Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, has never been one to shy away from blunt criticism of his former company. In a recent interview, he continued sharing his honest opinions about Apple by stating Siri was a better service before the tech giant purchased it.
In a video interview Times Union, a New York newspaper, Wozniak said he preferred Siri as an app before Apple bought the technology. The former Apple programmer said the technology was largely unknown by the general public, although it was a far better product than it currently is. "Siri was the greatest program," Wozniak said in the interview. "I couldn"t talk one of my friends into getting Siri. My wife"s the only one that wound up getting it eventually. And then Apple bought Siri, and the day they bought Siri it started [getting worse]."
Wozniak gave multiple examples of how the service has become more business-based, providing answers pertaining to popular businesses and products instead of answering the actual questions users pose. When asking Siri for the prime numbers after 87, for instance, the service used to respond with a series of prime numbers following 87; now, the service gives answers relating to "prime rib," Wozniak said.
Siri was originally a company founded in 2007 by an independent group before selling itself and its technology to Apple in 2010. The company first released its voice control technology as an app in the iOS app store. Siri also planned to port the technology to other mobile platforms, including Android and Blackberry, although those plans were scrapped after Apple purchased the company.
Source: Mashable