Years of ridicule and neglect make it easy to forget just how groundbreaking Siri was upon its release. Predating the likes of Alexa and Google Assistant, Apple’s digital helper still felt like a novelty in the early 2010s. Not only could it grasp natural language, but it was also heavily baked into Apple’s iPhone, allowing it to send texts, make calls, and schedule reminders at the behest of users.
Yet, despite all those pioneering functions, Siri struggled to fit into our lives. What began as a promising assistant quickly became a source of frustration for many, due to its limitations in understanding context and its failure to evolve at the same pace as rival assistants. Over time, Siri's shortcomings made it feel more like a relic of the past than a cutting-edge tool.
