Voice assistants, such as Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, have become increasingly common in smartphones and smart devices. Over the years, these tools have evolved to help users perform tasks through voice commands, from setting reminders to booking reservations. However, Apple's Siri has faced criticism in recent years for not keeping pace with its competitors. Once considered one of the leading voice assistants, Siri has generally ranked last in independent tests compared to Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa, and Microsoft's Cortana. Despite this, Apple introduced Siri in 2011 with the iPhone 4S, making it one of the first mainstream voice assistants available to the public. Siri was not originally created by Apple. The company acquired the app in 2010 for around $200 million. At the time, Siri was a third-party application developed by Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer, with the goal of making it an "action engine" capable of performing tasks directly through voice or text commands. It connected to external services like OpenTable and MovieTickets.com, allowing users to book tables, purchase tickets, or check movie times without opening the actual apps. However, after Apple acquired the app, it removed this direct execution feature. Apple’s decision to remove Siri’s ability to perform tasks was influenced by several factors. Some of the external APIs it relied on stopped working as websites and services updated their systems. Additionally, partner companies were hesitant to allow Apple to take a commission on transactions without users opening their apps directly. This change also helped Apple maintain control over its payment systems, ensuring it could collect commissions on app purchases. These changes marked a shift away from the original vision of Siri as a task-performing assistant. The death of Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, also had a significant impact on Siri's development. According to Dag Kittlaus, who co-created Siri, Jobs had a clear vision for how the assistant should evolve and was actively working on integrating it into iOS before his passing. After Jobs' death, Kittlaus said he left Apple, noting that no one else in the company shared his original vision for Siri. More recently, Apple has made improvements to Siri's AI, bringing it closer to its original design. While Apple has been slower than competitors like Samsung and Google in adopting AI technologies, recent updates suggest the company is working to catch up and align Siri with the goals of its creators.