Rui Carmo
Hot on my rant about Siri on the HomePod Mini, this lays out how, by simply using native Apple APIs like EventKit, MapKit, and Mail’s native compose sheet, Perplexity manages to make conversation with an assistant a practical—if not sometimes quirky—experience. I found it amusing that queries like “play the song that was playing in The O.C. when Seth Cohen was wearing a Spider-Man mask” got a correct response on Perplexity, whereas Siri (even with its ChatGPT integration) was hopeless. Sure enough, Federico notes, “Siri is producing absolute junk while Perplexity is being genuinely useful.”
The piece is worth a look because it isn’t just hype—it carefully points out real limitations (like issues with reminders and the absence of HomeKit control) while hinting at a future where integrations may become the norm rather than the exception. The detailed back and forth shows a thoughtful interaction with AI that should have been within Apple’s ability to deliver rather than bombarding us with vaporware bells and whistles.
It’s a sober reminder that innovation often comes from practical tweaks rather than revolutionary new tricks, and I have to wonder how many more people are doing it better than Apple right now.