Siri AI – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Observations And Questions After Apple’s Latest iPhone Duo and Apple Watch Event

Waiting to see how things unfold

I’ve got questions, some observations, and a few thoughts after Apple’s latest product announcements. In my opinion this was the best product introduction, canned or live, that Apple has done in quite some time. It makes a difference that they actually had something new to show off.

And there is newness. There’s also quite a bit of new work for developers ahead.

iPhone Pro

There’s nothing really to say about the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models beyond steady as she goes. Apple changed some colors, added some camera updates, a few other new features internally along with the latest generation chip, and incrementally advanced the very successful iPhone 17 Pro. The 17 Pro is one of the best iPhones I’ve owned and probably Apple’s peak for that design. Nothing about the 18 Pro versions seem likely to change that. Only reinforce it.

But in all the hype about the shiny new iPhone Duo much of that will be largely ignored.

iPhone Duo

It’s both tiresome and accurate to say Apple is playing follow the leader as a late entry into the minuscule market (<2%) that is the folding smartphone game. Samsung and others have been trying to make creases disappear for some time now. Crease or no, I believe the jury is still out on whether or not folding smartphones will ever be more than a niche market. If that proves to be the case there’s nothing wrong with that, though I think Apple has more hopeful thoughts.

However this new chapter turns out, it begins with Apple replaying the same game of catchup they played after Samsung introduced large smartphones. Remember when they were called phablets? Quite frankly, I imagine Samsung and the rest are glad Apple is entering this segment because it might spark new life for the concept of folding smartphones, which hasn’t caught fire like larger smartphones did.

To lay out my bias up front, I’ve never been attracted to the folding phone concept. I’m an iPad guy and if I need a larger screen that’s my weapon of choice. And when I’m wielding an iPad I don’t want my iPhone near me, or any of the distractions like notifications I use my iPhone or Apple Watch for. Apple isn’t hyping the Duo as an iPad and that’s a good thing. That hasn’t and won’t stop the comparisons from others, although it may herald the end of the iPad mini down the road.

So, that’s my preference and my choice. And I’m both sure and glad that others have different preferences and make different choices. With that in mind, I’m glad that Apple is offering a new category of smartphone for those who do see their technology worlds unfolding differently than I do. I’m glad Apple’s competitors do as well.

I took a look at some of the earlier foldables when they started hitting the market years ago and largely wrote them off. This summer I took a look at Samsung’s most recent foldables and was actually quite surprised with the quality of the tech. I imagine once I get a chance to fondle the iPhone Duo in a store that my response will be much the same. Impressive tech, but not something I have a need for, no matter how cool it may be.

The iPhone Duo does indeed look cool. If nothing else, Apple knows how to market a product. As I’ve said many times before, the verdict on the Duo’s success or failure will be determined at a later date once we see how Apple’s claims about durability and the display hold up. Early reviews will be just that. Early. I’m also guessing there will be some attacking that screen and hinge to check out Apple’s durability claims. October is going to be an interesting month for those who follow these things.

What stood out most was Apple’s “own the whole widget” reimagining of the iPhone UX/UI to take advantage of the new device. It looks both new and familiar. Doing some reading post event I can see how much work developers have ahead of them to fully take advantage of the new device. Here’s hoping most do, because some of what I’ve seen about apps that aren’t tuned to the new device leave a lot to be desired, reminding me of how insufficient and wrong iPhone apps looked on iPads in the early days. Remember when Apple sold using iPhone apps on the iPad as a feature?

Apple’s developer website promises workshops and labs, but the Xcode 27.1 beta for developing apps for the Duo is listed as coming later this month. I’m guessing it’s going to be a challenging transition. For some, a long one.

Speaking of transitions, the fancy fading transition between the closed and open screen is not only impressively eye-catching, and speaks to the aspiration of Apple’s designers and is certainly not something we’ve seen from any competitors. Time will tell where that takes us beyond the wow factor of that first introduction.

To Crease Or Not To Crease

Apple’s engineers seem to have done a good job of hiding the crease. It’s still there, but hidden under a “perpetually flat matte surface” under a nano-texture finish. Perhaps we now know why Apple recently and surprisingly reduced by half the price of the Apple Polishing Cloth that was first introduced alongside the first nano-texture screens on the Pro Display XDR.

Left and Right Handedness

One of the questions I have that I’ve yet to see an answer for has to do with that new UI/UX. Apple claims that like the iPad, the iPhone Duo can be used in any orientation. Part of the UI/UX reimagining places the dock and controls in most images on the right of the display(s) away from the hinge. I’ve seen one image from Apple that places a menu on the left in landscape mode when two apps are in split view.

Landscape f7x2oe1oxemy large 2x.

I haven’t seen any that might do so when the device is closed and the indications from what I’ve seen is that the controls and dock mostly stay situated on the curved edge, whether the display is open or closed. This raises a question about right and left handed usage. This question came to me last night as I was using my iPhone to scroll through some reading about the Duo and realized that though I’m right-handed, I more often than not hold the iPhone in my left hand when reading or scrolling. I do the same with my iPad mini. I’m reasonably certain that if I ever purchased an iPhone Duo I would adjust. I’m not sure if the same is true for left-handers or how much it matters, even with what appears to be a very “hold it in your right hand” approach for the Duo when it is closed. I’m sure we’ll hear about it from left-handers if it does.

FaceID is one of the features iPhone and iPad users have become accustomed to. The iPhone Duo does not have FaceID, instead reverting back to TouchID for identification purposes. I’m not sure how many this might be a deal breaker for, if any. Quite a few folks are saying that if you’re wearing an Apple Watch you can use the unlock feature similarly to how you can use an Apple Watch to unlock a Mac. That might work. Although in my usage the feature worked so sporadically in unlocking my Mac that I turned it off. Maybe it’s been improved. We’ll have to wait and see.

iPhone Handoff

It’s often easy to forget that The iPhone Duo, like the iPhone Pro and other models that will be released next spring are phones. But they are. I remember when we called them cell phones rather than smartphones. Intriguing that I don’t recall seeing any imagery during the presentation of someone using the Duo to make a phone call.

Apple introduced an interesting feature that might appeal to some and might see some turbulence among carriers.

In these days of eSIMs, iPhone Handoff allows the use of one phone number between two devices so a user can switch back and forth whenever they want. I’m not sure what the demand for this will be, but some will certainly enjoy the feature. Depending on if the carriers can get their acts together.

At launch only T-Mobile and Germany’s Telekom support the feature, with Verizon saying they will later this year. AT&T apparently has some work to do on its infrastructure to make the feature possible.

Given how carriers love their ridiculous fees when you activate a new phone I wonder how this will get priced out. As I got ready to publish this, I noticed T-Mobile has announced that it will charge $5 a month for the feature.

Apple Watch Health and Privacy

Both the Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Ultra got updates to Series 12 and Ultra 4 respectively. Both also increased RAM to 4GB from 2GB. Apple continues its push into Health and Fitness in these next editions. Both got improved, but not new, health sensors to go along with a slew of new health features in the Health app, including something Apple calls Readiness that will let you know if you’re ready to take on whatever task or adventure awaits you or take it easy for the day.

There’s also a new Longevity tab that includes a feature called Health Age that lets you compare your statistics relative to others. Apple has entered into a partnership with Quest Diagnostics so that you can order a comprehensive lab test for $119 directly through the app to use as a baseline. This is sure to trigger a raft of social media posts bragging or complaining about how people’s Health Age scores compare in the way we have with sleep scores since that feature was introduced.

All of these features continue Apple’s forays into health guidance with wearables and are now promoted as being made possible by Apple Intelligence.

Speaking of Apple Intelligence, there’s also a controversial couple of new audio features for the Apple Watch that can record conversations. The privacy conscious, legal beagles, and pervert glasses foes have already begun stirring the pot and sounding alarms in this age when any kind of always on surveillance draws increasingly extreme negative pushback. Throw AI in the mix and the brew boils a lot faster.

Live Rewind lets you transcribe the last 15 seconds of a conversation you might have missed. The transcription can be saved to the new Siri app for viewing later. Siri Recap is an always listening feature that that uses ambient listening to take notes of conversations, summaries of which again can also be reviewed in the Siri App.

With Apple’s traditional bent towards privacy protection, they swear up and down that users are in control and that any of the summaries can only be viewed by you, are not accessible by Apple, and that audio is not recorded or stored. All of these features are opt-in and can be turned off. Apple also suggests “Be mindful of those around you. While audio is not recorded and stored, and no speakers are attributed, consider those around you where conversations might be private or sensitive.”

Seriously.

Siri recap with iphone.

My bottom line observation here is that this move into wearable AI by Apple is seeding the ground before Apple does or does not roll out any of the products we’ve heard rumored such as AirPods with cameras and its own smart glasses. Apple’s moves here, while cloaked in its usual privacy protection mantra comes at a time when there’s a growing distaste for anything AI related, a real backlash against smart glasses and any other surveillance tech no matter how cool or how beneficial it may be to those with accessibility challenges, and a blatant lack of trust for anyone on any level these days, especially big tech. That’s a broad brush to tar with, but it’s one that’s fully loaded and dripping these days.

It’s an old story now that Apple is behind when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. It’s not just the technology that’s lagging. It’s also that Apple has let others with much less social awareness define use cases in ways that turn off potential customers.

Even if this tech is only audio related, and all of Apple’s privacy claims prove out, I certainly don’t think Apple wants people to associate its popular Apple Watch brand with the toxicity of pervert glasses. And that’s before we get to the legal issues given how different states have different laws about the recording of conversations. Glenn Fleishman has an excellent article about this that you should read.

Timing is everything and I just don’t think this is the time, nor will there ever be a time when this kind of thing is accepted by a majority of users. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

A few other topics that caught my eye were announced during the day.

AppleCare One Family Plan

Apple has been offering AppleCare One allowing users to insure and get support for up to three devices for $19.99 and add other eligible devices for a cost. Apple’s new family plan will allow users who are or start a shared family group to ensure all eligible devices for each family member for $50 a month. This is a potential for real savings for some.

Apple Reference Image

This is a good thing that I wish wasn’t necessary. But these are the times we live in. Apple Reference Image is a way of providing proof that a photo was captured on an iPhone, and not an AI generated image. From Apple’s website:

Users can now prove the authenticity of a photo taken on iPhone 18 Pro models with Apple Reference Image, powered by the new sensor in the Main camera that can sign every pixel it sees. When a photo is taken in the new Reference mode, the camera captures signed sensor data that Private Cloud Compute develops into an unalterable reference image. Reference images can be viewed in the Photos app alongside the main image, like a digital negative, to visually compare the two assets and determine if any edits were made. APIs are available in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 27 for third-party apps to enable viewing of these reference images.

Image metadata and upcoming support for the SynthID standard can also help users identify images generated or edited with AI. Together with Apple Reference Image, this set of features represents a multifaceted approach to image authenticity — vital for photojournalists, photographers, and everyday viewers.

The Debut of John Ternus as CEO

Ternus did an admirable job in the canned presentation, though at times he looked a little gun shy. The opening film featuring a clever hand off from Tim Cook to Ternus was well done. Although it felt like it was two beats too long and would have been better served by getting to the punch line sooner. What’s apparent from how the event was structured is that Apple is loudly saying that they have a product guy at the top again. Ternus is “the guy” and there’s no doubt the pressure is now on for him to deliver.

As I said earlier. I felt Apple’s event was well done and the best it has done in some time. Picking a nit though, I was not a fan of all of the extras walking through the various locations while information was being presented. Each time someone walked through in the background it pulled my focus. The idea certainly established a nice mise-en-scène, but I largely found the extraneous traffic distracting.

It’s going to be interesting to follow how all of this continues to roll out. We won’t begin to hear real substance about the Duo from reviewers and users until October. That gives developers time to try and catch up, and it also will put the focus on Apple Intelligence and Siri AI as the operating systems that end in OS27 roll out next week for those with devices that support it. Note that most older Apple Watches do not support a lot of the new features. New Apple Watches and iPhone Pros will be getting in users’ hands late next week as well.

My hunch is there will be a lot of news unfolding this fall.

Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to. You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.

Siri AI and The Spam Call Problem

Put AI to work banishing spam

Listening to podcasts after each WWDC is always a bit of information overload, but occasionally you catch a bit of analysis that seems perhaps pertinent.

One of the podcasts I listen to his John Gruber’s Talk Show Live event that he’s been hosting for a few years now. After his infamous Something Is Wrong In The State of Cupertino post last year, Apple execs stayed away after having been guests in years previous. They stayed away this year as well.

This year, like last, Gruber put together a panel that featured The Verge’s Nilay Patel and Joanna Stern, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, now with her own gig, New Things With Joanna Stern. This year and last offered excellent commentary by both, and given the wait and see cynical posture I’ve adopted for all of Apple’s upcoming offerings, worth a listen.

One interesting tidbit stood out that I want to highlight in the context of my ongoing complaints and requests to Apple about making the handling of spam and unwanted phone calls easier.

Joanna seemed to be quite impressed with what she’s seen of Siri AI in the early going, citing a number of examples that she tried out during the event. The one that stood out to me is this:

I said, “What could I do that’s fun near the California Theater? I have some time to to kill,” and I don’t know if… I don’t know exactly what was the prompt or what was the thing, but it started suggesting things I could do locally. But also, it had access to my voicemail, so it knew that I had just gotten a message from my uncle who asked me to speak at his book club, and it said, “You… you could get back to my your uncle about his book club engagement, you would have some time to do that.” Okay, that’s crazy. It really is, right? And but what if that was sensitive information, right?

The key is Siri AI having access to voice mail. Regardless of however you feel about what data and info Siri AI needs to have about you to develop “Personal Context,” if Siri AI has access to your voice mail it seems it should be a relatively easy technological hop, skip, and jump to just automatically delete the flood of spam calls that have already figured out ways around any of the current wack-a-mole tricks that are being used.

Obviously the larger point Joanna makes about “Personal Context” and a new level of trust is spot on. It is one many iPhone users will have to reckon with. But I’ll tell you this. For my own personal context, if Siri AI can automatically banish to digital hell all of the fake calls that now use names to try and circumvent current spam call prevention I’ll be grateful.

The only reasons I can think of for Siri AI (or Google’s Gemini on Android phones) are business reasons and relationships with the mobile carriers. Apple’s “Personal Context” or Google’s “Personal Intelligence” are the names of the game, or so they claim. It seems logical to me that the technology exists to eradicate more of this curse that same technology makes possible and we all are prey to, whether it be phone calls, emails, or texts.

The Siri AI Demo Apple Should Have Done

One day perhaps we’ll move beyond AI cliché demos.

My nephew occasionally takes a look at this blog and gives me feedback on what I think and write. Actually, he mostly gives me shit. He certainly does when I write about Artificial Intelligence. He often asks why I’m so “down” on AI. At least we agree on politics.

Apple Executive Mike Rockwell demos Siri AI at WWDC 2026

I keep reminding him that I’m not “down” on the technology per se. I’d love to see the press release announcing AI led to a a cure for cancer. Who wouldn’t? I’m down on the way it continues to be sold to us and the ramifications that brings on so many levels, while still feeling like it’s not what the sellers keep promising. (I also remind him to read what I write more carefully, but he’s probably using some AI to summarize what I write.)

In truth, that’s the essence of my skeptical reaction to what we know as AI at the moment. There’s a lot going on, but how it’s being sold to most consumers still feels like it will ultimately be no more, no less than just another tool we use on a computer, after exacting high costs to do so, and dumbing down the general learning curve in the bargain.

Take for example the demos we constantly see about what AI can do when each company rolls out its latest version. As demos they all look slick as far as party and trip planning go.

(Coding is another case entirely. I’m not talking about that here, simply because I don’t have the expertise to do so. I’m strictly speaking of the sell to consumers.)

Even Apple fell back on these examples that have become clichés in this year’s WWDC 2026 announcement. Those clichés define the market companies think are ripe for the come on and then the plucking. I’m guessing they also define the current limitations of the technology. Or at least the limitations companies don’t want to risk pushing beyond in a live demo.

Here’s the AI Siri demo I wish Apple had shown us yesterday.

If you watched Apple’s keynote presentation you might remember this slide.

Maybe not. It flew by pretty quickly. It’s a word cloud of all of the other non Siri AI improvements Apple is bringing to its various operating systems this year.

Yes, the print is that tiny and crammed together. To call it unreadable is accurate. For those who didn’t watch the demo, the length of time it was on our screens was equally tiny, certainly compared to all the travel time each presenter took to walk on and hit their mark prior to speaking. To be honest, the slide’s quick and unreadable inclusion felt insulting given the long list of improvements it’s touting.

(To my knowledge no such list appears yet in Apple’s Newsroom or on its website heralding the other announcements. If I’m wrong, point me to it and I’ll link to it here. I’m sure it won’t be long before one of the sites that covers Apple distills it down and publishes it. Probably using AI.)

(UPDATE: Right after hitting publish, I noticed that John Gruber linked to this post on the Oneberri Blog listing all of those improvements.)

What if Mike Rockwell, the Apple Executive who did the Siri AI demos, had asked Siri AI to take that slide, and present the info into a bulleted list in Apple Notes, and then prepare a PDF for distribution? In the post keynote tech talk he and other Apple execs participated in, he could have followed that up by asking Siri AI to distribute the PDF to the other Apple execs on stage. Essentially it would have demonstrated the same Siri AI capability to gather info across native Apple apps, using context, in the same way the clichéd party planning demos do.

It certainly would have been more impressive than the usual clichés.

Perhaps AI Siri and the apps needed to do that work aren’t ready for such a challenge just yet. Things are still in beta after all. Perhaps it’s just too risky to stray outside of what’s made these kinds of demos a laughable cliché. Perhaps we’ll get there someday. Who knows?

Meanwhile I’ll remain “down” on AI the way my nephew likes to give me shit about my AI skepticism. I hope one day this technology might indeed lead to a cure for cancer. I also hope my nephew keeps reading this blog. It might help him learn to think for himself more often. 😉

Apple Announces New OS’s. I’m Still In Wait And See Mode

Apple works to make good on Apple Intelligence with Siri AI

At WWDC 26 Apple today announced new operating systems all ending in OS27. (The numbering thing drives me nuts.) The entire keynote felt different to me from recent years. I’m not talking about the presentation organization that strayed from the usual by device format. Rather it felt like Apple felt a bit humbled. Almost as if Apple is in a we’re in a thinking different mode these days. I may be reading more into that than is real, but I’m usually pretty good at sniffing these things out.

Apple announces Siri AI and its next generation of Apple Intelligence.jpg.

Apple chose the name Golden Gate for its macOS 27 version this year, and it looks like the folks in Cupertino heard the criticisms about Liquid Glass and have taken some steps to correct what I and many other consider design flaws. I’ve seen as many negative as positive reactions to the design changes, so we’ll see how that goes throughout the summer.

There was also quite a bit of time devoted to Parental Controls. Given the political heat big tech in general is taking politically here in the US and elsewhere that’s probably a smart move. The announcement stirred up a bit of controversy from folks not in favor of efforts like age verification. The devil will be in the details.

The big push though is all about Apple Intelligence and the New Siri, now called Siri AI. Trying to play catch up and recover from the mistakes of two years ago, Apple showed off some live demos in a separate meeting from the keynote. You can read about that on The Verge. So you have to consider showing live demos a plus over two years ago, although it was still in a protected environment. I’ll be looking for users to do the same as the betas roll out, even if it appears that there’s a waiting list for the New Siri. So, we’ll see how that goes.

Note that Siri AI, announced to roll out this fall, will be delayed in the European Union and China.

The announcements were solid. They appeared to address past problems of Apple’s own making, user complaints about recent design changes, and the promise of under the hood bug busting. Announcing speed increases across the platforms is promising. But we’ve been here before. Every keynote from every company makes promises. The devil is always in the details, and when life is a beta, you never know what’s final and when. Especially when you’re in a mode of trying to rebuild trust.

You can check out the entire keynote reduced to 26 minutes, also from The Verge here. And Jonny Evans has a nice collection of the headline announcements from the keynote here.

And this Mastodon post from Dwight Silverman sums up my some of my early thoughts as well.

To further sum it up my early thoughts, I’ll just say this. It’s going to be an interesting summer watching folks hammer on the betas, the first of what was released to developers today. The public betas will roll out in July. But we’ll have some early indications later in the week as developers begin working with the betas.

So, I’m still in wait and see mode. As should most of us be.