Are iPhone Users Actually Using Siri?

Apple’s voice-based virtual personal assistant Siri has experienced its fair share of controversy since its release with the iPhone 4S last October.

Just this month, Siri suffered through a lawsuit because one man claimed Apple misrepresented its capabilities.

Despite this fact, most iPhone 4S users seem to like Siri just fine, though they don’t put its assistance to use very often.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to a survey recently released by market research and consulting company Parks Associates, U.S. iPhone 4S owners usually use Siri to make phone calls and send text messages. In addition, only about a third of owners use Siri daily or almost daily, while 87 percent use at least one of its features monthly.

Parks Associates surveyed 482 U.S. iPhone 4S users on their use and opinions of Siri for their “Apple iPhone Siri Users” report. The survey also found that more than 50 percent of iPhone 4S owners are “very satisfied” with Siri, while an additional 21 percent are “satisfied.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, many Siri users are limiting how they put the app to work. Thirty-two percent of users have never used Siri to play music, 35 percent have never used it to schedule meetings, and 30 percent have never used it to send an email — it’s not very surprising that only 37 percent of owners would like to have a similar assistant for their TV set.

“Siri is clearly a hit among the initial iPhone user base,” said Park Associates director of consumer analytics John Barrett in a March 27 blog post. “Consumers like Siri because it’s convenient, easy to use, and helpful for remembering important information (e.g., birthdays) and its hands-free capability makes it easy to send texts, emails, and phone calls. However, I would have expected more owners to want Siri for their TV set. These are the folks that rushed out to get the new iPhone 4S.”

While Siri may not see much success with TV sets, perhaps once it acquires sharing sports scores as a service — a very likely possibility, according to an AppleInsider report — iPhone 4S users might be more apt to use Siri’s services more often.

Techland’s Jared Newman suggests that Apple must improve Siri in several areas before users begin to take full advantage of it. He suggests that when Siri comes out of beta, it should feature turn-by-turn navigation and support for more third-party apps than it currently offers, among several other improvements. (Visit Techland to see his full list.)

What do you like to use Siri for? Are you satisfied with the app? Let us know in the comments! And make sure to flip through the slideshow below to view some of the best submissions from a recent contest hosted by Shapeways that asked participants to create renderings of what they imagine Siri might look like.