Siri getting dumber instead of smarter

[hagar]

I'm having a few surprising issues with (Dutch) Siri lately:

1) She is unable to navigate to contacts. Instead of giving directions, she gives some non-sensical answer "What do you want to know about this person" but whatever I answer, she never gives directions.

2) Whenever I create a Shortcut on my iPhone (with a common word or phrase as name), Siri will try and interpret that word or phrase instead of actually executing the shortcut. Do I need to invent weird words to access Shortcuts with Siri?

3) Whenever I ask my HomePod to perform a Personal Request, and Siri is unable to recognise my voice, she will ask who is speaking.
But whatever I answer, she always responds with "I can't do this right now".

4) I cannot ask Siri to create one-time Automations like "set the thermostat to 20 degrees at 10AM".

She used to be able to do all these things, but these issues have been going on for weeks/months now.
I'm totally aware these commands may work fine on your devices, but that does only make it more frustrating.

Any ideas why Siri is getting dumber? Are they working on the backend and somehow this impacts current performance? Or has she always been this erratic and is it now my turn?

 

[Lololololo]

I completely agree with your frustrations, and you’re definitely not alone in noticing Siri’s decline.

For years, Apple has been making big promises about innovation, yet Siri remains frustratingly behind the competition. Simple commands that used to work now fail inexplicably, and instead of improving, Siri seems to be regressing. Google Assistant and Alexa have made huge strides in AI and natural language processing, while Siri continues to struggle with basic tasks.

Instead of focusing on superficial changes like making iPhones thinner, Apple should prioritize fixing these core issues. At premium prices, we expect top-tier technology, not an assistant that’s unreliable and outdated. It’s baffling that Apple hasn’t addressed this despite years of feedback.

Do you think they’re actually working on something major in the background, or is this just another case of Apple neglecting Siri in favor of more marketable upgrades?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Do you think they’re actually working on something major in the background, or is this just another case of Apple neglecting Siri in favor of more marketable upgrades?

Dialed in on the next batch of watch bands

/s

I kid ... (sort of)

 

[hagar]

Do you think they’re actually working on something major in the background, or is this just another case of Apple neglecting Siri in favor of more marketable upgrades?

I assume iOS 18.4 will introduce a big overhaul of Siri with Apple Intelligence infused and integration with ChatGPT. But possibly only in English. Definitely not in Dutch.

 

[Fred Zed]

Yeah. In my photos it reads iPad charger as following 🤣

 

[turbineseaplane]

Yeah. In my photos it reads iPad charger as following 🤣

In its defense, I do agree that ironing your charger would be a bad move

 

[WriteNow]

Any ideas why Siri is getting dumber?

I have to wonder if it's to match the population at large, full of people who seem to be getting dumber with every passing day.

But maybe I'm cynical. Or maybe I'm just getting old and cranky.

 

[seggy]

I assume iOS 18.4 will introduce a big overhaul of Siri with Apple Intelligence infused and integration with ChatGPT. But possibly only in English. Definitely not in Dutch.

The issue here is that Apple Intelligence is supposed to be Apple. Not OpenAI, which was only supposed to be a handoff service for more complex queries with the proviso that at that point you would be giving up the Apple mantra of privacy.

While before release it felt like a panicked knee jerk response, it really does reflect it in reality.

We got ApplI well after people in the US, and even then, the response to my first question, after I installed it and let it settle down, was to offer to hand me off to ChatGPT because it couldn't answer it.

Do you want to know what that question was?

"Hey Siri, what can you now do with Apple Intelligence?"

Pfffffft




(to Apple's credit, it has a different response now, but still)

 

[ascender]

Two interactions with Siri in the last day...

"Play some REM". It plays a song called REM.
"Play some music by R E M". It plays some random classical piece of music.
"Play some music by the band REM". Plays the song called REM again.

And Siri knows I've played a reasonable amount of REM.

In the car... I ask Siri to play the new album by Manic Street Preachers but I didn't notice I was in a cellular blackspot, so I get the generic response.

"Play some of my downloaded music instead".

Siri repeats the fact there's no connection.