Apple ruined Siri, says Wozniak

If ever a PR Wiz there Woz, it’s definitely not our Steve.

The iPhone 4’s Siri voice controlled personal assistant was a better app before Apple got its paws on it, according to the tech giant’s co-founder and all-round loose-cannon Steve Wozniak.

In an impromptu Q&A to mark the Woz’s official meeting with a horse named after him (no, really), Steve told attendees that he was incredibly taken with Siri when he first came across it.

steven wozniak

So much so, in fact, that he was “telling everyone this was the future”. Woz claims he even described Siri as the “greatest program” for the way it made users feel like “you’re talking to a human”, as well as its efficacy at web searches and comprehension of human speech.

He said: “I would say, ‘Siri, what are the five largest lakes in California?’ and it would come up, one, two, three, four, five.

“And I would ask ‘What are the prime numbers greater than 87?’ and they would come up all in a row. That was pretty incredible.”

But that all changed by the time it showed up on the 4S. In the intervening period, he claims that Apple’s attempts to ‘improve’ Siri, left it less functional and bloated with unnecessary features. The result was a “very disappointed “ Wozniak.

iOS 5 Siri

The latest outburst from Woz, who still holds a ceremonial position at Apple, follows his earlier, impolitic praise of rival Windows phones. He has also vociferously called for Apple to ease the famously rigid restrictions that it places on developers.

Source:

Times Union

About Andy Dingfelder

Andy is a Technology Manager with over 20 years of experience in Software Development, Project Management and Team Management in Telco, Healthcare and General SDLC. Full bio is available at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dingfelder Follow at http://twitter.com/dingfelder Andy Dingfelder lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand with his wife and two daughters.
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