How Apple Can Turn the Tide in the Siri Crisis with Transparency and Honesty

Apple's Siri Crisis and a Suggested Path Forward

• Siri's Delayed Features: Apple has admitted that the development of three key Siri features—personal context, on-screen awareness, and in-app actions—is taking longer than expected. These features are essential for making Siri more intelligent and functional.
• Public Backlash: The company faced criticism for promoting non-existent features in iPhone 16 ads and on its website. High-profile commentators, including John Gruber, have criticized Apple's handling of the situation.
• Internal Challenges: According to Bloomberg, the delays are due to quality issues, with the current technology working only 67% to 80% of the time. This is not acceptable for a release product but suggests that the features do exist in some form.
• Mitigation Strategy: A suggested approach to mitigate the damage is for Apple to invite media members to private demonstrations of the new Siri features. By showing both the capabilities and the limitations, Apple could regain credibility and demonstrate that the features are not just a concept video but a real work-in-progress.