We’re one week removed from Apple’s decision to indefinitely delay the “more personalized” version of Siri that was first announced at WWDC 2024, and the blowback hasn’t let up.Now, has the details from an all-hands meeting for the Siri division inside Apple, where the Apple Intelligence delays were panned as “ugly” and “embarrassing.” The meeting was led by Robby Walker, a senior director of “Siri and Information Intelligence” at Apple.Walker has been at Apple since 2013, working across Siri technologies.
During the meeting, Walker reportedly emphasized that “it’s unclear” when the promised Siri features will launch.This includes Siri with personal context, in-app actions, and on-screen awareness.Apple’s goal remains to ship these features at some point in the iOS 19, but Walker said “it doesn’t mean that we’re shipping then.” In its current form, the new Siri features only work properly “up to two-thirds to 80% of the time,” reports: As far as accountability is concerned, Walker told staffers that there is “intense personal accountability” shared by John Giannandrea, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, and software boss Craig Federighi.
reports that Apple “doesn’t plan to immediately fire any top executives over the AI crisis.” It is, however, planning “management adjustments” in response to the problems, including “moving more senior executives under Giannandrea to assist with a turnaround effort.” Walker also called out Apple’s marketing department’s decision to promote these features even though they weren’t ready.This decision “[made] matters worse,” according to Walker.Despite the struggles, Walker also praised the team for the “incredibly impressive” features and doubled down on the goal of shipping “the world’s greatest virtual assistant.” He told staff they should “feel really proud of innovative work” they’ve done up to this point.
While Apple has not shown public demos of the promised SIri upgrades, Walker did highlight several examples of the features working during this meeting.Read the full report at My favorite iPhone accessories: Anker Power Bank with built-in USB-C Cable Charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time Bring wireless CarPlay to any car Anker MagSafe Power Bank You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
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