102 replies to this topic

[iPhone]

lol shit

[Chris]

The screen really is amazing. Wow. I can't believe how sharp the text is.

[Towelie]

It punches you in the face

[Wolvy]

From all that's been said, it's just another iPad. Does it have Siri?

[Chris]

No. Just voice typing.

[Towelie]

One downfall of it

[Chris230291]

The iPad doesn't need siri at all. I read a good argument as to why it shouldn't be included. I'll try to find it.

[Chris]

On Gizmodo? Some of the Gizmodo editors are stupid. There's no argument why it shouldn't be included. That's just fanboys defending their favorite company.

Even if you wouldn't use Siri, you shouldn't be arguing that it's stupid to include it. I don't use any kind of business apps. Doesn't mean other people don't. I wouldn't use Siri much myself on an iPad, but that doesn't mean I don't want the option of being able to use it.

[Chris230291]

It makes perfect sense to me...

Quote

Somehow, through the smog of doubt and tech cynicism, the new iPad managed not to disappoint—likely owing to a retina display that’s more glorious than Athena’s cleavage. But! No Siri! Apple you screwed us again! Actually, no: be glad it’s missing.


Siri on the iPad is an inevitability, just like Siri on pretty much everything Apple will ever sell is an inevitability. It’ll control our music, turn on the World Series, and, of course, find the nearest abortion clinic. It’s integral to Apple’s far-seeing vision of the computer.

So why, if Siri is ready for iPhone 4S primetime, is it absent from the greatest iPad of all time? It’s the fastest mobile device Apple’s ever made, so processing power can’t be the scapegoat. And it’s got the most liquid crystalline eye capacity of any mobile device Apple’s ever made; just think of all the voice-automated ways we could boss Siri around. What gives?

Time’s Matt Peckham has some spot-on speculation: Siri just isn’t good enough for the iPad. Why? Because the iPad is a whole other computing beast that fits into an entirely different part of our life compared to the always-pocketed phone...

"With an iPad, by contrast, you might be sitting down at work or home to check email, your social networking sites, or browse the web. Or you might be a kid settling in for a marathon info-dive, the way one might with a book or a game or an encyclopedia. The requirements of a voice recognition app in these “settled” scenarios are much different than when you’re out and about."

He’s right. If we’re going to use Siri on the iPhone, it’ll be for quick conveniences: Where’s the closest X, play album Y, text wife Z. Things we can’t be bothered to do with our fingers. Sloth.
A Siri-enabled iPad, by contrast, could genuinely think with us. It could provide the equivalent of extra arms and an extra brain using an extra computer, working in parallel and assisting us, the way Apple dreamt over two decades ago. Imagine starting a uni paper while Siri looks up a list of Latin American countries that underwent a revolution in the 20th century, sorted by current GDP? Imagine asking Siri to pluck out every photo of your parents at your brother’s wedding, auto-enhance, and resize to something proper for email, all in one utterance.

Siri in its current form is so astoundingly far from being able to do any of this—it can’t even understand Mat Honan’s request for some Coltrane—that an iPad version would be self-parody on Apple’s part. Even in its current iteration, Siri is a beta product at best, a broken gimmick at worst...

"That speech recognition is the most obvious example of that beta. Siri’s most common reply to me is that “it didn’t quite get that.” Is this due to my (very slight!) southern accent? Is it because I mumble? I don’t know, but I do know that my Nexus rarely failed to understand me in the ways Siri does."

Worse than its failure to understand my words is its failure to understand my meaning. Siri is often quite dumb. Sure, it will do what you tell it. But it doesn’t interpret or do nuance, even though that is exactly what Apple promises

Siri blows the basics on a phone. Any attempt to cram it into your iPad, ostensibly the gleaming monolith of the post-PC era, would be disastrous. The means to interpret the kind of highly sophisticated tasks we do on computers, not phones, just isn’t there. By a lightyear. So for now, don’t consider this a missing feature. Consider it a missing failure.

[Chris]

So because this person doesn't have a use for Siri on an iPad, nobody should even be given the option to use it. Yep, makes perfect sense to me.

[Chris230291]

Yes, no one should have it. It's still in beta and needs a lot of work. Why would apple want to complicate things by having more than one device out in the wild for testing? It just adds more unnecessary variables in the mix. Plus what with the somewhat negative reactions and disappointment in siri, why would apple want to cash in on more negative feedback by introducing it on a second device? A device that, like the article explains, is used for a more heavy workload?

Don't get me wrong, i'm sure some people would find uses for it in it's current state. But weight that against even the possibility of negative reviews on it, and it's not worth it. Just leave it out until it's ready. You have to remember that the fact siri is even on the 4S is a big step for apple, they don't like letting stuff out until it's 100%. Siri is by no means 100%, though still somewhat impressive.

[Chris]

It's not in beta because of the software in iOS. It's in beta because it fails to connect a lot and other server-side issues. Adding Siri to the iPad doesn't add more "variables in the mix". That wouldn't make it any more complicated for Apple to keep developing Siri on their end.

There are plenty of people that like Siri and if you don't, instead of complaining about how it crappy it is, just turn it off. It really is that simple.

[Chris230291]

Yeh but we don't know what exactly is being tested. Having it only on one device could make things a lot easier for them to carry on development and fix bugs.

Your just seeing this from your point of view, you need to see it from everyone's. You probably already know how i feel about siri, but that's irrelevant. I think apple made the right move on this one. They obviously show keen interest in siri on the iPad, what with bringing over the talk to type feature. You cant complain or be mad that they made a good business decision from where they stand.

[Joanna]

Channan, on 17 March 2012 - 09:14 PM, said:

There are plenty of people that like Siri and if you don't, instead of complaining about how it crappy it is, just turn it off. It really is that simple.

****ING THIS! I wish I had Siri on my iPod.

[Chris]

Chris230291, on 17 March 2012 - 09:40 PM, said:

Yeh but we don't know what exactly is being tested. Having it only on one device could make things a lot easier for them to carry on development and fix bugs.

Your just seeing this from your point of view, you need to see it from everyone's. You probably already know how i feel about siri, but that's irrelevant. I think apple made the right move on this one. They obviously show keen interest in siri on the iPad, what with bringing over the talk to type feature. You cant complain or be mad that they made a good business decision from where they stand.

There's nothing wrong with Siri on the iPhone. The issues they're having are server-side. Even if you were right, what happens when they perfect Siri on the iPhone and then they want to bring it to other devices? Do they have to put it back in beta because it's too hard for them to work on one device at a time?

I'm not looking at it from anybody's point of view in particular. I already said I wouldn't have much use for Siri myself. I'd basically only use it for setting reminders.

[Chris230291]

Well perhaps you dont think theres a problem with siri, but there are plenty of people on forums and in articles that do. Not to mention the amount of hate across the UK, where siri doesn't have as much functionality as other countries. This is because siri cant find businesses or use location based features here, which is a massive chunk of siri's functionality as far as im concerned.

And what are these server sided issues?

[Chris]

Chris230291, on 17 March 2012 - 10:04 PM, said:

Well perhaps you dont think theres a problem with siri, but there are plenty of people on forums and in articles that do. Not to mention the amount of hate across the UK, where siri doesn't have as much functionality as other countries. This is because siri cant find businesses or use location based features here, which is a massive chunk of siri's functionality as far as im concerned.

And what are these server sided issues?

All the issues you listed have nothing to do with the software on the phone and everything to do with Apple's end. It's just like going to a website. If you try to go to a site that hasn't been created yet, you won't get anywhere by typing in the URL. Or if the server of a site you go to regularly crashes, you won't be able to access the site. Neither one of these is a problem with your browser. Most of the people complaining about Siri are complaining about network issues and not being able to connect to the server.

Siri in the UK doesn't have access to businesses because Apple doesn't give Siri access to businesses in the UK. This could be because Apple doesn't have a complete list, maybe legal issues, or something else. It's not because the software on the phone is buggy.

[Chris230291]

You have just assumed i was talking about the handset part only. By "Siri" i mean everything that makes it work.

And it doesn't work here because they havent managed to close a deal with anyone that has a database or whatever.

[Chris]

Chris230291, on 17 March 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

You have just assumed i was talking about the handset part only. By "Siri" i mean everything that makes it work.

Well if you're not talking about the handset part, then why would Siri on the iPad hinder development?

Chris230291, on 17 March 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

And it doesn't work here because they havent managed to close a deal with anyone that has a database or whatever.

Exactly. And putting Siri on the iPad won't stop or slow that from happening.

[King003]

Just stop chris #2