The iPhone 4S was launched on Oct. 4, 2011, at a keynote titled “Let’s Talk iPhone.” With hindsight you have to wonder if they missed a comma, because this was the introduction of Siri; “Let’s Talk, iPhone” is a better fit. But then, Siri has always promised much and missed very slightly.

This is Day 12 of 30 Days of iPhone, a look at the moments that shaped the smartphone era .

Apple Buys In Its Virtual AI Assistant For iPhone

SRI International launched Siri in Dec. 2010 before Apple acquired it. Apple introduced an integrated version of Siri on the iPhone 4S when it was released on Oct. 14, 2011. Pitched as an intelligent personal assistant, it allowed users to speak naturally to activate a select number of features on their new iPhone, including core phone actions, interacting with PIM data in Calendar and Contacts, and performing online searches.

Siri was not a slam-dunk when it launched. Writing in 2012, Seth Fiegerman noted attitudes to Siri from inside Apple; “Even some Apple employees admit they are embarrassed by Siri’s performance so far, with one former Apple insider going so far as to say Steve Jobs ‘would have lost his mind over Siri.”

Siri was the first voice assistant to break through with the public imagination; the occasional Easter Egg reply, “Open the pod bay doors, Hal” was quickly discovered, which says much about the conversations around AI. iOS 11 marked a critical step: the ability to ask follow-up questions and use data generated by previous questions and answers. For many, Siri was the blueprint of what an AI could be on a device, even if Apple’s implementation was strictly limited.

Siri On iPhone Was The Future Of AI, But Not Now

As part of the Apple Intelligence update teased at WWDC 2024, Siri was updated with a large language model, giving it generative AI options to match the Android AI adventures of the Google and Pixel and Samsung Galaxy models launched in late 2023. Apple’s AI tools are not as strong as Android’s. iOS 27 launches on Sept. 14 2026, and is expected to close the gap.

Rather than build a lead over the last decade, Apple failed to capitalize on the opportunity to use Siri to define what mobile AI would be. The question now is if it can catch up “in a way that only Apple can.”

This is Day 12 of 30 Days of iPhone. Yesterday, we looked at Steve Jobs’s broken promise to make FaceTime an open standard .