Dear Apple,
I have a small request for Siri. Actually, it is not even a new request. It is a request about what happens when Siri cannot complete my first request.
Here is the problem.
I am driving somewhere with weak cell service. I ask Siri a simple question or tell her to do something. Maybe I ask, “What time am I meeting John?” Maybe I say, “Remind me to call the vet when I get home.” Maybe I ask her to send a message.
Instead of helping, Siri says something like, “I’m having trouble connecting to the internet. Please try again later.”
Excuse me?
I should try again later?
You are the smart assistant. You try again later.
A Smart Assistant Should Remember
The whole point of a personal assistant is that the assistant handles things for you. If I have to remember the task, wait for better service, unlock my phone, and repeat the same request, then I am not being assisted. I have just been assigned homework by my phone.
Imagine having a human assistant and asking, “What time am I meeting John?”
The assistant looks at you and says, “I can’t reach the calendar right now. Ask me again later.”
Then the assistant walks away.
That would be completely unacceptable. A good assistant would write it down, check the calendar when the connection returns, and then come back with the answer.
This does not seem like science fiction. Siri already knows what I asked. Siri already knows the request failed. The phone can tell when the internet connection comes back. Put those three facts together, and we have a solution.
Just Add It to the Queue
When Siri cannot complete an online request, she should say something like:
“I can’t connect right now, but I’ll try again when service returns.”
That is it. Take the request, place it in a short queue, and try again later.
When the task is complete, Siri could send a notification. If it was a question, the notification could contain the answer. If it was an action, Siri could confirm that it was done.
For anything sensitive—like sending a message, buying something, or changing an appointment—Siri could ask for confirmation before completing it. I am not asking my phone to run wild through my life. I am asking it to remember one thing for more than six seconds.
This idea originally came from my brother, which is a little annoying because it is a very good idea and I would prefer to take full credit for it.
Even more annoying: I believe Siri may have done this for me once.
I made a request when coverage was bad, and later the task seemed to complete after the connection returned. It was amazing. For one shining moment, my phone behaved like an actual assistant. I felt seen. I felt understood. I may have even forgiven autocorrect for a few things.
Then it never happened again.
Bad Coverage Is Exactly When We Need Help
This feature would be most useful in the places where people depend on voice assistants: while driving, traveling, walking, or carrying twelve grocery bags because making two trips is apparently illegal.
Those are also the moments when coverage may be weak and typing the request again is inconvenient or unsafe.
A phone that remembers a failed request would be more than convenient. It could reduce distraction. Instead of reaching for the screen when service returns, I could keep my paws on the steering wheel.
Well, I do not technically drive because I am a pug. But you understand the point.
Give Us Control
There should also be a simple place to view pending Siri requests. Call it “Try Again Later,” “Pending Requests,” or “Things Siri Promised Not to Forget.”
From there, users could cancel a request, approve it, or run it immediately. Requests could expire after a few hours so nobody gets a weather report from last Tuesday.
Apple could even let people choose which kinds of requests may run automatically. Looking up information? Fine. Creating a reminder? Go ahead. Sending a message? Ask first.
That would make the feature useful without making it creepy.
Apple, Please Finish the Job
Apple, you have built a phone that recognizes faces, finds lost luggage, separates a person from the background of a photo, and somehow knows when I am standing near an AirTag that belongs to someone else.
Surely it can remember that I asked one question while driving through a dead zone.
Do not tell me to try again later. I am busy. I might forget. I might lose service again. I might see a sandwich and become distracted.
You are supposed to be the intelligent assistant.
Write it down. Wait for the internet. Try again. Then tell me when it is done.
That would be smart.
That would be helpful.
And honestly, that would feel a lot more like Apple.
Snorts and weak-signal tail wags,
Pug DJ
