Last year, most of us were unimpressed at Apple’s iPhone announcement. The only thing that was noticeably different compared to the iPhone 4 was a digital assistant, which for many, seemed like a piece of bloatware rather than a useful tool. However, when people did finally get their hands on the iPhone 4S and played around with Siri, people started to think that it was much more than the unreliable voice-control systems of the past. However, as users became more familiar with the iPhone 4S, they used Siri less and less, and eventually she ended up as little more than a cool party trick. At least, that’s the argument of NYT’s Nick Bilton.

Bilton makes several points explaining why Siri isn’t as cool as it once was. He even brings up Google Voice Search, saying that Google’s digital assistant answers your questions more accurately than Siri. Of course, Woz (Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple), also has the same argument, saying that as Siri has been updated, it has gotten more and more dedicated to pulling up Yelp! results. Like if you ask facts about Lake Tahoe without saying “Wolfram Lake Tahoe”, Siri will pull up Yelp! results, instead of the much more useful Wolfram Alpha page.

Regardless of how much you use Siri personally, it’s definitely a hot topic of conversation. Clearly, some people think there’s no need for a service like Siri, while others rely on it quite frequently in their day-to-day use. Either way, though, there’s no denying that Apple’s digital assistant could do with a few additional features. Luckily for us, Siri is learning a bunch of new things in iOS 6, which will hopefully make her less of just a “novelty” and more of a useful assistant.

What’s your opinion of Siri? Is she a useful tool, does she have potential, or would you rather Apple ditch the whole voice assistant thing and focus on bettering the rest of iOS?

Via: NYTimes