Better incarnation of Siri may appear alongside Apple's 2017 iPhones - report

AppleInsider

Apple's 2017 iPhone models will likely ship with an enhanced version of Siri, reflecting growing competition in the AI assistant space, a report said on Tuesday.

The exact features Apple has planned are unknown, though the company did buy machine learning startup Turi in August, DigiTimes noted, citing market sources for the iPhone plans. In fact Apple has bought other companies that could aid Siri as well, such as another machine learning startup, Perceptio, and language processing outfit VocalIQ.

Apple may be facing an uphill battle with Siri, which is often considered weaker next to Google Assistant -- found on Pixel phones and the Google Home -- or Amazon's Alexa, which was born on Echo speakers but is coming to an increasing number of first- and third-party devices. Huawei is using Alexa on its Mate 9 phone for instance, and the DigiTimes sources indicated that LG's G6 will follow suit, though LG is also said to be talking about using Google AI on devices.

Samsung, meanwhile, is heading in its own direction with Bixby, which could debut alongside the Galaxy S8. The assistant is believed to use work from Viv Labs, a firm Samsung acquired in October that was created by former Apple employees and Siri co-founders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Chris Bringham.

Viv's technology has been described as superior to Siri, for instance better integrating with third-party services.

Siri has been criticized in general for limited functions, often misunderstanding requests, and lacking the ability to answer contextual questions. Google Assistant for example can answer both "who is the U.S. President" and "how old is he," recognizing that the second question is related to the first.

Any Siri improvements would presumably be tied to iOS 11, which should be announced at June's Worldwide Developers Conference and launched in the fall, if Apple follows traditional schedules. The company is thought to be working on three new iPhones for the fall, including two modest "iPhone 7s" upgrades and a flagship "iPhone X," possibly using a 5.8-inch curved OLED display made by Samsung.

A better Siri could make an appearance on Apple's rumored Echo competitor, which might also include facial recognition sensors to identify users.

larrya

Heard this one before.  Not buying it this time. 

zroger73

I think Siri works pretty well, but I wish it came in an always-on, semi-permanent appliance like my Amazon Echo devices. Something about Alexa is more pleasing than Siri, although I've noticed some inconsistencies and limitations with the way requests must be formed with Alexa. Siri seems more forgiving in this regard and seems to be able to parse the valid information from my requests better than Alexa.

Example:

Me: "Alexa, play StarTalk Radio 24/7 on TuneIn."
Alexa: "You want to hear StarTalk Radio 24/7 on TuneIn, right?"
Me: "Yes."
Alexa: "I am unable to play StarTalk Radio 24/7 on TuneIn."
(Then why did you ask?!?!)

Me: "Alexa, StarTalk Radio on TuneIn."
Alexa: "Playing StarTalk Radio 24/7 on TuneIn".
(She honors my request seemingly with too little information.)

boxcatcher

Siri can only get better ...

gatorguy

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

lightknight

gatorguy said:

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

A full open space of people talking to digital assistants. Hell is nigh.

nht

gatorguy said:

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

gatorguy

sog35 said:

gatorguy said:

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

in a home maybe. But outdoors? In a store, office, ect?

I don't think people want to be talking out loud all the time. 

The only thing that will replace typing is mind typing. A device the size of airpods that can read your thoughts and type them

Apparently you don't go out in public often. People talking to their phones is incredibly common, and what they talk about in those conversations reveals a lot more about their private lives than a relatively benign "Call mom" or "how far is the closest drugstore" or "open Facebook". 

No sense in regurgitating talking points tho as we've already had this discussion. 

EDIT: One big piece of advice I'd offer: If Google allowed wake phrases other than "OK Google" I totally believe the use of Google Now/Google Assistant would skyrocket. Apple should consider dumping the "OK Siri" requirement for that reason.

wiggin

Is there a technical reason why improvements to Siri are tied to hardware releases, or is this just a way to obsolete older devices and drive upgrade sales? Certainly there are some functions, such as always-on, which would depend on the hardware and OS; but general improvements to Siri's accuracy and relevance of responses I would think are more on the server side of things.

If Apple it stuck only improving Siri with hardware and major OS updates, it seems they are sort of self-limiting Siri's ability to keep up with the competition.

gatorguy

wiggin said:

Is there a technical reason why improvements to Siri are tied to hardware releases, or is this just a way to obsolete older devices and drive upgrade sales? Certainly there are some functions, such as always-on, which would depend on the hardware and OS; but general improvements to Siri's accuracy and relevance of responses I would think are more on the server side of things.

If Apple it stuck only improving Siri with hardware and major OS updates, it seems they are sort of self-limiting Siri's ability to keep up with the competition.

I doubt it's technical for the most part. Other companies make do on much lesser user-facing hardware. 

frantisek

It is essential for Apple to make it useful and cover even more languages.
It will be vital for Apple Watch, home automation, cars, office automation. But usefulness in personal life beyond that will stay limited to places where you are alone or is quiet.
You can try yourself to dictate like you were making call. It is strange compare to normal phone call and you do not have visual control.

eightzero

gatorguy said:

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

A well-functioning Siri will come with the iPhone made of transparent aluminum.

linkman

zroger73 said:

I think Siri works pretty well, but I wish it came in an always-on, semi-permanent appliance like my Amazon Echo devices.

If you have an iPhone 6s, SE, or 7 (or the equivalent plus models) then Siri can always be on.

spice-boy

Apple should pull Siri's "virtual plug" and license a better technology. Beyond finding "taco places in my area" Siri has proven pretty useless outside of small task and very simple questions and that's if it understand what I am asking. Apple appears to be a bit scattered with its focus these days, like a child with too many toys to play with they develop a service or product make a big deal out of it then move onto the next "great" idea and let the last one collect dusts. Time for Apple to be perfect a few things rather than dabble in fields others have now mastered. iOS in a complex nightmare these days when you need to change a setting quickly. Do us all a favor and strip it down and bring some joy back to your products and services. 

elijahg

From my experience Siri's understanding of voice is excellent, but the understanding of phrases is generally not great. I have to learn how Siri would like me to phrase something for her to understand it. That shouldn't be the case, she should have more intelligence to understand different ways of saying something. Secondly, why the hell is she so limited in the system functions she can control? That is the most basic and simple thing to implement, but it frustrates me so much when she answers "That may be beyond my abilities at the moment" when I ask her to turn on the torch for example. 

There's a critical point whereby Siri's lack of understanding means attempts to use her are actually slower than carrying out the command yourself due to having to rephrase or correct her voice recognition; or that she simply can't do what you're asking. If she understands less than the vast majority of the time, it's not worth using her at all. For some things I know Siri will definitely work for it's great, for anything slightly unusual - not so much.

As I've said before, it seems that Apple's entirely unable to work on more than one thing at once. They have a huge event where X is gonna be the next big thing, and then they abandon it for years. It's really weird and stops businesses using Apple stuff due to the unpredictability.

Metriacanthosaurus

spice-boy said:

Apple should pull Siri's "virtual plug" and license a better technology. Beyond finding "taco places in my area" Siri has proven pretty useless outside of small task and very simple questions and that's if it understand what I am asking. Apple appears to be a bit scattered with its focus these days, like a child with too many toys to play with they develop a service or product make a big deal out of it then move onto the next "great" idea and let the last one collect dusts. Time for Apple to be perfect a few things rather than dabble in fields others have now mastered. iOS in a complex nightmare these days when you need to change a setting quickly. Do us all a favor and strip it down and bring some joy back to your products and services. 

Oh yay a "Time for Apple do what I think they should do" rant.

Haven't had one of these in a while. So effective and on point too.

Oh and in case it's not ridiculously obvious ... /s

StrangeDays

wiggin said:

Is there a technical reason why improvements to Siri are tied to hardware releases, or is this just a way to obsolete older devices and drive upgrade sales? Certainly there are some functions, such as always-on, which would depend on the hardware and OS; but general improvements to Siri's accuracy and relevance of responses I would think are more on the server side of things.

If Apple it stuck only improving Siri with hardware and major OS updates, it seems they are sort of self-limiting Siri's ability to keep up with the competition.

1) I'd hazard a guess that they mean the new iOS in the new iPhone, since Siri improvements have worked this way in the past. 2) sometimes there are new hardware improvements that enable new functionality in an OS. 3) no, apple doesnt do this to force upgrades while twirling their wax mustaches, because that would piss people off. iPhones are the longest-lasting phone in the industry, with the highest re-sale rates. not a conspiracy.

tmay

gatorguy said:

boxcatcher said:

Siri can only get better ...

They will all get better. Tapping out letters on a keyboard will eventually seem quaint for most input. 

Texting is essentially private speech, the silent equivalent of a conversation, but with increased latency. Non private communications would be verbal translation to text, AI assistants, and  phone calls. 

AI assistants are great at accepting instructions, queries and providing short answers to specific questions or automating instructions, but they are private speech only in limited circumstances. Always on AI assistants, like Alexa, are not necessarily private, though they should be by default. 

I'm not seeing what you are with AI assistants, but, perception bias and all that, my mileage varied.

StrangeDays

spice-boy said:

Apple should pull Siri's "virtual plug" and license a better technology. Beyond finding "taco places in my area" Siri has proven pretty useless outside of small task and very simple questions and that's if it understand what I am asking. Apple appears to be a bit scattered with its focus these days, like a child with too many toys to play with they develop a service or product make a big deal out of it then move onto the next "great" idea and let the last one collect dusts. Time for Apple to be perfect a few things rather than dabble in fields others have now mastered. iOS in a complex nightmare these days when you need to change a setting quickly. Do us all a favor and strip it down and bring some joy back to your products and services. 

You have a pretty cynical point of view, one which I don't experience or really think is as normal as you do. Others criticize apple for the very opposite -- saying "No" to too many things, and lament that they aren't doing more products ala "Tesla is so much further ahead than Apple!" (but...where can i buy a Tesla laptop?? so bizarre) 

Apple introduced the whole digital-assistant-on-mobile-phone-OS movement w/ the first Siri. it's completely normal to expect them to continue working on it and making it better. i dont know what people want to do w/ Siri but using it for simple tasks is its job to be done for me -- texts, reminders, music, home automation... would i like a Star Trek-style assistant that could handle requests like "Computer, summarize the War of the Roses"? sure, but I'm not expecting it to drop anytime soon.

Rayz2016

I asked Siri to find the nearest cinema showing Lion

She then seemed to have some sort of seizure. 

Seriously, she started speaking in tongues. 

Looked at the phone's screen and she was reciting the xml stream she'd got back as the search result. 

Bizarre, and must do better. 

talexy

If anything that users say is transferred to Apples servers anyway, than i don´t understand why Siri doesn´t learn on the go instead of making progress only via a major System update. Here in Germany Siri does consistently misunderstand some inputs, regardless of me correcting the phrase on screen over and over again.
So it seems to me that any kind of machine-learning is either not working or not present at all up to now and every word Siri understands is punched in on a keyboard by some poor employee.