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

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”