I know not everyone gets along with Siri, but personally I love it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it’s my default way of interacting with my iPhone, whether it’s searching the web, dictating a text message, setting an alarm, setting for location-based reminders, noting appointments, phoning friends, playing music, getting directions … even opening apps.
The main reason I use Siri is simply efficiency – which some of my friends insist is spelled ‘laziness.’ But really, if I can simply ask my phone to do something for me, or tell me something, why wouldn’t I? Interacting with a touchscreen and manually typing things is so last century.
It also saves time. If I’m walking down the street, I can ask Siri to do something without breaking stride. Doing the same task manually would mean either stopping or ending up walking in front of a bus. I’ve also used my Apple Watch to ask Siri to do something at traffic light stops when cycling – there simply wouldn’t be time in that situation to pull out my phone and do the same thing manually.
But powerful as Siri is, I’d like to see it be able to do more – much, much more …
My single biggest frustration with it right now is that I have all these apps on my phone that can answer lots of questions and do lots of things, but Siri has no access to most of them. If it’s an Apple app, no problem. I can ask Siri to send a text, remind me to buy milk when I pass my local shop, play some Anna Nalick, show me the photos I took yesterday and a lot more.
But what I can’t yet do is ask the time of my next train home, despite having an app on my phone that can answer that question. I can’t ask it to show me today’s Timehop, nor can I ask it to post that to Facebook. I can’t ask it to post something to a Hipchat or Slack chatroom. I can’t ask it to call an Uber car. I can’t ask it to translate ‘Where is the nearest pharmacy’ into Mandarin. I could name many other examples, but you get the idea.
Almost nobody buys an iPhone and then installs no third-party apps, so it feels odd that Siri is entirely unaware of them. An API that allows third-party apps to interface with Siri seems, at first glance, a small thing to ask.
But I recognize that the reality is very different. What I’m asking for here is non-trivial. Let’s take the train home example, and look at exactly what I’d be asking Siri to achieve.
What time is my next train home?
Let’s start with the good news. Siri knows where my home is, and it knows my nearest train station. It knows where I am now. My train app also knows which station I need to get to, and it knows when the next train is. It can tell me which platform it goes from and what time it gets me home. So far, so good. But after that, things get complicated.
First, Siri has to parse the question. While I know mileages vary, my own experience is that Siri is almost faultless at this – but that’s in large part because there are a limited number of questions you can ask. The more questions we add to the list, the greater the chances of it failing to properly understand what I’m asking.
Second, Siri has to know which app is able to answer the question. That may be relatively trivial if I only have one app capable of answering the question, but what if I have two or three trains apps, each of which could do so? Which app does Siri query?
Third, the train app has to make sense of the query passed to it by Siri and pass the required information back to Siri.
Fourth, Siri has to be able to translate the data handed over by the app into speech – which isn’t as trivial as it sounds.
We could offer Siri a helping hand with the second step. I could tell Siri which app to ask.
Ask myTrains Pro the time of my next train home
But that’s horribly clunky. Worse, I had to actually look at my iPhone to check the name of the app – I just think of it as my train app. I couldn’t tell you offhand the names of half the apps on my phone, and I bet the same is true for most people. There’s little benefit to using Siri if we first have to look at the screen and perhaps flip through to the correct screen and maybe open a folder too.
But there is one very practical way we could make the task easier. The iPhone 6s prompted third-party apps to learn a new trick: 3D Touch actions. These are a very limited number of things they can do right from the Home screen. My train app hasn’t yet learned this trick, but when it does, ‘Next train home’ would be the most obvious 3D Touch action.
So Siri wouldn’t have to learn to parse a massive number of new queries, only the very limited number of queries/actions available through the 3D Touch function. With that approach, it becomes a lot more practical.
But I’m not done yet. In time, I’d like Siri to be able to handle tasks like this:
Arrange lunch with Sam next week
Siri knows who Sam is, so that bit’s fine. It has access to my calendar, so knows when I have free lunch slots. Next, it needs to know when Sam has free lunch slots.
This shouldn’t be complicated. Microsoft Outlook may be one of my least-favorite apps in the world, but it has for years offered delegated access to calendars, where work colleagues are allowed to check each other’s diaries for free slots, and authorized people are allowed to add appointments. So what we need here is the iCloud equivalent.
I pre-approve contacts allowed to do this. iOS could show me my Favorites list as an initial prompt (though I’m probably not going to authorize my local cab company). Those approved contacts are then given access to my iCloud calendar at a busy/free level, without actually getting access to the data itself. My iPhone checks Sam’s iCloud calendar for free lunch slots and matches them with mine. It finds we’re both free on Wednesday so schedules the lunch.
And it could do even more. My iPhone could easily note my favourite eateries, and Sam’s, and find one we both like. It could then go online to the restaurant’s reservation system to make the booking. The process would then look (well, sound) like this …
Hey Siri, arrange lunch with Sam next week
Working – I’ll get back to you shortly …
Ok, I arranged lunch with Sam for 1pm next Wednesday at Bistro Union at Clapham Park
There are a few data privacy issues to figure out. In order to work out a convenient location, it would need to know where each of us will be before and after, to ensure the location is practical. So, in practice, Siri would need a little more access to Sam’s diary than just busy/free. But as long as only Siri sees location info, and we’re approving the contacts we allow such access, I think that’s acceptable.
What are your thoughts? Is this exactly what you’ve been waiting for? Is Siri so hopeless for you that you never use it? Or something in between? As ever, take our poll and share your views in the comments.
Benjamin Mayo kindly lent his developer expertise to assist with this piece.
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Agreed and agreed again on as long as it doesn’t go where Google does as far as privacy is concerned. With the Watch growing and other voice assistants becoming more prominent, turning Siri to gold should be near the top of the “Future of Apple” list for the company IMO.
Herein lies the Catch 22. We want a more powerful Siri, but we want it to gain this power without the backend necessary to make it happen. The power of Google’s system is it’s access to information. Siri isn’t going to gain that knowledge through osmosis. I detest binary arguments, but in this case, we either give Siri the information it needs to improve or we accept the fact it will remain only as functional as it is today.
Am I the only one who really doesn’t care how much of my data Apple has? If it meant they could make a more intelligent operating system I’d happily give them access to more data. Privacy is clearly a big concern to a lot of people but rather than categorically saying no to using any, thereby fundamentally limiting the development of better service, seems a bit boring. Surely, an sliding scale of the data you’d like to share, from ‘use whatever if it means my device is more intelligent’ to ‘share absolutely nothing – I’m wearing my tin hat’, would be better. Personally I think Google have got the right idea.
well, I was mostly referring to some of the functionality a few others have mentioned below….. accuracy which can match Dictation, access to more basic function…. there are some foundational aspects which if perfected could dramatically improve the service.
How about giving Siri access to rudimentary iPhone functions first?! Being on the train/tube and asking Siri via the EarPods what time it is, what the date is or anything else for that matter and being told that there is no Internet connection is just pathetic.
Absolutely…this is what I came here to express! iPhone has actually LOST functionality under Siri when compared to what Voice Control could do without an internet connection. That is absurd. Not being able to call a contact while driving, say while in areas with bad cell reception or if the data network is clogged (rush hour), is my pet peeve. No reason Siri needs to go to the cloud, none. The data is all on the phone, and the iPhone before Siri got the job done just fine.
(And to those people who would be quick to jump on the “calling while in areas with bad cell reception” as an oxymoron, I can usually hold a call with 1 bar of service; Siri sometimes craps out with 3 bars, often with 2. CALLING a contact that I’m headed to meet, say for directions when Maps is offline or to communicate my ETA when I can’t dictate a message through Siri, happens A LOT.)
You’re confusing having call access with data access. Unfortunately sometimes you have both, and other times you have one or the other or none. However, I do agree there should be a simple function that allows Siri to manage internal commands that do not require cloud access such as telling time, playing music that is stored locally, opening an app, etc.
nice article! im using siri too much these days! love it! hope we see this future soon, and ty for not insulting you readers by adding fanboys adjectives lol
How about giving Siri access to the voice-recognition engine of Dictation? Siri constantly gets messages wrong but when I use the microphone button, its success rate becomes nearly perfect
What you mention in this article is just a small subset of what I have wanted to see in Siri / iOS for a long time. In addition to the features you have noted, the three features at the top of my wish list are the ability to create macros / scripts to perform multi-step operations within multiple apps, (closely related to the functionality of scripting) is the ability to create synonyms / alternate phrasing for any Siri command and third, allowing Siri to read out far more results than currently available.
For the Scripting / Macros, I would think that an open data interchange API, allowing any application to pass data to another application (With security reinforced via a requirement for the end user to approve the establishment of any link from one app to another).
For the alternate phrasing option, much like the auto-correct dictionary for email; simply have a list in which you define that if I say A, then I want you to do B. B can be any default Siri Command or a reference to one of the Scripts / Macros I have referenced.
With respect to Siri Speaking more results; this comes into play most often when driving. I often wish to know one thing or another while driving and Siri can often find the answers to my questions. Unfortunately, the results of my query are often in the form of “Here is what I found, tell me what you think.” with some form of text display on my screen. When driving, my iPhone is always inside of a leather case, attached to my belt by a holster. I can not logistically / safely / legally grab my phone and look at the screen. I wish I could get Siri to read me those results, rather than just displaying them on screen. (I have looked for ways to enable such a feature and have never found one, including via accessibility options. If I’m missing something, I’d love to know how such a feature might be enabled.) … just my 5 Cents worth of input.
Another feature request: make 3D touch on home screen customizable! So you can choose which actions in the app you want to activate from the home screen.
Agreed and my additional wish list-
Offline Voice Control like functionality for playing music, interacting with settings, etc.
Custom “Hey, Siri” replacement phrase or voice recognition.
This is only a half-baked idea, but I think it would be cool if I could ask Siri to”Remind”a trusted friend to do a task. Specific examples of when I have wanted to use this: “Hey, Siri remind Dad to return the warranty parts.” or “Remind Grant to look for my headphones once he gets home and stop forgetting them like a weasel.” etc.
Another option that I would really like to see (and that I imagine would sell extremely well) would be third-part voices / identities for Siri.
Examples:
Achmed the Dead Terrorist:
Hey Achmed, what time is it?
Answer: It is 4:35 PM and time for you to die infidel! I Kill you!!!
Arnold Schwartzenager:
What time is it?
Answer: It is 6:00 AM. Get up and pump some Iron. Do it now, because I’ll be baaaack!
etc.
Lots of royalties to developers / celebrities and Apple gets its 30% cut. Win/Win.
The train schedule app could live in the cloud as could many other information please type apps. This is an area Apple appears poised to get into but has not yet done so. Developers can store their data in the cloud via CloudKit. There is currently no way to write code that runs in the cloud, or at least is sent on demand to your phone without first installing an app. I expect that it could be a bit of both in the end with bits of logic sent down to your phone while others run on Apple’s cloud servers.
1- To have Siri installed on the secure element, MX or any other specific chip. This will make able to be used offline for Dictation and things like music, time, alerts, phone, calendars etc and learn of your queries without privacy issues.
2- Be able to connect to your friend’s Siri with find my friends we would have the choise to request access.
3- For the point of the arrangement of a lunch your Siri and your friend Siri can talk and make a decision without even access icloud info just info on phone.
4- They can suggest some slots and places for both of you to decide.
2a- For apps & Siri an API could do the same that search function does, index results and possible workflows to you. So you could say:
“hey siri ask moovit about my next train to home.”
“hey siri request uber for a car to home in 5 mins”
“hey siri show me last pistons game in NBA app”
Actually it is simple to do. The API could easily give the developers a check list for example. A Transportation App API could ask the Developer the most common questions such as 1. What time is my next train, bus, ferry flight ? 2. Buy X Number of tickets for the next train home or flight from LAX to New York etc. Then when you download your favorite third party app. All you would have to do is select the category of the App in the Settings Menu of the iPhone. In this example it would be the “Transportation Category” Then select what app or apps you want to use to for
Transportation:
1. Air
2.Land
3.Sea
Each category would have it’s unique list of options. Once you’ve set your App options you ask Siri. What time is the next flight to New York on United Airlines. Siri could then use the App you chose for Air to check and book the flight. How hard is that?
What I’d love to see from Siri is it combined with Search, and then that integrated into Notification Center. Just be able to type in a command instead of having to say it. It would be nice if you’re in a busy place, but trying to multitask. You’d swipe down, type in “Play Centuries” or “Remind me about this tomorrow” and swipe back up when Siri has done it.
The solution could be really simple. Implement app awareness.
If the app you’re in can respond to a question, it will, and otherwise, the remaining features will be tried.
Example:
– open train app
– when is my next train home?
This would open for so many possibilities, and I think they need to consider drivers more. When using maps, I should be able to turn pf speech temporarily while listenong to something important, I should be able to tell it that the road is blocked or that I need to fill the car with gas, to let it find me a gas station and then continue to my destination.
I use Siri much like you do. In fact, I use “Hey Siri” so much, and have so many I-devices, I’ve had to set up different hey Siri commands because otherwise three of them reply at once when I’m in my bedroom where most are recharged. It’s amazing to be able to, late at night when my mind is going over my “to do that I didn’t actually do” list, update my reminder list for the next day. “Siri, remind me tomorrow to…” And at 9 am I get a list of things I need to do. Or I can say “remind me when I leave work to grab my… And as I walk out to the car I get al tap on my wrist and “Oh yeah! Whew!”
I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2012 and honest to God Siri was literally a lifesaver, and what was before she was very astute. My memory was so poor I’d forget what I was doing while I was doing it, so I had my phone with me at all times and would have reminders “Remind me in ten minutes to turn off the stove” and lots of “Remind me at 2:00 to take my red pill”. The fact that all those reminders also went to my computer, which was is next to the chair I slept in all day when I was on medical leave, was very helpful. I don’t know what I would have done without her at that point.
Back to your list of wants, I agree with all of them. I’d love to have her be able to do things like play a specific audiobook, or tell me when the next BART is coming when I visit San Fran or a certain train when I’m in NYC. There are so many things I try to make her do every week that she can’t that I can’t even remember them all. I also wish she searched better. Sometimes I find I have to say “Open Google” and the use “OK Google” and plain speak to get a better search and somehow that makes me feel a little dirty…like I’m cheating on her.
Really interesting to hear about how valuable Siri was in that situation – thanks for sharing it.
Let me execute an app/script and pass variables first. Saying, “Siri, Run Scheduler with arguments event:lunch, contacts: Dave, time: Wednesday” would be enough for now. Then my app, “Scheduler” would accept the three arguments (event, contact, time) and do whatever I’ve told it to do. The would open up the realm of 3d party apps.