The iPad 3 will not have Siri, and why.

[falcora]

Siri works on the iPhone because the user always has Internet connectivity. Data plans are mandatory and can't be added or removed. I can't even recall the last time my iPhone didn't have data reception through either 3G or wifi.

On the iPad however, the majority of users buy wifi only tablets, others buy the 3G, but then don't keep their accounts consistently active. Siri would only work over wifi in these instances. When Siri only works at home, it kind of breaks the illusion of being a personal assistant.


In short, it creates a poor user experience, and I doubt Apple will incorporate Siri into iPads or iPods. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't see it.

 

[nostresshere]

... When Siri only works at home, it kind of breaks the illusion of being a personal assistant. ..

We all have different opinons, but I would be fine with SIRI only working on wifi. For that matter, if I want Siri and not connected via cellular data, then that is my issue.

 

[SteveAbootman]

I get the logic behind your post, and generally agree with you. However, Apple has gone down the road of introducing features that require wifi/data capability before.

FaceTime still requires a WiFi connection and won't work on 3G (at least AT&T). It's been like this since introducing the feature; and a notification pop's up asking the user to connect to WiFi to use it.

I'd imagine that if Apple wanted to make Siri available on as many devices as possible, they'd use a similar method to FaceTime and just tell the user to connect to a data network if they tried to use it while not connected.

 

[erawsd]

Siri works on the iPhone because the user always has Internet connectivity. Data plans are mandatory and can't be added or removed. I can't even recall the last time my iPhone didn't have data reception through either 3G or wifi.

On the iPad however, the majority of users buy wifi only tablets, others buy the 3G, but then don't keep their accounts consistently active. Siri would only work over wifi in these instances. When Siri only works at home, it kind of breaks the illusion of being a personal assistant.


In short, it creates a poor user experience, and I doubt Apple will incorporate Siri into iPads or iPods. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't see it.

Thats like saying the iPad also shouldn't have things like Safari or iCloud because trying to use them without an internet connection "creates a poor user experience". Heck, there are hardly any native apps that don't fail without an internet connection.

I think people buying a WIFI only device understand that their device is very limited without an active internet connection and expect their experience to suffer.

 

[urkel]

In short, it creates a poor user experience, and I doubt Apple will incorporate Siri into iPads or iPods. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't see it.

Closed minded and weird. It doesn't cost more, its software so why try to justify its omission from future products?

 

[Phil A.]

Siri works on the iPhone because the user always has Internet connectivity. Data plans are mandatory and can't be added or removed. I can't even recall the last time my iPhone didn't have data reception through either 3G or wifi.

On the iPad however, the majority of users buy wifi only tablets, others buy the 3G, but then don't keep their accounts consistently active. Siri would only work over wifi in these instances. When Siri only works at home, it kind of breaks the illusion of being a personal assistant.


In short, it creates a poor user experience, and I doubt Apple will incorporate Siri into iPads or iPods. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't see it.

Facetime
Safari
Maps
Messages
YouTube
App Store
iTunes Store

All the above are built in apps that won't work without an active Internet connection, so what makes you think Siri would be the exception?

 

[416049]

I disagree with you people that buy an ipad wifi expect it to be limited to wifi so they would know that siri would be limited to that as-well.

 

[Drag'nGT]

While the OP brings up a valid point, Phil A. might have the better answer. I think everyone will expect Siri after becoming reliant on it on the 4S and it would be a step backwards to remove something Apple's been praised for having and customers enjoy using more than the old method of reminders, calendar etc.. entries.

 

[ejisfun]

Facetime
Safari
Maps
Messages
YouTube
App Store
iTunes Store

All the above are built in apps that won't work without an active Internet connection, so what makes you think Siri would be the exception?

I think the difference is that people realize you need internet to do these things. The average user knows that to access youtube, you need internet access. But I don't believe that everyone knows that siri requires internet access. They may realize that you need internet for siri to perform searches, but I don't think many people realize you need internet even to have siri set a reminder for you.

 

[falcora]

I think the difference is that people realize you need internet to do these things. The average user knows that to access youtube, you need internet access. But I don't believe that everyone knows that siri requires internet access. They may realize that you need internet for siri to perform searches, but I don't think many people realize you need internet even to have siri set a reminder for you.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I can picture tons of users having DOH! Moments as they try to use Siri on their iPads without Internet access. The other posters bring up valid points as well. It would be incredibly easy for apple to put it in.

 

[jackc]

I think the difference is that people realize you need internet to do these things. The average user knows that to access youtube, you need internet access. But I don't believe that everyone knows that siri requires internet access. They may realize that you need internet for siri to perform searches, but I don't think many people realize you need internet even to have siri set a reminder for you.

On the other hand, fairly unsophisticated users will probably not miss the feature.

 

[erawsd]

I think the difference is that people realize you need internet to do these things. The average user knows that to access youtube, you need internet access. But I don't believe that everyone knows that siri requires internet access. They may realize that you need internet for siri to perform searches, but I don't think many people realize you need internet even to have siri set a reminder for you.

And when they try to connect to Siri for the first time without internet access, it'll tell them they need a connection, they'll think "oh ok", and that'll be the end of it. I don't see the big deal, especially when people buying WIFI only devices have come to expect that type of thing.

 

[vixducis]

Siri works on the iPhone because the user always has Internet connectivity.

I guess you're from the Americas, because in the rest of the world, you can buy unlocked iPhones and use a sim without data plan. Where I live (Belgium), lots of people use iPhones without data plans.

</your argument>

 

[Stealthipad]

Having Siri or not having Siri is not a deal breaker for me. I seldom use it. I am always connected to WiFi or 3G.

 

[Saladinos]

If they don't include it, it won't be for that reason.

Even 3G connected phones don't have internet access all the time, and Siri just explains that she needs a connection. Tablets are internet-connected devices: for the overwhelming majority of their active time, they will have an internet connection.

Moreover, the concept of a digital assistant absolutely works in a tablet (especially as its being used more in businesses). It would make a much better product to have it, and it's limitations are very occasional.

 

[murdercitydevil]

^ This

If it's not on the iPad 3, it's not because of internet connectivity. The iPad is not an offline device. If someone plans on using it at home, they have WiFi going at all times. If they know they'll have it with them during travel, they're probably going to buy a 3G version. Either way, I can't imagine a reason why Siri *wouldn't* be on iPad 3, or any future iDevice.

 

[Tea-Aholic]

My iPhone gives me this, so I'm sure they'll put the same message on the iPad.

 

[falcora]

My iPhone gives me this, so I'm sure they'll put the same message on the iPad.

I've seriously never seen that before until I saw your post. At first it looked photoshopped, but I put my iphone in airplane mode and sure enough, siri tells you she isn't available.

 

[urkel]

When did these forums become all about how to cripple Apple products?

We don't need quad core
We don't need Siri
We don't need better cameras
We don't need styluses
We don't need touchscreen Macs
We don't néed Apple Televisions
We don't need USB3
We don't need bigger iPhone as an option
We don't need smaller/bigger iPads as an option

Lately it just feels like people are rooting for things to stay the same rather than encouraging change. I don't mean to offend anyone, but is it because some people fear change without Jobs giving his approval?

 

[Abazigal]

Siri already doesn't always work on my phone even with continuous Internet access (server side issues and all that), so I don't see how that can possibly be a reason.

 

[alex-dlc]

this makes no sense to me. one of the reasons why i often want to use siri is when im unable to connect to the internet, so i make reminders for when i am able to acces the internet. for example, if i want to search wikipedia for something but i dont have internet, i would ask siri to remind me at a later time to search for whatever i wanted to search for.

theres no reason why Siri shouldnt work offline. to make reminders, notes, to call someone, to play music....... the old voice control on iphones worked perfectly offline. i understand that there would be limitations but you cant just deny Siri to ipad users simply because they are not always online.

 

[bp1000]

We the rumours of larger storage and faster cpu's, why can't we have a local copy of siri's decrypting and common word language database on the device itself. At least allow us to store/cache common functions locally for offline activity.

Then the database / cache syncs with the cloud, just like everything else.

 

[juanm]

Quick question, for those using Siri:

If you don't have data (for any reason) and you ask Siri something she shouldn't need the internet for, like take a note, add an alarm, or send an sms, will she still do it?

 

[falcora]

We the rumours of larger storage and faster cpu's, why can't we have a local copy of siri's decrypting and common word language database on the device itself. At least allow us to store/cache common functions locally for offline activity.

Then the database / cache syncs with the cloud, just like everything else.

That would be cool. Obviously we wouldn't get wolfram aloha or othe Internet based content, but just some basic Siri for calanders, notes, etc. shouldn't be too hard. I'd say it could add 500 mb max

 

[cipo]

Quick question, for those using Siri:

If you don't have data (for any reason) and you ask Siri something she shouldn't need the internet for, like take a note, add an alarm, or send an sms, will she still do it?

No, the voice recognition itself is performed on the server, not on the device.

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this makes no sense to me. [...] the old voice control on iphones worked perfectly offline

That's because it is a lot easier for the AI to choose among a set of predefined commands than to recognize arbitrary spoken words.