SiRi Exits the BETA zone

When the iPhone 4S was launched nearly two years ago, Apple introduced an assistant called the Siri voice control system to its customers. At the time which was not so long ago, Siri was a gimmicky feature at best, being released to the mass market with bugs, a highly-computerized voice, sluggish content loading, and unreliable/unpredictable servers. In addition, Siri of 2011 was short on user compatibility, only launching with knowledge of English, French, and German. Apple certainly did not deny the early issues with Siri: the company launched the product in “beta,” a tag that has remained on the software ever since.

Since 2011, Apple has been slowly improving the functionality and the service of its assistant. In early 2012, Siri gained support for Japanese, and with iOS 6 in late 2012, the service added support for several new languages and capabilities. With iOS 7, Siri has been given a redesigned user-interface, new functionality, and all-new voices. Many of the server errors and lengthy processing time issues that riddled the product in its early days have now disappeared; and it seems that Apple agrees. With the upcoming launch of iOS 7, it appears that Apple will finally be taking Siri out of “beta.”

Late this past week, Apple updated its Siri webpages to drop all references to the product being in beta. Prior to this past week, the bottom of the Siri informational page read:


Siri is available in Beta only on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.

Now the page reads (dropping beta):

Siri is available on iPhone 4s or later, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.

Additionally, Apple has removed its Siri FAQs website (Google Cache) that explained some of the finite details of the service and the supported languages. Because Siri seems to no longer be in beta, perhaps Apple feels that the service now performs well enough to not need an additional page of explanations.