Apple's AI Beta: Is It Living Up to Expectations?

Like many others, I was excited to dive into Apple's latest AI beta, hoping to see a glimpse of the future with the improvements and new features that have been promised. However, after some time with it, I can't help but feel let down. Maybe I had too many expectations, but the current stage of the beta feels far from functional. I know it’s a beta release, but I expected more refinement by now. My interactions with Siri have been particularly frustrating, often resulting in completely unrelated or baffling responses.

For instance, when I asked Siri to show me something a contact had sent over text, I received the odd reply, "Apple Cash isn’t supported here." These types of responses make it hard to trust Siri for anything remotely useful right now. Even the writing tools feel murky and unpolished. So, what’s the problem? Is it too early to expect any meaningful features, or are we dealing with a lack of focus on core functionality?

What’s in This Beta

To be fair, allot of features are present. Apple has rolled out a new Siri UI with this beta, and there’s an improvement in Siri’s ability to understand commands—especially when you change your mind mid-sentence. For example, saying, "Set a 10-minute timer, no wait, 5 minutes, actually 3," should now result in a 3-minute timer being set correctly. It’s a small but welcome change for those of us who rely on voice commands.

The summarization feature is also quite powerful. It can summarize email threads right in the email list, which is a handy tool for quickly catching up on conversations. Proofreading seems like it could be useful as well, although right now, it doesn’t feel particularly intelligent. Overall, it’s clear there’s potential, but there’s also a lot still missing.

What’s Missing

The elephant in the room is the sheer number of features that are still absent. Of the nearly dozen Apple Intelligence features promised, we only have a handful in this release. Some notable missing features include:

* Image Playground: A much-anticipated creative tool for editing and playing with images.

* Genmoji**: Customizable emojis, which would have added fun, personalization to communication.

* ChatGPT integration: Still no sign of this, and it’s a glaring omission when compared to other AI advancements.

* Option to erase objects in Photos: A practical feature that could enhance photo editing for casual users.

* Priority Notifications: This could have been a game-changer for productivity, but we’re left waiting.

Most disappointingly, the highly anticipated “Siri app integration and screen awareness” are absent. Siri still doesn’t offer much contextual understanding of what’s on the screen, making it feel somewhat outdated compared to the smart assistants from competitors.

A Non-Functional Beta?

For a developer beta, I didn’t expect it to be completely polished, but I did expect it to function better than it does. Voice-activated prompts are often ignored, forcing me to type requests instead. There's also a noticeable lack of context awareness in Siri's responses. The fact that some of these tools are only available in English while others, like the writing and translation tools, could be far more useful for other languages, feels like a missed opportunity.

Meanwhile, Apple's AI still seems like it’s playing catch-up. If OpenAI integrates its tools at the system level, Apple’s AI might not stand a chance. Apple's focus on the future is clear, but it feels like we're stuck in a "someday" scenario. Right now, the beta isn’t showcasing the power of AI that Apple has been hyping.

Final Thoughts

For those considering installing this beta, I would recommend holding off for now, especially if you’re expecting a fully functional AI assistant or new groundbreaking features. There are improvements, but they’re minor, and the core innovations are yet to come. It’s an exciting roadmap, but as of now, we’re far from the destination. Maybe in the next release, Apple will deliver more of the features we’ve been promised.