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Siri - the waste of virtual space

Galacticos

Galacticos

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 5, 2016
692
379
The only time I use Siri is as a workaround to limited Apple app capabilities (eg reminders).

I think I should disable her.

Slag her off or let me know where she's useful
 
Siri is consistently inconsistent. She probably gets half of what I say. I really hope Apple has something big waiting for us. Amazon and Google are KILLING IT right now.
 
Yeah I hardly use it for the workarounds anyway. Thinking of it maybe 5 times a year, if that. Apple spend too much time talking such a punctured piece of software up
 
Hands-free Siri (iPhone 6S and later) is actually pretty useful. Every morning I ask Siri what time it is when I get out of the shower, what the weather is for the day and how long my commute to work is as I"m getting dressed without stopping to touch my phone as it sits on the nightstand.
 
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I use it mainly in the car for doing things using the Hey Siri command. Useful for texts being read to me, replying to them, getting addresses to put in the sat nav etc. I have no need to use it outside of that really.
 
I've had Siri disabled for quite some time now and have never once wished I did not.

I don't have time for that ****.
 
Armen said:
Hands-free Siri (iPhone 6S and later) is actually pretty useful. Every morning I ask Siri what time it is when I get out of the shower, what the weather is for the day and how long my commute to work is as I"m getting dressed without stopping to touch my phone as it sits on the nightstand.
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I find it useful, too.

For me, it's by far the fastest way to create reminders:
"Hey Siri, remind me at 9 AM tomorrow to call the vet"
"Hey Siri, add garbage bags to my Sams Club list"
"Hey Siri, add milk to my Shopping list"

And this (granted, on my watch) is so much nicer when I'm working outside (or coming back from a bike ride) vs. flipping up the remote garage door opener keypad and typing in the code:
"Hey Siri, open the garage door"

Use it for texting when driving all the time:
"Hey Siri, text Scott .... I'm running about 10 minutes late"
"Hey Siri, reply to Jason ... [whatever]"

Even for some fairly quick tasks, it can make it less of a hassle:
"Hey Siri, turn on low-power mode". For me, quicker than drilling through the Settings app to find that setting.
"Hey Siri, did I leave the garage door open?"
"Hey Siri, what time is my alarm set for tomorrow?"
"Hey Siri, turn [on/off] my bedroom ceiling fan" (awesome when laying in bed)

I rarely use it for general "Google searches", though.
 
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She's good for Shazam, timers, weather, translating single words and showtimes. Else she sucks.
 
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decafjava said:
Well would rather go without a virtual assistant than use a privacy sieve but that's just me.
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What do people have to hide? Google knows I go to a few websites and my location. Big deal! It's only a problem if you have something to hide!
 
I use Siri all the time.
To read and send text message.
To start Podcast,soundbook,music,specifik playlist.
To get directions when i´m walking, driving, bicycling.
To setup task in calendar.

The more I use Siri the more accurate she get.
 
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honglong1976 said:
What do people have to hide? Google knows I go to a few websites and my location. Big deal! It's only a problem if you have something to hide!
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To me this would only be a problem if someone was actually looking at my data - they aren't. Even with Google, who are probably the worst company for collecting data, they go to extraordinary measures to make sure that their staff don't have access to it. The fact that they have all this data, is only going to be a problem if you do something illegal, and are the subject of an investigation. If you are accused of something you didn't do, the data could actually help prove your innocence.

In truth, your data is far more vulnerable in an old school filing system, and you are far more likely to have your personal information spread around by hiring a person as a PA.
 
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Phoenixx said:
To me this would only be a problem if someone was actually looking at my data - they aren't. Even with Google, who are probably the worst company for collecting data, they go to extraordinary measures to make sure that their staff don't have access to it. The fact that they have all this data, is only going to be a problem if you do something illegal, and are the subject of an investigation. If you are accused of something you didn't do, the data could actually help prove your innocence.

In truth, your data is far more vulnerable in an old school filing system, and you are far more likely to have your personal information spread around by hiring a person as a PA.
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There are also things like what's been happening with Yahoo! lately to keep in mind.
 
Like with any tech, you do have to make a point of learning & using the feature to its fullest extent, it's not just gonna use itself. Most people only bother learning to use it to set alarms. And they don't practice dictating a bit extra clearly like they should. But if you learn how to use it well, it can save you so much time.

I use these practically every day:
  • Set alarms and timers
  • "Remind me at 5pm" or "tomorrow" or "next Wednesday" to do something - AMAZINGLY useful. "Remind me at 6pm Thursday night that I have a concert to go to". Saves 30+ sec EVERY time and I never miss anything important.
  • "Delete all my alarms" - no way to do this in the clock app itself
  • "Hey Siri, define 'percipient'" - I do this often while reading books, don't even have to look up from the page to learn a new word.
  • "What time does Home Depot close?"
  • "How long would it take to get to Fry's Electronics?"
Sometimes I have a whole conversation with her from across the room: Hey Siri, when is my my alarm set tomorrow? Ugh, that is too early. Hey Siri, delete all my alarms. Hey Siri, set alarm for 9 am. Hey Siri, thank you!

That was before I had the watch... now I can also do this all from my wrist. To me that is pretty ****ing nuts. I think the feature is amazing.

(Not to deny it can definitely get 1000x better in the coming years.)
 
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