Apple's huge 5G and Siri bets risk user satisfaction and legal issues

Though it was held this year in October instead of September, Apple's "Hi, Speed" media event was a largely typical iPhone launch party, opening with the expansion of its Siri-powered line of HomePod speakers ("Hi"), and concluding with the long-awaited addition of 5G cellular connectivity to the iPhone lineup ("Speed"). Some companies might have tread cautiously on these topics -- Siri and 5G have both been dogged by complaints -- but Apple didn't hold anything back, using a seemingly endless parade of spokespeople to hype the new devices ahead of preorders. The 5G iPhone 12 family, it promised, will "blast past fast," while the $99 HomePod mini will become a hub to "control your smart home," bringing "intelligent assistant" access to the lowest price yet for any Siri device. Having covered Apple for a long time, I'm not surprised that its latest pitches were all sunshine and roses, but I couldn't help but feel that it was making big promises that could come back to bite the company and its partners. As of October 2020, the only thing less likely to thrill someone than a Siri speaker is typical U.S. 5G network performance, which despite boasts of 1-4Gbps downloads has seen average speeds that are barely better than 4G/LTE. Siri and 5G are both theoretically moving targets -- they're services that could improve at any time and in any region without advance notice -- but prior to this event, neither has delivered on its transformative potential.