Here comes smarter Siri

I'm not a huge Siri hater like some people I know.

Cult of Mac managing editor Lewis Wallace, for example, hates Siri with a passion.

Almost every day, Lewis burns up Slack with venomous, deep-seated loathing for Apple’s smart assistant.

That’s because he talks to his iPhone all the time. He uses dictation a lot, so naturally, he tries to use Siri to perform basic tasks. However, Siri often lets him down (as does the iPhone’s capricious voice-to-text feature).

I, on the other hand, mostly use Siri to play songs, set timers and check the weather. For these sorts of simple, straightforward tasks, Siri usually works fine.

But then again, if I ever ask my HomePod for something more ambitious, I get the dreaded response: “I found some web results. I can show them if you ask again from your iPhone.”

That’s guaranteed to drive even Siri lovers bonkers.

The good news is that a new, “smarter” Siri based on generative AI is reportedly on track for release this fall — after a lot of uncertainty about whether it would ship this year or next.

Lewis, for one, is looking forward to it (skeptically, ofc).

Also in today’s newsletter:

• Lots of news outlets are urging consumers to make pricey tech purchases now before tariffs really bite. But here’s why iPhone prices might not spike anytime soon.

• An Apple Watch saved an Australian swimmer from drowning — and Apple made a slick video about the lucky man’s ordeal.

• These slim tracking cards work with Apple’s Find My network and are a great way to keep tabs on wallets and other items too slender for a bulky AirTag.

• Apple’s making a big marketing push for its new Jon Hamm riches-to-rags comedy-drama Your Friends and Neighbors, which just started streaming. It looks pretty entertaining … I’ll be giving it a shot.

• So maybe you’ve been eyeing a new Mac Studio. Do you want one with an insanely powerful M4 Max chip or the really insanely powerful M3 Ultra?

• And to see how far computers have come in nearly 50 years, take a look at the Apple-1, which launched on this day in 1976. Although very bare-bones, the Apple-1 could access ARPANET, a precursor to today’s internet.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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