The ongoing disappointment regarding Siri persists, highlighted by the fact that the ‘intelligent’ assistant is unaware of the current month.
My colleague Zac Hall pointed out that the Siri brand has become so compromised that it might be necessary to give any new iteration a fresh title. However, some suggest that Apple should take it a step further by allowing users to select their preferred AI chatbot as a replacement for Siri…
Siri has been a source of embarrassment for a decade
For the past ten years, Siri’s limited advancement has drawn considerable criticism.
I could elaborate (and continue indefinitely), but I believe you understand the point.
However, things have recently reached a critical point
The critique intensified with the emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI models, which showcased the significant disparity between their capabilities and those of Apple’s aging voice assistant.
I’ve tried to be fair to Apple, recognizing that the company’s strict privacy standards pose greater challenges for Siri. Nevertheless, reports of yet another delay in the relaunch—this time until 2027—make it hard to excuse the company further.
Just how critical the situation has become was perfectly encapsulated by long-time Apple commentator John Gruber, who did not hold back in his criticism of Siri.
In response to Apple promoting Siri features that are not yet available, he stated that the company is “in disarray if not in crisis,” making “bullshit” claims and has “squandered” its reputation with “a fiasco.”
I’ve argued that Apple could mitigate its reputational harm by adopting a more transparent approach, but many believe it’s too late for that and a new strategy is necessary.
Apple could allow us to replace Siri
As John Gruber mentioned, developer Gus Mueller has proposed that Apple should enable users to choose their own intelligent assistant.
I was expressing to some friends that Apple needs to open up the Mac platform so other LLMs can fill the gaps where Siri is lacking. Ideally, we (developers) could achieve this today, but I would love to see an endorsed method where Apple provided APIs for third-party LLM providers.
ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta… even DeepSeek, if you’re adventurous enough.
Mueller also mentioned in his follow-ups that he’s not the only one advocating for this shift.
Apple will likely cite its usual concerns: opening the system to third-party applications could create privacy and security vulnerabilities. However, this argument is losing ground—thanks to the EU, users can already set third-party apps as default for several categories, including:
- Web Browser
- Mail Application
- Phone
- Messaging
- Password Manager
- Translation
Apple mandates that each app requests the necessary system permissions, and adding an intelligent assistant as a category would be no exception.
Indeed, Mueller argues in a subsequent piece that this could even enhance privacy and security by granting users finer control over the permissions assigned to a Siri alternative instead of merely accepting Apple’s defaults.
As a user, I would appreciate the option to say “sure, capture what’s on the screen and extract the text from that, but no, you should not track my location history.”
This would benefit both users and Apple itself
This would be a win for users, as we would no longer have to wait indefinitely for Apple to launch a new version of Siri (or any replacement brand). If we seek a smarter assistant today, we could opt for any of the available LLM models.
It would also be advantageous for Apple. First, it would alleviate some urgency and allow the company the time it needs to refine Siri, launching a service that meets its standards when it is completely satisfied with its functionality.
Secondly, Apple could enhance its Siri development initiatives by collecting valuable data on the chatbot inquiries made by iPhone users toward third-party services. This information would be instrumental in guiding the company’s decisions.
Naturally, Apple should obtain user consent for this, but I would be more than willing to provide it, and I suspect most other iPhone users would feel the same. Helping Apple evolve into the best version of Siri serves the interests of all of us, even if it merely acts as motivation for our preferred chatbot to continue innovating.
Should we have the choice to select a Siri alternative?
Let’s assume we have the freedom to choose from various main LLMs, such as:
- ChatGPT
- Llama
- Claude
- Gemini
- DeepSeek (not that I’d advocate for that!)
Let’s also presume we grant specific permissions for access to various data categories: contacts, calendar, location, on-screen text, etc.
Please participate in our poll and share your opinions in the comments below.
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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
