The biggest exclusive feature found in the iPhone 4S has to be Siri, Apple’s take on the virtual assistant. It’s definitely something that can be considered a “world-changing event" if you can ask your iPhone questions or issue commands, and then have it go off and complete the task.
It seems like Siri isn’t keeping everyone happy as it was quickly discovered today that the personal assistant isn’t available for iPhone 4S owners outside of the U.S. A number of reports on the internet and Twitter are stating that users in countries such as Canada and the UK are finding issues with functionality that Apple showed off at the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event last week and in their promotional videos. New iPhone 4S owners in other countries are reporting that certain tricks Siri can do, such as finding nearby restaurants, don’t work properly. When asking Siri to do something location based, Siri seems to politely refuse, informing users that the feature is only available to those in the United States and more specifically when speaking English. Issues which have been reported for international 4S users include the following:
• Searching for a business is limited to US users.
• Map directions and traffic data unavailable outside of the US.
• Siri has trouble with "very specific" English accents aside from US, UK, and Australian accents.
• Wolfram Alpha integration is only available to English-speaking countries at the moment.
• Map directions and traffic data unavailable outside of the US.
• Siri has trouble with "very specific" English accents aside from US, UK, and Australian accents.
• Wolfram Alpha integration is only available to English-speaking countries at the moment.
Rest assured, this isn’t going to remain an issue permanently. Apple referred to Siri being in “beta” and they have said in the past and across their website that “features may vary by area.” Furthermore, in Siri’s FAQ found on the company’s website, Apple has mentioned that "Maps and local search support will be available in additional countries in 2012" and "In 2012, Siri will support additional languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish."
Although the iPhone 4S may not be a full-featured “world-phone” just yet, it’ll get there soon enough.
Source: MacStories
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