Waiting until September for iOS 18's new AI isn't enough. Siri is broken now.

[swingerofbirch]

Something is rotten in the city of Cupertino.

As Apple is planning to unveil this huge new push into AI, Siri in the present is getting rapidly worse.

You could use voice to call people even prior to Siri.

I can't rely on Siri to call people in my contacts now. It will pick random contacts to call that sound nothing like the name I said, and it's completely inconsistent. That's new. It maybe started in the last few months.

I can no longer search for photos and videos I've taken.

I used to be able to say, "Show me videos I took in January 2024." It would actually show me all the videos from January 2024—in fact on the iPhone it seemed like using Siri was the only way to accomplish this.

It now responds that there is no app called Videos and would I like to search the App Store for it.

If I try altering the words a bit it will search the Web for videos.

The best it will do is open the Photos app with just the right wording, but it won't actually ever search, which it could before.

If I search manually by typing January 2024 in the Photos app, it show some but definitely not all photos from January 2024 but also random ones from other Januaries. I remember having that problem before which is why I used Siri for it.

It's just gotten fundamentally broken.

They should not be expecting customers who paid a premium to wait months for a do-over, when it's getting worse all the time.

This is the Apple Support video from 2020 showing you could use Siri to search for specific Photos content by date:

苹果支持 How to use Siri to search Photos — Apple Support_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

www.apple.comTake a trip down memory lane by asking Siri for photos from last year. Or search for something more specific, to find the photo you're thinking of. Here's how to search your photo, 视频播放量 512、弹幕量 0、点赞数 23、投硬币枚数 2、收藏人数 4、转发人数 0, 视频作者 Apple资讯集, 作者简介  Apple Inc. 各国、各地区视频汇总。，相关视频：足下勇者...

www.bilibili.com

The original video was here but Web Archive didn't archive the actual video (the one above is the only working version I can find):

https:// web .archive .org/web/20200623180515/https://www .youtube .com /watch ? v = 9jMwXGFWxTg

(added spaces because macrumors keeps trying to display the video--the video is not archived there, but you can see the closed captioning and scrub the video to see it and also to see that this was a legit apple support video that has since been taken down)

According to Apple engineering, it is expected that searching Siri for Photos content will not work. There apparently is no planned fix.

Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253119725?sortBy=best "Response from engineering a few minutes ago (10/9/21 1:30pm Pacific): "This functionality (searching your photos using Siri) was removed September 20"

I don't get how they can be so incompetent but also how tech writers covering Apple don't ever mention this stuff.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Couldn’t agree more!

Siri is as you say is fundamentally broken in every way, shape and form. The whole team responsible should be embarrassed and the management should be sacked. As a company, they should hold their heads in shame at just how appalling in every single way Siri is. And in my experience, genuinely it gets worse every single year.

 

[krspkbl]

Yeah siri sucks. I only very rarely use it to ask for weather or to send a message on my watch if I'm driving. Everything else I would rather do myself.

Hopefully Apple can bring Siri up to somewhere near ChatGPT/Copilot

 

[za9ra22]

Siri has been the wrong side of useless right from the start. As the first of it's kind, Apple could and should have led the way, and yet the very first thing they managed, was to totally loose the plot.

I have zero confidence that they have a plan and a solution to bring them back to even parity with others in the AI field, and the thing that holds them back more than anything is not their ability to develop a great idea, but the constant need to embed it into an Apple-only ecosystem.

That's what primarily caused Siri to be so hopeless, because unless you bought into the multiple services and integrated devices, Siri's usefulness ended at very close boundaries. If their AI plans this time around are likewise seen as an opportunity to leverage more user demand for the ecosystem, it's going to be Siri 2.0 in every way but name.

I'm not hopeful.

 

[NT1440]

Wait, OP “paid a premium” for Siri given its reputation? I’m not so sure Siri is the only foolish one in that regard.

What is the proposed solution for this non-issue (waiting until September)? Apple should rush out solutions they’ve spent years working on in silence behind the scenes?

They’ll release it when they release it.

 

[DaveS86]

I do enjoy making calls in the car using Siri. Whenever I try to call my wife it decides to make an international call to God knows who.

 

[za9ra22]

I do enjoy making calls in the car using Siri. Whenever I try to call my wife it decides to make an international call to God knows who.

Oh, in mine, when I tell it to 'Message ......", it gives me maps.

 

[generdude]

Something is rotten in the city of Cupertino.

As Apple is planning to unveil this huge new push into AI, Siri in the present is getting rapidly worse.

You could use voice to call people even prior to Siri.

I can't rely on Siri to call people in my contacts now. It will pick random contacts to call that sound nothing like the name I said, and it's completely inconsistent. That's new. It maybe started in the last few months.

I can no longer search for photos and videos I've taken.

I used to be able to say, "Show me videos I took in January 2024." It would actually show me all the videos from January 2024—in fact on the iPhone it seemed like using Siri was the only way to accomplish this.

It now responds that there is no app called Videos and would I like to search the App Store for it.

If I try altering the words a bit it will search the Web for videos.

The best it will do is open the Photos app with just the right wording, but it won't actually ever search, which it could before.

If I search manually by typing January 2024 in the Photos app, it show some but definitely not all photos from January 2024 but also random ones from other Januaries. I remember having that problem before which is why I used Siri for it.

It's just gotten fundamentally broken.

They should not be expecting customers who paid a premium to wait months for a do-over, when it's getting worse all the time.

This is the Apple Support video from 2020 showing you could use Siri to search for specific Photos content by date:

苹果支持 How to use Siri to search Photos — Apple Support_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

www.apple.comTake a trip down memory lane by asking Siri for photos from last year. Or search for something more specific, to find the photo you're thinking of. Here's how to search your photo, 视频播放量 512、弹幕量 0、点赞数 23、投硬币枚数 2、收藏人数 4、转发人数 0, 视频作者 Apple资讯集, 作者简介  Apple Inc. 各国、各地区视频汇总。，相关视频：足下勇者...

www.bilibili.com

The original video was here but Web Archive didn't archive the actual video (the one above is the only working version I can find):

https:// web .archive .org/web/20200623180515/https://www .youtube .com /watch ? v = 9jMwXGFWxTg

(added spaces because macrumors keeps trying to display the video--the video is not archived there, but you can see the closed captioning and scrub the video to see it and also to see that this was a legit apple support video that has since been taken down)

According to Apple engineering, it is expected that searching Siri for Photos content will not work. There apparently is no planned fix.

Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253119725?sortBy=best "Response from engineering a few minutes ago (10/9/21 1:30pm Pacific): "This functionality (searching your photos using Siri) was removed September 20"

I don't get how they can be so incompetent but also how tech writers covering Apple don't ever mention this stuff.

Steve has no chance of never again rolling in his grave. It's always gonna be one bad thing after another.

 

[JPack]

I doubt it'll be a "do-over" in September anyway. You can't go from zero to Google level in a year.

 

[macfacts]

I don't get how they can be so incompetent but also how tech writers covering Apple don't ever mention this stuff

If tech writers give bad reviews, they won't get future review units.

 

[AlixSPQR]

This is where Apple starts losing. Just look at MAG 7*. Only Tesla and Apple are falling behind now.

*Edit: The Magnificent Seven on the NYSE.

 

[sdwaltz]

I mean yeah, Siri sucks, but I've never understood the allure of voice assistants in the first place.

I know Alexa is better; never used it, no desire to use it.
I know Google assistant is better; never used it, no desire to use it.

No desire to use ChatGPT either.

*insert "old man yells at cloud" gif*

 

[Jackbequickly]

Sometimes Siri works and other times it does not. I use it seldom to add something to the grocery list and start a timer. That is about all she can accomplish with any dependability. I do not hold a lot of hope for AI For a few years.

 

[Supermallet]

Sometimes Siri works and other times it does not. I use it seldom to add something to the grocery list and start a timer. That is about all she can accomplish with any dependability. I do not hold a lot of hope for AI For a few years.

Adding reminders and starting timers, I also can use Siri reliably to log my blood pressure in the health app.

 

[za9ra22]

I mean yeah, Siri sucks, but I've never understood the allure of voice assistants in the first place...

Well, for me, it hasn't been about 'voice assistants' that much, but the notion of 'smart homes'.

Being able to control locks, lights, thermostats and almost any electrical device remotely, so for example, switching on my house lights, and particularly the porch light when I was on the way home from work after dark, or turn it off once I was in the car on the way out before dawn. Changing thermostat settings at home from work on days of unexpected heat or cold temperatures. Streaming music, including (or mostly) favorite radio stations.

Even switching on the coffee machine when I got out of bed, so by the time I was upstairs, there was hot, fresh coffee to start the day. Then, randomly switching lights on and off in the evenings when I was away from home for a couple of days, to deter thieves.

There are lots of small things that were rather helpful in lots of small ways, including getting weather reports or news or traffic before heading out, or managing home security devices, and monitoring them.

I did most of this from browser or app interfaces rather than voice, because Siri was always useless with voice (and still is), and Alexa now wants to have a conversation, not just follow a command, and that's infuriating, but there's less and less interactive control via my iPhone or a browser anyway, so I'm with you these days, yelling at the clouds!

 

[macfacts]

Confirm if it is Siri that sucks or voice dictation, use text/write input with Siri: (use Type instead of speak to Siri)

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphaff1d606/ios#:~:text=Go to Settings > Accessibility > Siri, then turn on Type,the keyboard and text field.

 

[Rradcircless]

Using voice controls on HomePods is a no-go. Generally awful user experience on the HomePod front too.

 

[0339327]

Other than Apple Silicon, which is debatable, can anyone name any product or category that has gotten better in the last 10 years?

Personally, I’m not thrilled about AS as all the machines are big invested, though this may be do more to software than hardware. Also, not pleased about the entire SOC design. I like being able to choose my own ram and video card.

 

[jwolf6589]

Something is rotten in the city of Cupertino.

As Apple is planning to unveil this huge new push into AI, Siri in the present is getting rapidly worse.

You could use voice to call people even prior to Siri.

I can't rely on Siri to call people in my contacts now. It will pick random contacts to call that sound nothing like the name I said, and it's completely inconsistent. That's new. It maybe started in the last few months.

I can no longer search for photos and videos I've taken.

I used to be able to say, "Show me videos I took in January 2024." It would actually show me all the videos from January 2024—in fact on the iPhone it seemed like using Siri was the only way to accomplish this.

It now responds that there is no app called Videos and would I like to search the App Store for it.

If I try altering the words a bit it will search the Web for videos.

The best it will do is open the Photos app with just the right wording, but it won't actually ever search, which it could before.

If I search manually by typing January 2024 in the Photos app, it show some but definitely not all photos from January 2024 but also random ones from other Januaries. I remember having that problem before which is why I used Siri for it.

It's just gotten fundamentally broken.

They should not be expecting customers who paid a premium to wait months for a do-over, when it's getting worse all the time.

This is the Apple Support video from 2020 showing you could use Siri to search for specific Photos content by date:

苹果支持 How to use Siri to search Photos — Apple Support_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

www.apple.comTake a trip down memory lane by asking Siri for photos from last year. Or search for something more specific, to find the photo you're thinking of. Here's how to search your photo, 视频播放量 512、弹幕量 0、点赞数 23、投硬币枚数 2、收藏人数 4、转发人数 0, 视频作者 Apple资讯集, 作者简介  Apple Inc. 各国、各地区视频汇总。，相关视频：足下勇者...

www.bilibili.com

The original video was here but Web Archive didn't archive the actual video (the one above is the only working version I can find):

https:// web .archive .org/web/20200623180515/https://www .youtube .com /watch ? v = 9jMwXGFWxTg

(added spaces because macrumors keeps trying to display the video--the video is not archived there, but you can see the closed captioning and scrub the video to see it and also to see that this was a legit apple support video that has since been taken down)

According to Apple engineering, it is expected that searching Siri for Photos content will not work. There apparently is no planned fix.

Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253119725?sortBy=best "Response from engineering a few minutes ago (10/9/21 1:30pm Pacific): "This functionality (searching your photos using Siri) was removed September 20"

I don't get how they can be so incompetent but also how tech writers covering Apple don't ever mention this stuff.

I have no issues with Siri and use it on all my devices.

 

[jwolf6589]

Couldn’t agree more!

Siri is as you say is fundamentally broken in every way, shape and form. The whole team responsible should be embarrassed and the management should be sacked. As a company, they should hold their heads in shame at just how appalling in every single way Siri is. And in my experience, genuinely it gets worse every single year.

Works fine for me.

 

[jwolf6589]

Other than Apple Silicon, which is debatable, can anyone name any product or category that has gotten better in the last 10 years?

Personally, I’m not thrilled about AS as all the machines are big invested, though this may be do more to software than hardware. Also, not pleased about the entire SOC design. I like being able to choose my own ram and video card.

Tons of products have gotten better!!!!!!

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Siri's capabilities have always been very limited.

But I do use it to start timers, schedule reminders, add things to Calendar, dictate and send texts via iMessage, start and stop playback of media, take or make phone calls, initiate a limited selection of Shortcuts that I've set up, get directions using Maps, dictate a note in Notes, etc.

And, for these very basic tasks, Siri works perfectly about 8 times out of 10 or so.

Anecdotally, I remember trying to do these things with Siri 2-3 years ago and it failing much more often than now.

Without any knowledge on the matter, it would appear to me that my insistence on using Siri has led it to either adapt to my voice or just learn the 20-40 or so different commands that I commonly make use of over 4-6 weeks. So it's not really that great at hearing exactly what I say. It's just adapted to predict the few things I use it for.

Not very high-tech, but it works, kinda.

What I still hate is being unable to get Siri to launch songs in Music as most song titles I want to play are in English but my OSs are set to my native language. Siri can't understand me unless I mispronounce the English words as if they were in my native language. Except, that there are some English names and words that I have to pronounce correctly, in English, or it will not recognize them.

It's a mess.

The same is true for trying to reply to texts from contacts in other languages than the one my OSs are set to.

Very messy and cumbersome.

However, Siri definitely has gotten a lot better for me over time.

It's nowhere near what Google or ChatGPT can do. But knowing how those work, it's unfair to think Siri could ever match their performance unless it's completely overhauled.

I'm okay with Siri as is. But I'd be very disappointed if Apple can't make it work much better using AI while keeping it on-device.

 

[swingerofbirch]

I have no issues with Siri and use it on all my devices.

Can you do what Apple shows Siri could do in this video (use Siri to search your photos/videos)?

苹果支持 How to use Siri to search Photos — Apple Support_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

www.apple.comTake a trip down memory lane by asking Siri for photos from last year. Or search for something more specific, to find the photo you're thinking of. Here's how to search your photo, 视频播放量 512、弹幕量 0、点赞数 23、投硬币枚数 2、收藏人数 4、转发人数 0, 视频作者 Apple资讯集, 作者简介  Apple Inc. 各国、各地区视频汇总。，相关视频：足下勇者...

www.bilibili.com

I have to use that mirrored link as they removed their official video from YouTube.

 

[0339327]

Tons of products have gotten better!!!!!!

I’m not talking about a better camera or just throwing in a slightly faster processor. An iPhone 8 will easily do 90% of the current iPhone.

What real innovation has Apple done besides moving the Mac away from Intel (and again, with all the restrictions, I’m not convinced they pulled it off yet)?

 

[jwolf6589]

I’m not talking about a better camera or just throwing in a slightly faster processor. An iPhone 8 will easily do 90% of the current iPhone.

What real innovation has Apple done besides moving the Mac away from Intel (and again, with all the restrictions, I’m not convinced they pulled it off yet)?

Excuse me??????? Face ID, Dynamic Island, improvements to IOS among many things.

Gonna buy you my first iPhone in 2012 and give you a Time Machine to go back to 2012. You will then greatly appreciate modern iPhones.