get an handicap for users.

Samsung has their own equivalent in their ecosystem of all Apple has to offer and so do many other competitors. They seem to be working and integrating at a bigger speed Apple is able to do.

That makes me curious how well this plays out in the near future.

Remember Apple iTunes? It was the standard crossplatform not that long ago. Spotify took over and Apple bought beats to compete. Now Spotify is the standard in Europe and many other countries around the world. I think same happens to iOS if Apple doesn’t open their API’s to work nice with other too.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I understand what you’re saying. However every competitor have created a sort of ecosystem the same way Apple does. Microsoft is working better together with Android than iOS. I don’t like windows but the majority still work with windows. Apple should make iOS work better with them too or it will get an handicap for users.

Samsung has their own equivalent in their ecosystem of all Apple has to offer and so do many other competitors. They seem to be working and integrating at a bigger speed Apple is able to do.

That makes me curious how well this plays out in the near future.

Remember Apple iTunes? It was the standard crossplatform not that long ago. Spotify took over and Apple bought beats to compete. Now Spotify is the standard in Europe and many other countries around the world. I think same happens to iOS if Apple doesn’t open their API’s to work nice with other too.

I just don't see the compelling case, from Apple's point of view, to make their products work better with competing ecosystems.

I fully agree with you from the consumer side -- but when analyzing what Apple will do, I expect they'll resist

 

[9081094]

I just don't see the compelling case, from Apple's point of view, to make their products work better with competing ecosystems.

I fully agree with you from the consumer side -- but when analyzing what Apple will do, I expect they'll resist

I think they’ll be forced to do so if competition heats up like it’s doing right now. We will see 😅

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think they’ll be forced to do so if competition heats up like it’s doing right now. We will see 😅

Sounds good to me!

I'm not rooting for Apple lock-in, trust me ... just used to them resisting anything consumer friendly

 

[wallaby]

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iOS 19 will introduce a "more conversational" version of Siri powered by "more advanced large language models." He said this upgrade will make Siri more like ChatGPT, allowing the assistant to "handle more sophisticated requests" and better respond to "back-and-forth conversations."

Which is hilarious, as you can already do this with ChatGPT for information. Just switch to Siri if you need a timer or navigation, and use ChatGPT for everything else. Heck, I hear of people assigning their iPhone 15 Pro action button to the Ask ChatGPT Siri Shortcut to finally make their phone useful.

 

[CheffyDude]

"Hey Siri, where's the nearest gas station?"
SIRI: "Here's the song Gas by the band Station."

 

[9081094]

Which is hilarious, as you can already do this with ChatGPT for information. Just switch to Siri if you need a timer or navigation, and use ChatGPT for everything else. Heck, I hear of people assigning their iPhone 15 Pro action button to the Ask ChatGPT Siri Shortcut to finally make their phone useful.

Siri can’t set two timers at once for you…

Try asking Siri to set two timers; ask it to set one for 5 minutes and the other for 10 minutes.

The result:
Siri responds: okay, I’ve set timer two for fifteen minutes and counting…

So it’s not even capable of doing very simple basic tasks at this point.

 

[JerryIII]

So then is there any reason to update to ios 18 at all? It doesn't sound like it.

 

[AdamHarbour]

I think we will have to wait for Siri Pro Max before there is any sign of intelligence!

 

[9081094]

In the meantime:

 

[vertsix]

The buck stops at the top and with something so high profile ..... Cook is your man.

Good assumption. But I think it's really about money with regards to hiring people. Hiring more people or competent managers costs money, so they just overwork their current employees and adjust deadlines hoping we (the customers) don't care if stuff is delayed.

The truth is, most don't care, so Apple is saving money there and stuff is delayed. This also applies to bugs.

 

[9081094]

So then is there any reason to update to ios 18 at all? It doesn't sound like it.

No, it there isn’t and I regret doing so. Lots of freezes and app crashes for me but iOS 18.2.1 did solve some of them.

 

[masterleep]

Siri is the same old ******* it always has been. Apple Intelligence is basically extending ******* Siri into more areas of the OS, with predictable terrible results.