My First Impressions of Siri AI on the Mac: A Mixed Bag
I've always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to voice assistants. The idea of relying on a digital assistant for everyday tasks just never seemed quite right to me. But with the recent introduction of Siri AI on macOS 27 Golden Gate, I decided to give it a shot. And what a ride it's been! After just 24 hours of testing, I'm left with a mix of excitement and skepticism.
The Early Days
As an early adopter, I was eager to see what Siri AI could do. The fact that it's still in an early preview state is a bit concerning, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. The initial setup was a breeze, and I was impressed by the speed at which Siri AI seemed to understand my commands. However, I quickly hit a wall when it came to indexing my files and folders. Unlike on iOS, there's no visible progress indicator, and Siri AI couldn't even tell me if it was working.
Automating Tasks: A Mixed Bag
I was hoping that Siri AI could help me automate some of my time-consuming tasks, such as running benchmarks for laptop reviews. While it can launch apps, it can't take actions inside them, which is a bit disappointing. I also tried using Shortcuts to automate the process, but the results were underwhelming. Siri AI couldn't even run the tests, and the automations were full of errors.
Data Analysis: A Glimmer of Hope
One area where Siri AI showed promise was data analysis. I was able to use it to calculate averages from batches of screenshots, distinguishing between single-core and multicore CPU scores, and GPU scores. However, it struggled with mixed test types and sometimes pulled the wrong data. While it's a step in the right direction, I'm still not convinced it's ready for prime time.
Ecosystem Limitations
Siri AI seems to be at its best within Apple's ecosystem. When I asked it to find pictures of cats or babies, it pulled up results from Apple's Photos and Messages apps. However, when I tried to access non-Apple apps, such as Signal and Google Photos, it fell short. It also missed thousands of images in my Lightroom Classic catalog, even though the files are stored locally.
Visual Intelligence: A Work in Progress
Siri AI's visual intelligence is a mixed bag. While it can offer specific value adjustments for exposure and contrast, it struggles with more complex tasks. I asked it to evaluate benchmark results in Google Sheets, but it couldn't see all the data if it wasn't visible onscreen. It also had trouble judging the results of my Lightroom adjustments, sometimes offering sycophantic praise or giving nonsensical recommendations.
The Bottom Line
Siri AI is still very much a work in progress. While it shows promise in certain areas, such as data analysis, it's still limited in its capabilities. I'm hopeful that Apple will continue to refine and improve it, but for now, I'm still inclined to do many tasks myself. It's baby steps for Apple, but it's a start. The future of Siri AI is exciting, but it's still a long way from being a true digital assistant.
Personally, I think Siri AI has the potential to be a game-changer for Mac users, but it's still a bit too early to tell. I'm eager to see how it evolves over the coming months and years. In my opinion, Apple has a long way to go before Siri AI becomes a true digital assistant, but it's certainly on the right track.
