My name is Olek. I write about what matters to me.

Siri Feels Like 2014—And Apple Doesn't Seem to Care

Added:

Tags: technology ai reflection

Pixel art illustration of outdated AI assistant vs modern AI

Siri Feels Like 2014—And Apple Doesn’t Seem to Care

I’ve been using Opera Neon on my laptop. Together with Claude Code and Claude, I can do a lot. Research, writing, coding, data analysis—you name it. The AI works so well that I forget it’s even AI.

Then I ask Siri to do something.

“I can’t do that.”

The contrast is jarring.

What Siri Can Actually Do

Don’t get me wrong—Siri is useful for the basics:

  • “Open app X”
  • “Set a timer for 10 minutes”
  • “Volume up”
  • “Call John”

These work fine. Siri handles simple commands without friction.

But the moment you ask for anything more complex? It falls apart.

Where Siri Breaks Down

Last week, I asked Siri to create a card in Trello.

“I can’t do that.”

Fine. How about creating a reminder with a specific note attached?

“I can’t do that.”

These aren’t edge cases. These are basic productivity tasks. Things I do daily with other AI tools without even thinking about it.

The Dissonance Is Real

Here’s the thing: I’ve had voice conversations with Perplexity. It feels like watching “Her” v0.1. Not perfect, but you can see where it’s going. It responds naturally. It understands context. It adapts.

Having a conversation with Siri feels like talking to a primitive chatbot from 10 years ago. More frustrating than helpful.

And that dissonance—the gap between what top-tier AI can do and what Siri offers—shows just how far behind Apple and Google really are.

What This Means

I’m not saying Siri needs to match Claude’s reasoning capabilities overnight. But the difference isn’t just about features. It’s about expectations.

When you use Claude, Opera Neon, or even ChatGPT daily, you start expecting AI to understand you. To adapt. To work with context and nuance.

Siri doesn’t do that. It’s still a list of hardcoded commands wrapped in a voice interface.

Imagine the Alternative

Think about how good Apple’s OS could be if their AI were even close to Claude’s level.

Not as good. Just close.

Imagine asking your phone a complex question and getting a thoughtful, contextual answer instead of “Here’s what I found on the web.”

Imagine voice assistants that actually assist instead of just executing preset commands.

We’re not there yet. But some of us are getting close.

Just not Apple.

What’s your experience? Do you still use Siri regularly? Or have you noticed the same gap I have? I’d love to hear your take.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to share your thoughts send me an email.