Siri has managed to come a long way since its inception all those years ago, and yet at the same time say almost exactly the same. Which isn't too surprising, considering Apple is behind the digital personal assistant. The same thing could be said for Microsoft's Cortana, which has gotten better while maintaining its own status quo.
And then there's Google, with its relatively new-to-the-scene Assistant, which is effectively taking the baton from Google Now.
Siri's improvements aren't something to ignore, either, even as I can freely admit that there are some instances where Google Assistant, and even Cortana, trump Apple's effort. But, as I've said in the past, my actual usage with digital personal assistants hews much closer to Siri's abilities than others. I just don't use it all that often, and what I do need covered Siri does it just fine.
And up until recently, it was okay that Siri basically took a back seat on Apple's hardware. Yes, Siri has been expanding to other Apple products, like the Mac lineup, and the Apple Watch, but it's always just "been there." That has been changing though. Apple is putting more attention on Siri, on artificial intelligence and machine learning in general, and as a result Siri is seeing almost as much of the spot light as it did when it was announced.
Siri will have its biggest part on stage with the HomePod later this year. I sure hope it can help with homework as well as Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant can.
But I think it's time for Siri to make some changes on iOS, too. The backseat approach doesn't have to be that way anymore. Apple's mobile operating system now supports its own panel of widgets, and Siri is effectively pointless when it could be really standing out.
Case in point: Siri app suggestions. That's the only widget Siri has, technically. But there could be more. Why not let Siri have a widget that shows me movie times, since Apple Maps even knows to tell me how for the movie theater is away from me on the weekends. Why not take Siri's knowledge of sports, which is one of the digital personal assistant's strong suits, and give it a widget? Show my favorite teams, right there when I need it.
(Siri would need to support knowing my favorite teams first, of course.)
As Apple continues to improve Siri, and as the feature steps further out into the lime light, it's time for more built-in features in iOS. I shouldn't have to rely on third-party applications to handle those aforementioned requests, Apple, when Siri can tell me the same things. Take advantage of that ecosystem!
If you had a say, how would you like to see Siri get improved in iOS? More widgets? Or do you think Siri should continue to hide in the background? Let me know!
