Alexa, What's Wrong With Siri?

Sure, the formerly-cutting-edge virtual assistant has become the butt of many a tech joke, but Apple's Siri problem is only getting bigger. As Amazon and Google develop artificial-intelligence assistants that can do tasks small (set multiple cooking timers) and large (hold conversations with you and others), Siri has been stuck saying, "Here's what I found on the Web for that." At Apple's biggest software event of the year Monday, just four months after HomePod's release, the speaker was mentioned only once. Apple does have some new ideas about what Siri should do for us when iOS 12 launches for iPhones and iPads in the fall: We'll be able to program strings of tasks. A single custom phrase will, say, shut off the lights, turn down the thermostat and launch a podcast. But it feels like the ultimate marketing fake out.