When Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S to the world last month, it was a bit of a letdown in both specs and appearance.
Aside from a slightly better camera and a snappier processor, the iPhone 4S is identical to its predecessor. The casing looks exactly like that of the iPhone 4. It was a letdown to those who like to show off their technological penis size by whipping out the latest and greatest new phone.
The only real way to boast you’re better than everyone else with your 4S is to show off your new virtual personal assistant, Siri.
Siri, an application exclusive to the new iPhone 4S, uses natural language processing to answer questions, send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls and much more, according to Apple’s website. It’s meant to make your life easier.
At least that’s what it’s supposed to do.
In reality, Siri is nothing more than a cute gimmick and fantastic marketing tool used to suck people into its mediocrity.
With no major changes from the iPhone 4 to 4S, a majority of Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” conference held last month was dedicated to building hype for Siri.
Demos showing off Siri’s ability to understand natural language wowed audience members and Internet viewers alike, building up a great deal of excitement for fans, whereupon they flocked to the Apple site to pre-order Apple’s shiny new toy.
I didn’t buy into the hype. I didn’t go out and buy an iPhone 4S.
However, I have played around with the app and have seen others show off Siri to their friends — The Daily Reveille even interviewed “her.” Needless to say, she was a bit underwhelming.
A majority of the features Apple claims Siri can do simply don’t work as advertised or end up taking a much longer amount of time to complete.
Sure, you can ask her “do I need a jacket today?” and Siri can figure out you’re wondering about the weather, or you can just click the handy weather app and see for yourself.
Do you really need a computerized female voice to tell you the weather? Why not just stick your head out of the window?
Also, like most voice recognition software, Siri has a hard time understanding everyday speech.
An Apple commercial shows a wonderful gentleman jogging down by the ocean, listening to music and using the microphone on his headphones to tell Siri to do a variety of chores — she understands everything he says.
There were some instances where I had to speak in a monotone, robotic voice in a quiet room just for Siri to understand what I was saying, not talking normally as Apple’s website claims I can. I don’t speak in a hick accent, and I wasn’t running by the ocean, so it shouldn’t have been that difficult to understand me.
I believe that’s what you call a bit of false advertising.
Overall, Siri is still a somewhat impressive piece of tech. The app is still in its beta phase and shouldn’t be compared to IBM’s Watson — the supercomputer that can understand natural language and used this ability to win “Jeopardy!”.
However, Apple and its rabid fan base pimp her out as having the ability to do everything — including getting a cup of coffee or performing fellatio — when clearly this isn’t the case.
Voice technology isn’t new. I’ve been able to tell my phone who to call vocally since 2004.
Computers understanding natural language isn’t new either. Ever had a “conversation” with Cleverbot online or one of those goofy bots on AIM?
Apple hardly ever innovates new things — it just takes what already exists and brings mass appeal to it, and Siri isn’t any different.
At the moment, Siri is nothing more than a selling tool to push more versions of the new phone. The tech could easily work on the iPhone 4 — hackers have already made it so — but then no one would want to buy a 4S.
Don’t buy into the hype. While Siri may seem cool at first, in the end, it’s much easier to perform tasks without using her “assistance.”
 
Adam Arinder is a 22-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
 
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Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]