Things Siri still can't do after 8 years and 6 iOS releases!

Why can't I use Siri to stop an an alarm that is has gone off?

Why can't I use Siri to turn off bedtime alarms?

Why can't Siri just do what I tell it to do without repeating what i just asked it to do or telling me what it's going to do or has just done? **** and just do it! Alexa has a quite mode?

Because its terrible. I love Apple, but Siri is probably their greatest failure in the post-iPhone era.

They had such a massive head start on every other voice assistant but they really left it half-baked and only make minimal improvements every year. Pretty sad.

Couldn’t agree more. Siri is an embarrassment. It cannot be relied on, notwithstanding how useless it it anyway. The amount of times mine says ‘on it, just a sec, mmm there appears to be a problem’ is, well, every day without fail! I despise it. It is absolutely unacceptable with Apple’s genuinely unlimited resources that is still the biggest pile for **** it always has been!

In siris defense, she isn't as useless as Cortana. Importantly, she is not a data harvester like google.

Khaleesi Kendall said:

In siris defense, she isn't as useless as Cortana. Importantly, she is not a data harvester like google.

That’s nice but many of her shortcomings don’t seem to be because Apple is more privacy focused. Apple needs to put a focus on Siri becoming more useful.

Use Google assistant for a few min. Especially in conversation mode where you can keep it going with contextual responses and once you you Siri again your dislike will turn to hatred.

It is criminal the amount of effort Apple has not put into making it better. It is really great at figuring out what song I want. Anything else it fails. It is one of those things you can tell senior management doesn’t use.

But have you heard, they have 5G and Verizon, Verizon 5G and now 7 models spaced $80 or so bucks apart? I have a smart home, if I go back to google my wife will be pissed, but it worked so well.

I thought I read that they had problems developing it because of privacy concerns?

I haven't even tried using Siri in years. Turned it off since it wastes RAM and battery and it's just a worthless gimmick feature.

Didn’t they hire a few Google folk a while back specifically to improve Siri?

Like I said before. To get Siri to google level needs to mine your data. I’m okay with siri being handicapped for my privacy.

Today I asked Siri what time the election office closes and was given suggestions of laundry mats to patronize. Good times.
But seriously, and the above is true, why can’t I have an offline Siri that can set timers and alarms and appointments? I wouldn’t mind if it used 5,10,15gb, heck 20gb of storage! I want it to work, seemingly more than Apple does.
Also, why can’t I download offline maps in Apple Maps for...wait for it... offline navigation? Why do I need to use a 3rd party app to navigate with when offline when Apple Maps is the default? Does Apple really think most of us rarely venture outside of cellular and WiFi signals?
I could go on about how Apple chose to use inferior modems and doesn’t really offer anything pro in their “Pro” models but I’d be digressing. Siri sucks and Apple doesn’t care. Incremental UI improvements are sufficient for now, it seems.
Also, wah! I know I’m just telling the wind not to blow.

MiamiC70 said:

Why can't Siri just do what I tell it to do without repeating what i just asked it to do or telling me what it's going to do or has just done?

Just use Siri on Apple Watch then. 🙂

Its 3am and I can’t sleep so I turn and whisper to my HomePod, “hey Siri, play rain from ambient sounds.” Siri: “💥💥NOW PLAYING RAIN FROM AMBIENT SOUNDS!!!💥💥”. Bitch.

Khaleesi Kendall said:

Like I said before. To get Siri to google level needs to mine your data. I’m okay with siri being handicapped for my privacy.

Privacy is not an issue. There are so many things that could be done by siri with just on device processing. No need to hide apple shortcomings behind privacy.

matrix07 said:

Just use Siri on Apple Watch then. 🙂

My siri on aw is not even able to set an alarm for my phone (no issues setting an alarm for watch). That's very sad actually.

Zazoh said:

Use Google assistant for a few min. Especially in conversation mode where you can keep it going with contextual responses and once you you Siri again your dislike will turn to hatred.

I vaguely recall Dragon Go had this type of capability, though can’t find a reference, and isn’t/wasn’t Siri powered by Nuance’s speech engine?

On your pixel, can you use google assistant to stop an alarm? And how much interaction has to happen and is the interaction worse than just touching the screen?

I7guy said:

On your pixel, can you use google assistant to stop an alarm? And how much interaction has to happen and is the interaction worse than just touching the screen?

I use hands free in kitchen a lot, rubbing spices on a slab of meat and an alarm goes off, I don't want to touch my phone. Oddly, works with timers. I am a developer, I picture the Siri team jacking around in the office, not really doing much. Because nobody at Apple cares. I only say this because the other two assistants I have experience with, are LIGHT years ahead. (Google and Amazon)

I don't buy the privacy thing others have mentioned. They can't get out of their own way. I have a Shared shopping list with my fam. Siri is more impressed with itself that it can recognize the voice, then what is being asked of.

Siri, add chocolate cookies to the shopping list.

Okay, BRIAN, I have added those things to your shopping list.

Sure enough, there are then two things on the list.

I know - I know, first world problems. But if they canceled what they had and started over, it wouldn't hurt my feelings.

The only way I can use Siri without getting infuriated is by managing my expectations. Really simple stuff works ok, but the minute it starts getting complicated, I just skip it because I know I'm going to start yelling at the damn thing in short order because it's so stupid.

I honestly wouldn't mind if they pulled an Apple Maps on this and started over. Maps has gained massive ground (literally) in recent years, despite how embarrassingly bad it was at first. Could they pull this off with Siri? Buy up a bunch of AI startups, whatever it takes to make a privacy-forward and competent Siri. I feel like a TRILLION DOLLAR company should be able to handle this.

Steeley said:

Its 3am and I can’t sleep so I turn and whisper to my HomePod, “hey Siri, play rain from ambient sounds.” Siri: “💥💥NOW PLAYING RAIN FROM AMBIENT SOUNDS!!!💥💥”. Bitch.

Exactly and made actually LOL.

yeye11 said:

Privacy is not an issue. There are so many things that could be done by siri with just on device processing. No need to hide apple shortcomings behind privacy.

The privacy thing is just an excuse and don't think for a moment Apple cares about anything but making money.


My siri on aw is not even able to set an alarm for my phone (no issues setting an alarm for watch). That's very sad actually.

Click to expand...

The whole thing is a disjointed mess.

Siri can't even start the stopwatch!

Pilot Jones said:

Because its terrible. I love Apple, but Siri is probably their greatest failure in the post-iPhone era.

They had such a massive head start on every other voice assistant but they really left it half-baked and only make minimal improvements every year. Pretty sad.

They didn't have a head start. Google already had their. They just never marketed it since it was integrated with their search as part of Android.
Apple just decided to give theirs a fancy name and make it a selling point.
I remember the Android folks laughing about it when Siri was first introduced!

My parents have a couple of Alexa devices, and if you ask them "what are today's football headlines", Alexa will tell you "Liverpool beat Ajax 1-0 last night" or something like this. We're in the UK so that's what football means.

If I ask Siri the same question on my HomePod, it says "I've sent what I found to your phone". And it's always NFL stories.

If I was on my phone, I'd look at my phone in the first place! And if I wanted NFL news, I'd live in America!

Yeah Siri is awful. It can't purely be privacy issues, since when you agree to the terms you agree that your recordings will be used to improve Siri.

Zazoh said:

Siri, add chocolate cookies to the shopping list.

Okay, BRIAN, I have added those things to your shopping list.

Sure enough, there are then two things on the list.

This happens every time. I thought it was just me.

(Except Siri doesn’t call me Brian, because that would be weird).