This month, Apple launched its new version of its voice assistant, called “Siri AI,” within the iOS 27 operating system. The update is being rolled out gradually to users through a waiting list, accompanied by a “Beta” classification, which reflects the company’s continued development and addressing its technical problems.
The new version has advanced capabilities that include improving answering questions, accessing a broader knowledge base, as well as searching within messages and notes to benefit from the user’s personal context, and performing direct actions based on the screen content.
Despite these updates, a report by the “9to5Mac” website revealed that the company received complaints from some users regarding the level of performance and reliability, and the most prominent problems were concentrated in five main aspects:
1. Connection issues: Some users encounter a recurring error message when running the assistant, which is linked back to the connection to cloud servers, where it is sometimes recommended to disable virtual private networks (VPN) or change the Wi-Fi network to bypass it.
2. Difficulty finding information: Assistant sometimes struggles to access lists of reminders, alarms, or smart home devices, despite improvements to the internal search engine, which is likely related to errors in the indexing system.
3. The need to unlock the “iPhone”: “Siri AI” sometimes asks users to unlock the phone to perform tasks that the previous version could perform while the device was locked, and this includes some requests related to personal information and sending messages.
4. Slow response: Users noticed a noticeable delay in executing commands, especially via the Apple Watch, and this is due to partial reliance on cloud processing, which makes internet speed an influential element in performance.
5. Absence of some features: The current version lacks some of the previous “Siri” functions, such as querying Health application data, in addition to the inability to direct requests directly to “ChatGPT” with the phrase “Use ChatGPT,” in addition to facing difficulty in understanding some traditional commands.
In addition, criticism affected the visual appearance of “Siri AI” within the system interface, including changes related to the “Dynamic Island” feature and the method of accessing notifications.
While the Assistant continues in the experimental phase, Apple is continuing its efforts to develop it and address its gaps, with plans to make the service available in additional languages during the month of next October.
