What is going on with Siri? It’s been a year of AI powering forward, with both Amazon and Google launching advanced GenAI voice assistants, but Siri still lags far behind in voice interaction.
It’s not that I’m saying AI is particularly good, when it clearly isn’t, but more that the direct competition has a direct focus on improving its voice assistants so that they understand more; Siri feels like it’s stuck in time.
If I wanted to check my phone, I would
I’ve got a few HomePod mini speakers spread around the house for good reason: I need them for my smart home kit, and I do like the way I can transfer calls and podcasts with a tap from my phone.
I use the HomePod mini in the bedroom for alarms, too, but I’m frequently fooled into thinking that Siri can do a bit more.
It can answer some bigger questions, such as, “Who directed The Godfather?”, but more granular options, such as who played a role in a TV show, are met with this response: “I found some web results, I can show them if you ask again from your iPhone.”
I asked when The Sheep Detectives (a new film) would come out. The first answer said something about 1995; the second time I tried, Siri told me it would be published in November 2026; and the third time, it told me to search on my phone.
Even something related to Apple is met with that. Want to know when the next episode of Pluribus is coming out? Well, check your phone.
If I wanted to use my phone, I would get it and search for the answer; the whole point of a voice assistant is that it’s supposed to answer queries without needing a second device.
Sure, Alexa gets things wrong and sometimes can’t answer a question, but it does a much better job than Siri does, and answered all of the questions above with ease, the first time.
Siri is not much better with smart home control. I can never quite remember the exact phrasing that I need to do something simple, such as turning up the heating in my bedroom, so I don’t bother with Siri for this.
It’s a shame, because the Apple Home app is actually very good. It’s clean, well-designed and easy to build automations with. In fact, I use it for the majority of my home automation.
Where’s the intelligence?
I still have an issue with multiple devices/people in my house. If my iPhone is unlocked, then Siri will respond on that rather than the nearby HomePod. If my wife has her iPhone unlocked, then her phone will respond rather than the nearby HomePod. It makes using the HomePod something of a timing and scheduling issue.
Siri can recognise different voices, but the process of doing so is clunky. If I ask Siri to add a reminder, the first response is often to ask who is speaking. That’s not always the case, and sometimes on some devices, Siri just understands who’s speaking, but it’s hit and miss.
The result is that I tend not to use Siri for anything beyond the absolute basics (timers, alarms, weather), and the voice assistant feels like it’s a long way behind the competition.
