“Like the transition from the iPhone 3G to 3GS in 2009, the change from iPhone 4 to 4S is not a cosmetic one,” Jacqui Cheng reports for Ars Technica. “Apple seems to be making a habit of alternating between major cosmetic changes and major internal changes when it comes to iPhone hardware, and this is definitely an “internal change” kind of year. But it’s what’s inside that counts, right?”
Cheng reports, “Several friends asked me if they should upgrade from a iPhone 3G/3GS to the $99 8GB iPhone 4 instead. I think this would be a poor decision when the faster iPhone 4S is available with a better camera, better antenna, and Siri for only a bit more (especially when factored over the length of a cell phone contract).”
“Certainly, we had moments during our testing when we laughed at Siri’s clever ability to decipher our casual language and not only deliver a result, but a very specific and accurate result,” Cheng reports. “A query about how many calories were in a tortilla provided the answer plus a whole host of other nutritional information. A query about how to find a small neighborhood market switched over to the Maps app and showed me directions between the market and my current location. When asked where one of my friends was (we were meeting up at a certain time and he was late), Siri looked up that friend in Find My Friends before showing me a map of his current location.”
Much more, including benchmarks, in the full, comprehensive review here.
Related articles:
Bajarin: Apple’s iPhone 4S with Siri launch a pivotal moment in tech, but many missed its significance – October 17, 2011
Apple gave Siri AI personal assistant its edge – October 16, 2011
PC Magazine reviews Apple iOS 5: The best phone and tablet OS, Editors’ Choice – October 15, 2011
PC Magazine reviews Apple iPhone 4S: Editors’ Choice – October 15, 2011
Wired reviews Apple iPhone 4S: The ‘S’ stands for Siri, a life-changer, the reason people should buy this phone – October 12, 2011
USA Today’s Baig reviews iPhone 4S: Apple takes world’s finest smartphone to even loftier heights – October 12, 2011
WSJ’s Walt Mossberg reviews Apple iPhone 4S: Siri artificial-intelligence has to be tried to be believed – October 12, 2011
NY Times’ Pogue reviews Apple iPhone 4S: Conceals sheer, mind-blowing magic – October 12, 2011
Siri is kinds spooky. But I like it.
Judging by the demos, it seems like Apple put an enormous amount of effort to make sure Siri comes across as irreverent, relaxed, non-threatening and friendly, rather than spooky.
Pity it can’t understand a word I say (even though I thought I pronounced words properly).
Of four people in the office, it’s gotten roughly 80% of two people and about 10% of the other two.
Siri siri-ously pisses me off!
[Books elocution lessons]
On a side note, if I put on an American accent, it’s quite accurate [I’m English]
I imagine if you give it a few months siri will refine how she understands the queen’s english- and you’ll wonder why you got upset like a child over a new technology in beta. or prolly forget out of personal embarrassment.
either way, i’m sure siri will step up in time. she’s only a few weeks old.
When she removes my ability to spot snide sarcasm, I will be impressed 😉
haha 🙂
Is your Siri configured to understand American English? If you go to: Settings > General > Siri > Language, you can choose between English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (United States)
But isn’t that just the replayed voice?
The UK English option is a guy who sounds like he’s from a 1950s government information film.
Another digital divide coming; the well-spoken.
+1
I don’t agree with some of Cheng’s review points:
– Fact – “antennagate” is an industry issue, it’s not unique to the iPhone. Must we relive this nonsense again?!
– Cheng’s “wish list” of not having to hold down the home button to bring up Siri, while a reasonable request, doesn’t mean Apple should make this happen, especially if Apple feels it will, in the long run, reduce the user experience. If you don’t hold down the home button first for the iPhone to “listen”, then Cheng may be suggesting the iPhone should always be listing — something that would drain battery life.
– Cheng said Siri couldn’t find “Cesar”, but at least she tried. Let’s be reasonable folks — if the Find My Friends app had already updated its locations for the friends listed, then Siri would have found Cesar. It’s not Siri’s fault when having to rely on another app to get the answers. Be patient!
– at the risk of misinterpreting Cheng’s point, the comment that Cheng could set multiple timers for different events, is not entirely correct. Multiple timers are not simultaneous or something that can be run concurrently. If one timer is already set, Siri cannot set another one until the first timer is finished.
I find some of Cheng’s review comments pretty harsh or just unreasonable. if you first understand how Siri, and iOS 5 works, then you wouldn’t set your expectations so high as Cheng has done IMO.
Phil Schiller did point out at the iPhone 4S keynote that Siri is in beta, but only in the sense that more features would be added in the future. After all, Siri is still software, not a human being.
I can agree, Siri can have some eerie results at times, but that is what makes it all the more fascinating for the iPhone 4S. I know that there was a lot of negativity that Apple didn’t come out with a new design, but I think the 4S is still going to be a great phone. I actually got one a few days ago, and so far the experience is so much better. I have not had any dropped calls, pictures are clearer than ever, and faster data speeds means I can do more in less time. I’ve noticed that streaming is a lot faster and smoother on the iPhone 4S. The app that I have been using for the longest time is the DISH Remote Access app from my employer DISH Network. I love this app because it lets me stream anything that is on live or recorded on my DVR to my phone. On my old phone, sometimes the video would start to buffer, but that’s not the case with my 4S. What is even better is that I don’t have to save the movies to my phone and waste space. It’s all on demand! This, along with Siri and the iPhone 4S is a pretty fine machine.