When it doesn't want to... Apple is currently plunged into an unprecedented crisis linked to the postponement of personalized Siri functions. These should allow the assistant to exploit data from the user, their apps, and their iPhone in order to provide precise answers to complex questions. Since then, discomfort and embarrassment have dominated internally, to the point that Apple has had to shake up the management in charge of AI development.
This Siri 2.0 had been the centerpiece of the Apple Intelligence presentation during the last WWDC. And Apple didn't hold back from promoting it, through an ad spot with actress Bella Ramsey: she whips out her iPhone 16 Pro to ask Siri to remind her of the name of a person she saw two months ago in a cafe. Today, as last June, it's science fiction, vaporware that undermines the credibility Apple.
The official announcement of the postponement (on a Friday evening via a semi-official channel, a clumsy way of sweeping Siri under the rug) caused an earthquake and the removal of the famous YouTube ad. But there you go, the internet doesn't forget anything:
Apple's lawyers must have expected it; a complaint was filed in California in the hope of turning into a class action. “Apple's ads flooded the internet, TV, and airwaves to give consumers the clear and legitimate idea that these revolutionary features would be available as soon as the iPhone was released,” the plaintiffs argue.
Expectations were high, and with Apple known for delivering (at least so far), iPhone 16 buyers could legitimately hope to take advantage of this feature sooner or later. But here's the thing:
“The products offered a very limited version — Apple Intelligence, misleading consumers about its actual usefulness and performance. Worse still, the company promoted its products by exaggerating these AI capabilities, leading customers to believe they were buying a device with features that didn't exist or were vastly overvalued."
This complaint could turn into a real thorn in Apple's side, and it could even get worse if the manufacturer doesn't keep the initial promise of this personalized Siri.
Source: Axios
0 Comments