Siri’s creator is defending the voice recognition assistant, claiming that she “works just fine”.
Dag Kittlaus said: “I completely disagree with people who say it doesn’t work very well. You don’t launch a product that isn’t into the 90th percentile of working if you’re using it properly.”
Kittlaus admitted: “You run into some connectivity issues occasionally. And of course, there are definitely moments where it takes a little bit too long, but it’s a very complex problem that they’re working very hard at fixing and making it perfect, and I think you’ll see it get better and better over time.”
Regarding Apple’s plans to build in a new Eyes Free feature, Kittlaus said: “I wasn’t expecting to see car manufacturers putting Siri buttons in the car. I think that’s really exciting. And it’s safe.”
He added: “[Apple] is in a position to have this be one of the biggest things in the world in terms of a paradigm. They’re going after it, and I’m really excited to see where it goes.”
Kittlaus, who is half Norwegian, explained that Siri means “beautiful woman who leads you to victory” in his Nordic tongue, notes the Fortune report.
Kittlaus no longer works for Apple; he quit a year and a half after Apple bought his Siri startup for an estimated $200 million.
One former Apple employee recently claimed Jobs ‘would have lost his mind over Siri’ and said company employees “are embarrassed by Siri”.
Siri is Apple’s voice-recognition ‘PA’ feature on iPhones, which has come under fire recently in a series of lawsuits that claim Siri doesn’t work as advertised. According to one developer, Apple’s big mistake was marketing Siri as “Magical”.
Siri was tagged as beta when Apple launched the iPhone 4S, and yet the company still picked it as the lead feature in its advertisements for the new phone. Apple’s Tim Cook claimed at D10 that Siri is some people’s ‘best friend’ but it can do much more. It has also been revealed that iOS 6’s launch will see Siri come to iPad.
Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.