I’m not talking about the abortion stuff, which was ridiculous. But I’m starting to see grumbling about the simple fact that Siri just doesn’t work all that well. In the latest pieces the writers aren’t willing to say, as Jordan Crook of TechCrunch did recently, that while Siri is disappointing, “in the end it’s my fault.”
Jason Kincaid on TechCrunch lashes out at Siri in his piece explaining why he likes the Galaxy Nexus better than the iPhone 4S. He calls Siri “completely underwhelming” and refuses to accept the fanboy rationalization that “Siri is just a beta product.”
Also: Beta, schmeta. Apple fans have repeatedly pointed out that Siri is being billed as a Beta by Apple, and so it shouldn’t be held to such high standards. In my mind Apple lost the ‘Beta’ fallback the moment it started running commercials promoting the feature — some people are buying an iPhone 4S exclusively because of Siri because it’s been so highly touted.
Then comes blistering write-up by Mat Honan on Gizmodo where he refers to Siri as “Apple’s broken promise” and calls it “a half-baked product,” writing:
Apple is the company that sells perfection. It’s a company that usually keeps its promises, and in its Siri ads, it promises far more than what it actually delivers. That’s not what any of us signed up for.
Honan also refuses to accept the line about Siri being a beta product, saying that you can’t call something beta but then advertise the hell out of it.
I’ve had a 4S for a few days and haven’t used it much. And a bunch of times I’ve tried to use it and it was not available.
I’m wondering what others are finding out. Has Apple over-promised and under-delivered?
Maybe I’m in the minority, but geebus. Siri works better than most of the shit that I buy. I mean, really? Who the fuck cares if they “over promised”. I mean, my fucking god. Sex – on the whole – is “over promised”.
Chill out people. It’s a fucking _phone_.
It is unavailable alot and doesn’t work very consistently. It is good for reminders and searching for things. Better than anything on Android by a long shot. Far better and more comprehensive. You really can’t compare the two. But yes Apple does advertise the hell out of it and it needs to be better than it is.
Apple should be having a “What would Steve Jobs do?” moment.
1.) Take everyone responsible to the woodshed, and tear ‘em a new one.
2.) Public damage control, apologize without sounding like an apology. Rebate, freebies, whatever it takes. Earn back goodwill without looking/sounding like douchebag.
3.) Enough of that “beta” crap, that’s Google’s mantra and marketing raison d’etre. When number one imitates number two , it becomes number three.
4.) Around the clock engineers for version 2 and make that upgrade shine. Don’t deliver until it’s absolutely ready.
5.) Divert attention to some other product – put on a puppet show, anything.
6.) Don’t show weakness to the enemy.
Hal, chill out.
It’s just an article about a fucking _phone_.
If there’s a backlash, it’s coming almost exclusively from professional pundits. None of the iPhone 4 owners I know outside the echo chamber actually give two shakes about Siri beyond the fact it was a fun toy to play with when they first unboxed the phone.
Remember the big advertising touch-point of the last iPhone? Facetime. Know anyone who uses that either? Does that fact seem to have had any effect on the iPhone’s sales or customer satisfaction ratings?
I’m definitely disappointed. I have pretty much stopped using its functions beyond sending the occasional text while driving or asking it to initiate a call. Neither of those require Siri or should require a network that is running parallel to my phone. Besides that it’s a limited gimmick.
This is my first iPhone though I’m heavily invested in the app environment through an iPad 2 which is every bit as good as advertised. Outside the camera, I do wish I would have waited to compare the Nexus or simply saved money on a 4 which allows jailbreaking.