For an assistent that is closely integrated in the OS, and developers being able to add their own ‘actions’, it is going to be key how Siri will deal with explaining to the end-user what it can do and cannot do. Right now it is very hard for the end-user to know how far the capabilities reach because there is no visible UI to expose these features.
What would be true AI is if we could develop Shortcuts using natural language. For example: Siri, Write a Shortcut that starts the Workout Outside Walk when I enter Hyde Park and it is between 08:00 and 10:00 on a weekday morning; and open the Podcast app on my Apple Watch if I am carrying my AirPods with me”.
Where are the updates to the filters in Photos, Camera and FaceTime. Not as fun using these apps as opposed to Facebook Messenger or Snapchat. I mean Apple can at least add some AI FUNctionality to those apps. But no comic book is the best we are going to get, while every other camera and FaceTime conversation has you looking like you haven’t had a wink of sleep in the last 50 years.
Maybe Apple hates Pugs? Just kidding, who doesn’t like Pugs even when they fart under the dinner table? You’d think that their face wrinkle patterns would be different enough to distinguish one from the other. At least the face recognition doesn’t ask me to assign a name to hub cap pictures like it used to.
About the seeming inadequacy in some Apple apps compared to third party apps … I believe this is a combination of a couple of things. First, Apple only goes so far with certain apps because they are looking at the whole app load out that they supply themselves and believe that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, especially when all of their “parts” are so well integrated. Second, I think Apple wants to have a vibrant and attractive App Store with a lot of high quality third party contributions.
Some of Apple’s replaceable apps like the ones you mentioned, Mail, Calendar, Reminders, etc., are not best-in-class which leaves the door open for third parties to jump in with something better than what Apple provides by default. This second factor is probably a combination of Apple leaving the door open by design and third parties clearly recognizing that their apps can be much better than what Apple is providing because the third party developer may have deeper domain expertise in specific areas where Apple is involved only at a shallow level. Maybe I’m overly critical, but Apple’s Reminders app has always felt woefully inadequate to me. It’s gotten better, but not enough to keep me from deleting it from my devices.
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Right now it is very hard for the end-user to know how far the capabilities reach because there is no visible UI to expose these features.
About the seeming inadequacy in some Apple apps compared to third party apps … I believe this is a combination of a couple of things. First, Apple only goes so far with certain apps because they are looking at the whole app load out that they supply themselves and believe that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, especially when all of their “parts” are so well integrated. Second, I think Apple wants to have a vibrant and attractive App Store with a lot of high quality third party contributions.
Some of Apple’s replaceable apps like the ones you mentioned, Mail, Calendar, Reminders, etc., are not best-in-class which leaves the door open for third parties to jump in with something better than what Apple provides by default. This second factor is probably a combination of Apple leaving the door open by design and third parties clearly recognizing that their apps can be much better than what Apple is providing because the third party developer may have deeper domain expertise in specific areas where Apple is involved only at a shallow level. Maybe I’m overly critical, but Apple’s Reminders app has always felt woefully inadequate to me. It’s gotten better, but not enough to keep me from deleting it from my devices.