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Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

bloomberg.com

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Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#211

Post by HaloZero »

spyke112 wrote: post #127
mrweasel wrote: post #116

It's hard to imagine that just killing off Siri would hurt iPhone sales. It would be interesting to know how many people actually use, or even want Siri, or any type of voice assistant for that matter. The primary value of Siri is to check a box for investors, who are riding the AI wave. The same people how rode the voice assistant wave 15 years ago. There's a lot of AI features that makes sense for Apple to include…

Anecdotal data coming in hot. I use Siri daily for controlling HomeKit devices. She's not always on point though. I've named a light basically "Radiohouse", because that's what the designer called it, but 25% of the time she insists of playing radio instead of turning on the light. I'm not a native english speaker and communicate with Siri in Danish, but still. Siri is definitely not useless and I would love for her…

I have this same issue with my overcast app. I use it for podcasts and Siri insists it’s the band.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#212

Post by mathisfun123 »

tobr wrote: post #197
falaki wrote: post #24

I worked at Siri (post acquisition) 13 years ago as one of the early data scientists. Let's just say I am not a bit surprised.

Say more. What did you see?

Apple is the only place I've ever worked where I really feel I'll get summarily fired for saying the wrong thing during a meeting or in my pod (if a manager overhears) - the culture is that draconian. So don't hold your breath waiting for someone to tell you things they're under NDA about (or just general litigation pressure).

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#213

Post by patapong »

doctor_blood wrote: post #187
sockaddr wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. What Meta accomplished could have been done by a team of less than 40 mediocre engineers. It’s really just not even worth analyzing the failure. I am in complete awe when I think about how bad the execution of this whole thing was. It doesn’t even feel real.

Actually I would like see a post-mortem that showed where all the money actually went; they somehow spent ~85x of what RSI has raised for Star Citizen, and what they had to show for it was worse than some student projects I've seen. Were they just piling up cash in the parking lot to set it on fire?

At least part of the funding went to research on hard science related to VR, such as tracking, lenses, CV, 3D mapping etc. And it paid off, IMO Meta has the best hardware and software foundation for delivering VR, and projects like Hyperscape (off-the-shelf, high-fidelity 3D mapping) are stunning.

Whether it was worth it is another question, but I would not be surprised is recycled to power a futuristic AI interface or something similar at some point.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#214

Post by luxuryballs »

sigmar wrote: post #54
luxuryballs wrote: post #10

Are Apple AI agent delays bearish for AI agents in general? Unless something else is the issue it’s normal behavior for Apple not to implement something everyone else already has until it’s very good and solid.

These aren't "agent" features. they're the features announced in 2024, like ai summaries in web search and natural language image editing

I think to a similar point, if Apple is so picky about it that it’s still not ready… it definitely tracks with my experience using ai, it requires my review and often bungles things, I wouldn’t just turn it over to my customer yet and trust it to be reliably high quality.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#215

Post by runjake »

nilkn wrote: post #26
dabinat wrote: post #14

I feel like the difference between Steve Jobs’ and Tim Cook’s leadership styles is that Cook is really good at optimizing existing processes, but does not have the vision to capitalize on what’s next. Apple got into the smartphone game at the right time with a lot of new ideas. But whatever the next big shift in technology is, they will be left behind. I don’t know if that is AI, but it’s clear that in AI they are al…

Just my opinion: Apple doesn't need to solve AI. It's not core to their business in the same way that search engines aren't core to their business. What Apple does best lies at the combination of hardware, software, physical materials, and human-computer interface design. This is why they're spending so much more on mixed reality than AI, even knowing that a product like the Vision Pro today isn't going to be a big s…

> This is why they're spending so much more on mixed reality than AI

They aren’t. Mixed reality is getting little attention. It is in the “it remains a product in our line-up” phase. They are virtually all-in on AI. Their acquisitions have been AI-focused.

It’s frustrating to see these delays because the issues they’re dealing with are the same issues their competitors are dealing with and is isn’t stopping them from releasing.

> Mac Mini suddenly becoming one of the hottest computers in the world because it turns out it's amazing for sandboxing agents if you don't want to use the cloud

This isn’t why people are buying Mac minis. They’re buying them because that’s what the OpenClaw author was using, they’re cheap, and they run macOS, so the tools within OpenClaw can get deeper Apple API access to Calendar, iMessage, etc.

In the vast majority of cases, OpenClaw users aren’t using local models. They’re using “cloud” models like GPT and Claude.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#216

Post by wildrhythms »

dgxyz wrote: post #146
halapro wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not core to their business You're not thinking ahead. AI isn't just chat bots and image editing. I want to tell my phone: I'm road tripping to XYZ tomorrow, 10 am to 5 pm. and have my phone become a guide for the day, including stops it knows I like and hotel in my price range with the amenities it knows I need. If I get hungry it just slips in a stop wherever I ask. This can come as an "everything app" or it…

I do this by hand and always will. The moment this is automated and overseen by an AI implementation it'll turn into a marketing game like SEO did. You'll end up staying at the hotel which spends the most money on getting itself into the training data and forcing reviews on people immediately before the stay is up. It's bad enough already. But I do not want someone making decisions for me on that and booking things,…

>You'll end up staying at the hotel which spends the most money on getting itself into the training data and forcing reviews on people immediately before the stay is up

...and how does your "by hand" process solve this problem? You are influenced by the same SEO crap regardless of AI intervention.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#217

Post by roryirvine »

nandomrumber wrote: post #172
kakacik wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get what you want, its pretty sophisticated and yes probably a huge added value if it works reliably. And there is no fucking way I want that in my life or my family's lives, ever. I will fight this very actively, with my wallet, voting and voice. Thats far beyond 1984 and at this point, in 2026, we know all that info will be weaponized against me, will try to manipulate me into decisions I would not do otherwise,…

What is diverse about Switzerland? Isn’t it largely made up of Swiss, Germans, Italians, and Portuguese?

Diversity of nationality isn't the only type of diversity.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#218

Post by NetMageSCW »

runjake wrote: post #215
nilkn wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just my opinion: Apple doesn't need to solve AI. It's not core to their business in the same way that search engines aren't core to their business. What Apple does best lies at the combination of hardware, software, physical materials, and human-computer interface design. This is why they're spending so much more on mixed reality than AI, even knowing that a product like the Vision Pro today isn't going to be a big s…

> This is why they're spending so much more on mixed reality than AI They aren’t. Mixed reality is getting little attention. It is in the “it remains a product in our line-up” phase. They are virtually all-in on AI. Their acquisitions have been AI-focused. It’s frustrating to see these delays because the issues they’re dealing with are the same issues their competitors are dealing with and is isn’t stopping them from…

>It’s frustrating to see these delays because the issues they’re dealing with aren’t stopping their competitors from releasing.

No, it’s a good sign that Apple has re-learned the lessons they used to take to heart but sometimes forget when they panic and scramble. Apple used to always be late to most changes but when they arrived, if it was with a cohesive answer that worked well. They’ve been scrambling instead and hopefully this is a sign they’ve realized that.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#219

Post by NetMageSCW »

pjmlp wrote: post #177
re-thc wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An independent Mac business that doesn't have such tie-ins, would sell much less. For businesses and pro users, it isn't the Apple ecosystem that's the main driver. Since Apple silicon a lot of laptops are just so far behind in battery life, speed and usability that you wouldn't get it. Often Apple ecosystem was a net negative since most things worked better on Windows but that has shifted.

Until the Apple tax goes away, most folks will put up with Windows flaws, unless Apple changes their pricing policy for countries that cannot afford G8 level salaries.

There is no Apple tax, but there is a price to be paid for the performance, battery life and integration of the Apple ecosystem.

Re: Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags

#220

Post by dgxyz »

wildrhythms wrote: post #216
dgxyz wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this by hand and always will. The moment this is automated and overseen by an AI implementation it'll turn into a marketing game like SEO did. You'll end up staying at the hotel which spends the most money on getting itself into the training data and forcing reviews on people immediately before the stay is up. It's bad enough already. But I do not want someone making decisions for me on that and booking things,…

>You'll end up staying at the hotel which spends the most money on getting itself into the training data and forcing reviews on people immediately before the stay is up ...and how does your "by hand" process solve this problem? You are influenced by the same SEO crap regardless of AI intervention.

Because I can spot a turd a mile away.
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