Last year, Apple promised its virtual assistant, Siri, would get a significant upgrade to rival Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. The tech giant at that time said that users will be able to use Siri on their favorite apps.
However, despite the promises, only a few apps can be used with Apple’s AI today. In fact, out of 50 of the most downloaded apps from the App Store, only six are functional with Siri according to a report by USA Today. These are Lyft, Uber, Pinterest, Twitter, Whatsapp Messenger, and Yelp.
Developers decided not to integrate Siri into their apps
The most notable apps that were expected to have Siri functionalities are Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix, just to name a few. Unfortunately, these apps never received the virtual assistant's functionality.
Apparently, most developers opted not use the software tool called SiriKit because Siri was limited for use in six categories. Developers felt that the AI was too restrictive.
Apple claims that Siri works with YouTube. However, USA Today wrote that if a user asks Siri to play a certain clip from YouTube, Siri will only respond that it can’t find that playlist in your Apple Music.
Siri couldn’t keep up with Google Assistant and Alexa
Developers not wanting to work Siri into their apps really hurt Apple’s virtual assistant.
Siri managed to blow its initial advantage when it was launched in 2011 and wasn’t able to meet people’s expectations. Consequently, the developers’ attention is now focused on the much powerful Alexa and Google Assistant.
According to a survey made by Verto Analytics, Siri only has average active users of 41.1 million per month which is 15 percent down compared to 48 million users from last year.
Among the three personal assistants, Google was able to beat both Alexa and Siri in terms of giving answers to questions thanks to Google’s vast resources of information.
Siri’s future looks promising
In spite of all its setbacks, Apple is ready to take drastic changes for its virtual assistant. With the arrival of iOS 11, Apple’s latest operating system coming in September, expect Siri to have additional functionalities like translating languages and reading QR code, among other things.
Apple also introduced its HomePod this year, a smart speaker that will compete with the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
What do you think of Apple’s Siri? Let us know in the comment section down below and don’t forget to like and share this article.
