Technologies

Report Hints at Improved Siri This Fall After Inner Apple Turmoil

We may yet see Siri improvements this fall, but how far they go is still unknown.

According to a report by The New York Times, the first round of Siri improvements could arrive as soon as this fall to shore up the struggling digital assistant, which is supposed to be a linchpin of Apple Intelligence.

In an article about Apple challenges, which ranges from US tariffs on China to strife among the executives and teams responsible for advancing Siri, writer Tripp Mickle included this tidbit: «The company plans to release a virtual assistant in the fall capable of doing things like editing and sending a photo to a friend on request, three people with knowledge of its plans said.»

That description is still a far cry from the interconnected smart assistant teased at WWDC 24 and during the launch of the iPhone 16 series, where Siri would be able to pull context from texts and emails about family members arriving on incoming flights. In fact, it doesn’t seem to address that the current state of Siri appears to be regressing.

In a rare move by the secretive company, Apple acknowledged in a March statement to Daring Fireball from spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy, that its efforts to usher in a smarter Siri digital assistant as part of Apple Intelligence are «going to take us longer than we thought» and that the company «anticipate(s) rolling [these features] out in the coming year.» Now the Times report says we could see improvements as early as the fall.

Basic queries shouldn’t be difficult

Siri and Apple Intelligence have taken several knocks lately. Behind the scenes, Apple shook up its executive ranks and removed John Giannandrea from his role overseeing Siri, a transition detailed in the Times article as well as a more detailed behind-the-scenes look published by The Information (and summarized well at MacRumors).

But Siri also seems to lack context for basic queries. Apple did fix an earlier problem where if you asked Siri, «What month is it?» the answer was a curt, «Sorry, I don’t understand.» Still, when I ask that same question now, I don’t get the month; I get the current full date. And when I phrase the question as, «What is the current month?» I’m told, «It was Tuesday, April 1, 2025.» (If I wasn’t aware of Siri’s issues, I might wonder if the digital assistant was trying to play an April Fools’ joke on me.)

Parsing a basic question like that doesn’t seem to be a heavy request. Perhaps it never came up because it’s the kind of question only someone waking from a coma or being rescued from a deserted island would ask.

All of this is frustrating for shareholders, journalists (though we’ve grudgingly gotten accustomed to it) and customers, especially when they expect a level of assistant competency from Apple that just isn’t there. And the secrecy invites the same kind of months-long drumbeat of «Apple is falling behind on AI» that led up to the reveal of Apple Intelligence.

By taking the unusual (for Apple) step of responding to investor and media pressure — and announcing features that aren’t close to ready — the company may have made things worse by confirming that analysts, reporters and fans were right.

The smart play would be for Apple to adhere to its secretive ways, not previewing its features and capabilities until they’re much closer to being ready to ship. This week’s leak suggests the company might be getting the message.

Apple’s inflated expectations

Apple’s approach to product development has been to work on projects secretly, over years if needed, until they’re ready to see the light. They’re often not 100% baked at release, but when they’re ready to be introduced to the public, the core features and functions are there.

I could cite plenty of examples. It’s a valid argument that the Vision Pro is not a successful product — it’s expensive, it hasn’t been broadly adopted by customers or developers, it’s uncomfortable and so on — but the essential elements such as processing power, micro-OLED screens and VisionOS are all there as a solid foundation.

When a product’s existence is heavily leaked ahead of time, Apple typically unveils a finished version — even if it’s still limited in functionality. It was generally expected leading up to Macworld Expo in 2007 that Apple would announce a phone — particularly following the embarrassment of the Motorola ROKR E1 phone. But no one expected it to break from other smartphones of the time with its large screen, lack of physical keyboard and full web browser.

What’s different this time is that Apple’s promise for an advanced Siri, to anchor Apple Intelligence, seems to be in reaction to investors, the media and early-adopters obsessed with not just the presence of AI but also the immediacy of AI. Apple needs to be seen as an active player in the AI space with competitive features — and that those are just around the corner.

Also around that corner? The yearly iPhone refresh. Apple, like other phone-makers, sees AI as an important driver of new phone sales, since only its iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series models have the processing power to run Apple Intelligence. And that’s how we got a WWDC keynote in 2024 focused on Apple Intelligence and promising that very soon Siri would become an intelligent agent that can pull data from every corner of your iPhone to respond to queries such as «What time does my mom’s flight arrive?»

LLMs don’t follow a traditional release model

Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are advancing at a record pace. They’re now much more naturally conversational and can summarize large amounts of information well. Real-time audio transcription, for example, is game-changing for someone like me who has always struggled to hand-write notes.

At the same time, these AI technologies are not making the kinds of gains that tech giants like Google and OpenAI expect. Apple isn’t the only company hanging its AI future on intelligent agents that know everything about us.

Perhaps Apple, like Google, saw the brain-bending pace of advancement in LLMs’ capabilities and figured the bumps and stumbles it’s facing now could be solved with a few quick bug fixes and AI model recompiles. With those smoothed over, connecting the pieces and presenting them as the next generation of Siri would take a few months.

But that’s not how it’s playing out. AI hallucinations and bad data are still a problem — are you getting your recommended dietary requirement of rocks?

I suspect Apple is smarting not just from having to delay its Siri plans, but from being forced to do so publicly. And yet, even if Future Siri doesn’t make an appearance in the near future, there are plenty of opportunities coming up to continue improving Apple Intelligence features. Work on iOS 19 and iPhone 17 models, plus preparations for WWDC 2025 are no doubt well under way. Now that there are fewer expectations for the stalwart assistant, perhaps Siri’s year will improve from here.

Technologies

How Sonic Rumble Spins Away From Mario Party With Its Own Multiplayer Style

Sonic Rumble producer Takashi Iizuka explains how the team built a party game suiting the blue hedgehog’s style.

For decades now, the Mario Party franchise has dominated the niche of the best multiplayer party games you can play with friends on your couch — or now, online. Despite challenges from games like Fuzion Frenzy, Super Monkey Ball, Rayman Raving Rabbids and more, none have stolen Nintendo’s crown.

But now, Sega is making a play for the casual party game space with Sonic Rumble, a new title featuring the company’s iconic hedgehog and his friends. The free-to-play game is now available on PC, as well as on mobile for iOS and Android phones, allowing up to 32 players to join in on matches.

Sega’s hedgehog mascot is no stranger to party games, but entries like Sonic Shuffle on Dreamcast and Sega Superstars on the PlayStation 2 came out decades ago. For the publisher’s newest take on Sonic multiplayer, Sonic Rumble producer Takashi Iizuka answered questions over email, from adapting Sonic’s «gotta go fast» action to party multiplayer and whether other iconic Sega stars will make cameo appearances.

Q: There are some party games that have cemented the genre, like Mario Party. Aside from a cast of Sonic characters, how does Sonic Rumble distinguish itself from other party games?
Iizuka: While many other party games have their charm, our vision for Sonic Rumble was to combine the speed of classic arcade games with the competitive, high-stakes energy of a battle royale game. We call this mix an «Arcade Royale.»

Each stage is designed to keep the mayhem on full blast, whether players are dashing through obstacle courses or scrambling to collect rings before time runs out. What really sets Sonic Rumble apart is how it blends approachability with intensity. We wanted it to be easy for anyone to jump in and play, while still maintaining the intensity that fans have come to know and love from the Sonic franchise.

With the live service aspect of Sonic Rumble, we plan to consistently introduce new elements, from surprising collaborations to limited-time events, keeping the game fresh and fun for years to come.

When designing Sonic Rumble, what guidelines did the team/studio abide by to ensure it feels like a Sonic game?
Iizuka: We wanted to create a game that both new and longtime fans would love, and that could be played on the go or at home on their PC.

Sonic Rumble needed to embody what makes Sonic special, not just through the characters, but through the gameplay itself. That meant focusing on movement, momentum and control of the characters within the environment, so even in this new multiplayer format, gameplay still feels authentic to the Sonic experience. We also wanted to ensure that Toy World itself captured that Sonic spirit, with bright arenas, upbeat music and plenty of personality. Even if Sonic Rumble is an entirely new kind of Sonic game, players will instantly recognize the spirit and rhythm of the franchise in every match and mode.

The gameplay shown in the trailer has a distinctly Sonic feel — racing along tracks, jumping on bumpers, collecting rings and so on. How did the team adapt this to party gameplay?
Iizuka: We didn’t just place Sonic characters in a stereotypical party environment; we made Sonic mechanics and gameplay the foundation of Sonic Rumble. We achieved this adaptation through strategic twists on familiar elements.

In Sonic Rumble, rings are the high-stakes resource, rather than protection like in previous Sonic titles. We’ve made the Ring collection central to victory, allowing players to steal them from each other. The Dashing mechanic is another example, something usually used for speed can now also be used for attacking. By updating these core movements and abilities, we’ve added another layer of strategy and skill to the competition.

The recently released Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds had a deep roster of Sonic characters along with several from other Sega franchises, like Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball. Will Sonic Rumble also have crossover characters? What about characters from Sonic lore (like the Chaotix or Sonic the Werehog)?
Iizuka: Our immediate priority is to ensure Sonic Rumble is both fun and fulfilling for our core fan base as well as for players new to the Sonic franchise. That means focusing on the incredible depth of the Sonic Universe. We know how necessary customization is and are heavily committed to allowing players to fully personalize Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Dr. Eggman with unique skins, in-game skills, and emotes.

As Sonic Rumble is a live-service title, it has the potential to evolve and expand over time. At launch, fans can look forward to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Crossover Event, which brings in elements like the Movie Shadow skin and epic battles in the iconic Shibuya Crossing arena. We’ve also integrated characters and skins from a SEGA Stars Crossover Event, featuring beloved icons like Opa-Opa and Upa-Upa from Fantasy Zone, AiAi and MeeMee from Monkey Ball, and characters from Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Pengo, and Phantasy Star.

Sonic Rumble is available now on PC, iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Nov. 7

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 7.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hope you don’t have a cold — although two of the clues are related to the sounds you might make if you do have one. If you need the answers, read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Toddler’s go-to question
Answer: WHY

4A clue: Sound heard during cold season
Answer: ACHOO

6A clue: Move stealthily, like a cat
Answer: SLINK

7A clue: Breadcrumb coating in Japanese cuisine
Answer: PANKO

8A clue: Conduct surveillance
Answer: SPY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Prone to complaining
Answer: WHINY

2D clue: Sound heard during cold season
Answer: HONK

3D clue: Artist/musician Ono
Answer: YOKO

4D clue: Egyptian vipers
Answer: ASPS

5D clue: Show appreciation for a performance
Answer: CLAP

Technologies

Be Sure to Back Up Your iPhone the Right Way Before Installing iOS 26

If you’re upgrading to a new iPhone 17 or installing the latest operating system, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by making a good backup first. Here’s how to do it.

Now that iOS 26.1 is out, you might be more comfortable updating to Apple’s latest iPhone operating system. Or maybe it’s time for a bigger upgrade to a new iPhone 17, iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro? Before you do, take a little time to ensure you’ve made a good backup you can fall back on just in case something goes sideways.

I’m not talking about any regular backup, though. Hopefully, you already have your Apple Account settings configured to automatically back up the phone to iCloud, which is invaluable for everyday peace of mind. I’m talking about creating an archive that can save your hide in the unlikely event something goes wrong with the iOS 26 update.

Why an archive is essential before installing a new version of iOS

You’re probably accustomed to using iCloud Backup to maintain a regular fallback for your data. It works in the background (when you’re asleep and charging your device) and involves the least amount of backup friction, as long as you have sufficient iCloud storage space available. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and turn on Back Up This iPhone if it’s not already active.

However, when it comes to moving to a full release version of iOS, such as from iOS 18 to iOS 26, an iCloud Backup introduces a problem: You cannot restore from that cloud backup if you revert back to iOS 18. And unfortunately, iCloud keeps just the most recent backup — you can’t pick and choose from previous backup iterations. If you try to use an iOS 26 cloud backup to restore back to iOS 18, you’ll get an error. (Making an archive is also an important step when you install iOS betas.)

This is why you need to archive a backup on your computer.

Should you encrypt the local backup?

Before you create this archived backup, you should decide if you want to enable one of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security, this feature scrambles the data to prevent someone with access to your computer from accessing it. This option also preserves sensitive information in the backup such as saved passwords and personal data in the Health and Fitness apps.

The downside is that it requires you to create a separate password for the backup. If you forget or lose that password, the entire backup is useless. And so you should write this password down somewhere you can easily retrieve it. In the context of creating an iOS 18 backup as a fallback for installing iOS 26, you’ll have to decide if that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Create a local iPhone archive on your Mac

Making this type of backup requires only disk space and some patience:

Plug the iPhone into your Mac.
Open a new Finder window (choose File > New Finder Window, or press Command-N).
In the sidebar at left, select your iPhone under Locations.
If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup checkbox and set a password.
In the General tab, click Back Up Now.
When the backup completes, click Manage Backups.
Right-click (or Control-click) the backup you made and choose Archive.

Taking the extra step of marking the backup as an archive protects it from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the Mac is low on space.

Create a local iPhone archive on Windows

The iTunes app is still the main conduit for working with a connected iPhone under Windows. Open iTunes and do the following:

Plug the iPhone into your Windows computer.
Open the Apple Devices app and click the iPhone button at the top left.
Click General.
If you want to encrypt the data, click the Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
Click Back Up Now.
Click Manage Backups.
Right-click the backup you made and choose Archive. Taking this extra step protects the backup from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the computer is low on space.

With an archive in place, you can start using the iOS 26 beta secure in the knowledge that should anything warrant a retreat to iOS 18, you can quickly get your iPhone back into service.

For more, here is your reminder to clear your iPhone cache. And if you are moving to a new iPhone, here are the ways to transfer your data safely.