Initial Launch and Early Impressions
When I first saw the Siri demonstration at the iPhone 4S launch 13 years ago, I described it as “flawless and stunning.” This event, held at Apple’s original One Infinite Loop headquarters, was momentous. However, it was quickly overshadowed by the tragic news of Steve Jobs’s death from cancer the next day.
Despite the somber mood, significant developments at Apple caught our attention. It marked Tim Cook’s first product launch as CEO. His approach was different from Jobs’, but he seemed perfectly comfortable. We anticipated the iPhone 5, but Apple surprised us with the iPhone 4S. The “S” stood for “Siri,” a brand-new “Intelligent Assistant.” Although Apple hinted at Siri’s artificial intelligence, they never explicitly called it “AI.
What impressed me most about Siri was not its nascent intelligence but its uncanny ability to understand everything we said. This was largely due to Nuance, a company with decades of voice recognition experience. Microsoft acquired Nuance in 2022. Nowadays, Apple rarely mentions Siri’s speech recognition abilities, as this has become a standard feature for most chatbots.
Siri’s Progress Over the Years
Over the years, Siri has undergone several “brain transplants,” improving its ability to understand and respond to queries. It now has a more natural voice, can respond without the “Hey Siri” prompt, and can maintain a conversation thread over a few queries. However, it still has limitations. An October 4, 2011, Mashable post encapsulated Siri’s capabilities, which remain relevant today:
| Siri Capabilities (2011) | Examples |
|---|---|
| Parsing natural language | Responds to questions like “What’s the weather today?” |
| Reading messages | Can read text messages aloud |
| Searching Wikipedia | Provides information from Wikipedia |
| Making calendar appointments | Schedules events |
| Setting reminders | Sets reminders for tasks |
| Searching Google Maps | Finds locations on Google Maps |
The Arrival of Competitors
Siri remained impressive until Amazon introduced Alexa in 2014. Suddenly, Siri seemed limited by its smartphone environment. Although Siri and Alexa eventually reached some parity, powerful AI chatbots that emerged in 2022 upstaged them both. Our expectations for Intelligent Assistants have since evolved. Siri, once seen as a trusted horse, now feels outdated compared to these race cars.
There are rumors that Apple might integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. This would be intriguing, given Apple’s lack of significant AI advancements in the past 18 months. WWDC 2024 is expected to be Apple’s most AI-focused event yet. Siri might undergo a significant transformation, becoming almost unrecognizable from its 2011 version.
The Future of Siri and Apple’s AI Strategy
Apple could leverage OpenAI’s large language models or Google’s Gemini to enhance Siri’s intelligence. However, Apple is unlikely to disclose the core language model behind the new Siri. Apple’s approach is about control and ownership. It collaborates with many partners to build its products but emphasizes that they are “Designed by Apple.”
Concerns exist about Apple’s generative AI capabilities. However, Apple has built teams, sometimes hiring experts from competitors like Google, to tackle AI challenges. Apple can’t afford to play it safe with Siri. Once a pioneer, Siri now lags embarrassingly behind. It needs to evolve from an Intelligent Assistant to a more integrated AI, leveraging Apple’s ecosystem.
Apple’s unique advantage lies in its hardware and platforms that seamlessly integrate. A revamped Siri that works across all devices and OSes could be a formidable competitor. If successful, this new platform, perhaps called SiriOS, would be welcomed with open arms. If not, it might be time for Apple to admit defeat and let go of Siri’s original promise.