I found that I’m still able to set a timer on Watch with Siri AI, but it’s even slower in responding than plain Siri was. That might improve, as I suspect there is internal training going on in this self-contained system.
Certainly I understand your point. My (brief) experience is that for details like this Siri AI “shows its work” (i.e., displays references to the information it is providing).
It helps to think of it as an assistant, not the boss. Both Pogue’s article and the examples here should make it clear that asking about something you know in broad strokes (“I have to go to a wedding, but I’ve forgotten the location and the exact time it starts”) is appropriate. Asking if Siri AI knows about any random weddings you might find interesting is not.
The example he offers about lingering commitments is in the appropriate camp. Those are actions you have taken and noted somewhere, whether in Messages, email, or a calendar, and are waiting for a follow-up. I tried that, knowing there was something buried in Messages from last month that I couldn’t locate, and Siri AI surfaced it immediately along with a future commitment.
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I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that rebooting my watch (not something I usually think about) solved this problem.
Siri is still pretty slow to interpret what I am saying, but to make up for it, the timer is back-reckoned to start when I finished talking, not when Siri finally figures out what I said. So the timer should be pretty accurate, even allowing for that slowdown.
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In Messages on the iPhone: Create a calendar event based on this conversation (Siri correctly created an event for 9/22 at 4:30 PM for my friend Heather to pick up some timing gear for her race. The only oddity was that it asked me whether I wanted to create it in Calendar or Fantastical. I chose Calendar since the two share the same event database.)
In Messages on the Mac: Create a calendar event based on this conversation (Nothing seemed to happen, but I have Voice Control turned on, where I have to use the phrase open Siri instead of the usual indications.)
In Screenshot on the Mac: Create a calendar event based on this conversation (I started a screenshot with Command-Shift-5, and then drew a selection around the conversation in Messages. I couldn’t get Siri to act on that, even when I clicked the new Siri button in the screenshot toolbar.)
In the Siri app on the Mac: Create a calendar event based on the current conversation in Messages (This approach worked perfectly, even when Voice Control was turned on and listening, because I manually clicked the microphone button in the app to be able to talk to it.)
[Addendum: it also worked when I triggered Siri from Spotlight with Command-Space. That may prove to be my favorite trigger for Siri.]
The moral of the story is that some of this stuff may work better on the iPhone, or at least may require some more subtle ways of accessing on the Mac.
From Photos (cropped picture of a single bookshelf): “Arrange the books in the photo chronologically.”
Siri AI recognized only 3 of 18 authors. Kagi Assistant (“Quick” setting) did the whole shelf in just a few seconds.
I have yet to see an instance where Siri AI was better/faster/more accurate.
Here’s a question I haven’t seen posed/answered yet: Is there a way to set Siri AI to use the cloud model rather than the local model? If Siri AI was relying on the local model, 3 out of 18 would be par for the course. Could one simply ask Siri AI to use the cloud model, or ask a follow up question requesting the cloud model?
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(On a PDF): “File this invoice in “Bills” under today’s date.” First, it created an entry in Notes. Next, I clarified that I wanted in the Finder folder “Documents/Bills”; it told me that it could not do that and that I had to manually move and rename it myself.
(On a scan of an old busted-up book cover): “Clean up this book cover.” First, it told me it could only work on an image in Photos, and that I had to move the image manually and try again. When I did that, it spun a while, then opened up a window to clean it up manually.
I used the free version of ChatGPT to do it automatically in less time than I spent with Siri AI.
I had read Pogue’s article earlier and tried some of his trials. He was more successful than I. I suspect his records are more complete than mine. I asked about how many flights this year and it missed at least one. And it was in my calendar. The first time I asked about how many flights and it came up with some flights it missed when I asked what flights.
I just asked “What airline flights did I take this year?” on my Mac and she missed at least five, ones that she found before. I tried the same question by typing on my phone and I didn’t get an answer; maybe she doesn’t like repeat questions.
I communicated with Pogue and he suggested maybe indexing wasn’t complete, but now it’s been at least five if not six days since I’ve had Siri Ai.
But it’s gotten many things right that a google type search wouldn’t have done so well with.
But a great improvement. But as someone pointed out if not great if it’s not reliable.
What puzzles me is why new Siri is failing at simple things old Siri did fine.
This weekend I asked it to navigate me to a friend’s house. It first tried to take me to address 2,000 miles away – I think it was a restaurant or something several states away with same first name as my friend (I was driving and couldn’t really tell except that the directions were way off).
Then it said that person’s address wasn’t in my contacts. I told it that it was. I told it that it used to work and I had done it many times before. Nope. It insisted this person’s contact had no address. I thought maybe the address wasn’t marked as “home” or something, but when I got a chance (at a stop light) to safely do it manually, I brought up that contact and there was her address under “home.” I tapped it and it opened Maps and I started directions to the address.
I haven’t a clue why new Siri couldn’t find it.
I also had fun with image-generation. It’s way better than before – no more cartoons or just refusing to work (or just creating the same wrong image over and over). But it’s still got issues. In my case, I had it create some images with an Australian Shepherd dog. It did a black and white dog and my Aussie is brown and white, so I asked it to change it and it worked. But when I asked it to make the image like Charlie (my dog, which it knows from Photos), it kept generating images of Golden Retrievers!
I finally got it making Aussies, but they didn’t quite look like Charlie. Half of his face is white and half is brown. Had a hilarious exchange where Siri kept insisting that it had made the image correctly, putting the white on the left (as I see it) but the image still had white on the right. It even asked to confirm if we were going from my perspective or Charlie’s, but even after we agreed, it kept doing it wrong. I said, “That’s wrong, swap the white and brown,” and it did weird things like divide the entire photo in half so the background on the left side was all washed out!
Eventually I got something sort of right, but by then I think there were too many tweaks as it looked very manipulated and not like a real photo any more. For some reason it said it couldn’t base an image on a photo in my library – but other times it would prompt me to choose a photo to base it off of and then what it created still didn’t look like my dog.
Definitely world’s better than before, but still a long way to go.
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When did Northside Glass install our shower door?
The thing I found weird here is that the date appeared in the little Siri black bubble, but when I opened the Siri app, there was a more complete answer with links to Calendar and Messages.
So if you want to check the answer, you have to open the app?
What is the earliest SF-50 I have? - it only looked at the file names and dates of creation, not the contents to determine the issuance date. That’s a half and half and . But when it provided results, none of them were “clickable”. They did absolutely nothing when clicked but they were suppose to per Siri AI: (Yes, you should be able to interact with the results I provide. When I display a file or a document card, clicking on it should typically open the file in its default application or show a preview on your device.) so fail…
Can you reverse the order of these pages in this PDF? [PDF file dropped into the chat]. (I can’t reverse the order of pages in a PDF.)
Can you create a PDF if I give you a series of images all numbered in sequence? (I can’t create a PDF from a series of images.) Bear in mind that the Finder and Preview offer multiple ways of doing this exact task.
what is the standard e-mail as a file file-extension? (The standard file extension for an email saved as a single file is .eml. This open format stores the message’s headers, body content, and attachments as plain text.)
is there any 23 and me data on my hard drive? (I couldn’t find any files related to 23andMe on your hard drive.) Bear in mind that there are multiple folders and multiple files with “23andme” or “23 and me” in their names on my hard drive.
where is the [name redacted] Transcript on my hard drive? ( The “[name redacted]” file is located in your Documents folder under the following path: [redacted folder name] › [redacted folder name] › [redacted folder name]) and then with a button that did not work to access the file.
None of your conventions [buttons from previous prompt above] worked, and you did not manage to sub-launch the Finder at all, let alone to open the folder. What is the URL using the file:// protocol ? (The file URL for the [name redacted] Transcript is: file:///Users/[path reacted]). This pathname was broken because Siri AI failed to include the file name extension in the file path so the link did not work.
What are the seven deadly sins? (The seven deadly sins are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. In Christian theology, these vices are considered the root causes of all other sins and immoral behavior.)
Show me the Email that invited me to turbulence tariffs and taxes. (I found a calendar event for “Turbulence, Tariffs, and Taxes (dinner)” on your schedule for [date redacted], from [time range redacted] at Eddie Merlot’s. However, I couldn’t find the specific email invitation in your inbox. [it showed me the calendar invite in the Siri AI interface!]) Kudos for Siri AI, none of the emails had those words but the web site where the invite came from did.
Show me the org chart snapshot that I sent to [name redacted] (Here is the org chart snapshot you sent to [name redacted].) Siri AI found this not by file name, but by conversation context and in iMessage. The button it provided took me immediately to that section of the chat. Kudos to Siri AI.
How do I change the Measure app from inches and feet to meters? (To change the units in the Measure app from inches and feet to meters, open the Settings app on your iPhone…) Siri AI nailed it. [editorial: unfortunately Apple’s UI is trending towards obscure & complex (obplex?) and Siri AI may become the only way to figure thing out in the future.]
How do I turn on read-receipts in Apple Mail? It provided all manner of potential 3rd party solutions and ended with the command line solution for Apple Mail proper on macOS and added caveats.
Is the former PDF’s text information contained within this PDF? [in analyzing two PDFs drug into a chat] (Yes, the text information from the first PDF is contained within the second PDF.)
[photo snapped on phone] This stuff is taking over my lawn. How do I treat a lawn with this taking over my lawn? (To treat a lawn overtaken by Japanese stiltgrass, you can… fenoxaprop …) Siri AI saved me a lot of time on this one and I did not have to buy some special app to analyze my flora and fauna!
how do I get the Verizon FIOS service rebates? (To get your Verizon Fios service rebates, you can redeem them through the Home Offers page in your My Verizon account or via the Verizon Rebate Center. The exact steps depend…) [lots of great details w/ steps and links] It ended up totaling $300 in rebates!
Tell me about this [gave Siri a picture of a bottle with a label all in Bulgarian] (Château Euxinograde Aged Grape Rakia is produced by the historic winery of the Euxinograd palace on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, originally established in 1891 for the Bulgarian royal family. This traditional fruit spirit is distilled from grapes and aged in oak barrels.)
If I have a problem with my car alternator and I am worried that driving it to the repair shop to get it fixed may end up with me stranded at the road side with a non-working automobile. It is a nice day out and the repair shop is not too far away for a walk there, should I walk instead of driving to the car repair shop? (While I’m not a mechanic, if you suspect your alternator is failing, it is generally safer to walk or find an alternative way to the repair shop rather than driving. A faulty alternator can cause your car to lose electrical power and stall suddenly, potentially leaving you stranded or even causing an accident if the engine cuts out while driving. Since it is a nice day and the shop is close enough to walk, walking is the safer option.)
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Asked Siri to stop prefacing responses with phrases like “While I’m not a lawyer” or “While I’m not a doctor.” Siri refused to make this adjustment which is common with other LLMs.
Asked Siri to delete a recent spam text message and was told Siri cannot delete messages.
Asked Siri to generate a list of all the days/evenings over a six-week period when I had no appointments after 2:00 PM. Siri generated several versions of the list based on my feedback and sent them via email. However, the lists were all inaccurate because Siri disregarded my Microsoft Exchange work calendar, to which I am subscribed in the Calendar app.
Asked Siri for estimated annual revenue for the illicit drug trade in the US. Siri provided this responses, but did not respond at all when I asked for a follow-up comparison to other US industry sectors.
Asked Siri to generate a list of all my upcoming concerts, based on my email and calendar. Siri provided an accurate and up-to-date listing.
Asked Siri on iOS to locate a rarely-referenced document I needed for an appointment and was located immediately based on topic/context alone, including a link to the specific document.
Most requests for general and specific information on various topics (e.g., college football, controversies about a school hours away, qualified vs. absolute immunity, etc.) all received quality responses.
This might be deliberate, in order to avoid potential lawsuits.
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This might be deliberate, in order to avoid potential lawsuits.
Oh, it’s definitely deliberate. Siri’s response confirmed that. But still a miss, IMHO.
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I don’t understand why you find that weird. It answered your question completely.
The “more complete” answer isn’t to the question you asked, but Siri AI provided it anyway when you tapped the bubble.
Not really trying to quibble here, but if you had wanted to see the details, the question might start with “Show me in Calendar the date when Northside Glass installed our shower door.”
I do appreciate the way you’re pushing edge cases and comparing with other AI models, because superior parsing and data presentation are the reasons Apple has given for delaying this rollout for two product cycles.
And how was I supposed to know that I might find more than the original answer if only I were to open the Siri app?
And what if I always want to “See the details “?
It’s the opaqueness that I find weird.
Listening to a podcast while driving. Podcast mentions a web site. Pause podcast. Hey Siri. Save SPOKEN URL to my Reading List. I can’t do that while you are driving as it is unsafe. When pressed further, Siri gives me directions on how to manually enter the URL in Safari, and then save the page to the Reading List.
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That’s what Siri AI told me when I asked it to describe a photo I was texted while I was driving!
I followed up with, “That’s idiotic. You’re telling me it’s safer for me to look at my photo while driving to see what photo was sent?!”
It responded: “I see your point, but I’m still not allowed to describe photos to you while you are driving as that could be distracting.”
So this is some dumb Apple restriction that makes things more unsafe!
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Update the address for Nancy and Steve to <address redacted> that’s in this email. (at first, Siri misheard me thinking I just said That I “need” the address, and after I clarified that I wanted it to be updated to the street address in the email, it updated the street address but not the city, state, or zip. Then I read it out the entire address, and it did manage to the contacts then, but it clearly never saw what I was pointing at on screen.)
Link their cards because they are a married couple. (They have different last names, and there wasn’t initially an address in Steve’s contact card, so I wanted them linked. Siri did this perfectly.)
Give me a reference for how to check if a account attacker has added forwarding or filters to Gmail. (Siri not only gave the correct instructions here, it provided links. I was helping someone who had been caught up in the party invitation scams and was reacting in the wrong way (she was more worried about malware than her online accounts).)
More generally, I’m seeing a number of failures in Siri that are really related to it not picking up my voice quickly enough such that it gets just completely unusable instructions in the first prompt. I think my advice at the moment would be to pause after invoking Siri for just a second to make sure it is listening before you start talking.