Google is accelerating its efforts to beat Apple's voice-controlled butler Siri, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Citing "people familiar with the matter", the Journal reckons Google is speeding up plans to launch an Android-based Siri competitor, rumoured to be called Google Assistant.
Android has featured voice-control tech for ages, letting phone owners bark orders into their mobiles using Voice Actions. This lets you do plenty of things, such as send texts, search or play music on your Android phone, but the actions are triggered by specific commands and, unlike Siri, the phone doesn't speak back.
Google is reportedly looking to upgrade its voice-controlled search to full personal-assistant status -- a new Android tool that will create a 'personalisation layer' using data from Google+, offer a 'do engine' that helps you achieve real life goals and be voiced by Geoffrey from the Fresh Prince.
Samsung seemingly couldn't wait for Google's own efforts, loading the Samsung Galaxy S3 with S Voice, an own-brand Siri rival that's sadly pants. Recently news emerged that LG has cooked up its own voice service called Quick Voice, though that's only available in Korea for now.
Google's decision to speed up the process could be spurred on by Apple's recent announcements regarding iOS 6. The iPhone-making company is giving Siri a much-needed refresh, bringing location data to the UK, adding sport and movie info, as well as introducing the smug robot helper to the iPad.
I can't wait to see what Google comes up with -- as a company that's founded on search and data manipulation, crafting a competent virtual assistant should be right up the Big G's silicon alley.
Siri gets updated in the autumn when iOS 6 launches. If Google has a rival product up its sleeves, we could see it debut around the same time.
Are you on board with mobile chit-chat? Or should smart phones be seen and not heard? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 7
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flyingacedude 20 June, 2012 13:24
Ace, let the competition commence!
anonymous 20 June, 2012 14:51
If we're being honest, Google Voice Search works just fine, yes you need specific commands to use it, but so what? It doesn't make it less intuitive to have to say 'send text ... ' rather than 'tell ...' , and in the real world, I've yet to hear anyone speak highly of Siri.
Having the device talk back would have some uses, I'm sure, most notably in the car, when asking for directions (although Google offer this on Android devices already), asking for time, asking for distance to destination, asking for weather, I suppose.
Other than that, I struggle to really think of other situations where having the phone talk back is really useful. You still have to press a button to activate Siri, so it's not as though you can be at the other side of the room and ask it for information, or use it whilst cooking and your hands are messy, or working on some kind of engineering.
Siri seems to me a bit like the Google Play Shop vs. App Store debate. In the real world, having a few hundred more apps doesn't really matter, it's not really a reason to buy Apple over Android. You'll get all the apps you need on both. Similarly, don't buy Apple because of Siri, it doesn't really do anything useful that Voice Search doesn't do, it's just slightly more intuitive and talks back, which, again, only really has a use when you're driving, and even then you still have to press and hold a button, so it isn't hands free.
I don't own an iPhone 4s, so there may be a driving mode that is purely voice activated, in that case I am wrong on that and yes that's a great feature absent in Google Voice Search (but present in Vlingo). Happy to be corrected.
anonymous 20 June, 2012 15:26
There are indeed times when having Siri respond to a voice command is extremely useful. I use Siri quite often for setting up appointments. If I say, "schedule a meeting for this afternoon at 3 with Bob and Jane" Siri might respond that I have another overlapping appointment at tha time and what would I like to do. If I respond, "move it to 5 pm", Siri can intelligently contextualize that I am referring to the previous command and make the appropriate change. That's just a real world example to clarify the usefulness of Siri over Android simpler voice commands.
anonymous 20 June, 2012 16:49
Although I am a fan of the Android operating system, I have to say I think Google has made a bad call on this. Firstly, it doesn't help fight Google's case against the claims that android is basically just copying Apple. Also, before Apple brought out Siri, no-one wanted a voice-activated personal assistant, and to be honest, I think most people still don't feel need for it. Even some apple fans I have spoken to have admitted they feel Siri isn't the great. What I'm basically is that no-one is going to chose IOS over Android purely because of Siri, and so Google doesn't need to copy one of apple's features to pull more people over to Android
anonymous 20 June, 2012 20:38
As someone with a nearly-blind relative who is shopping for a new phone right now, I'm curious whether Siri's ability to respond would be especially useful (for when you can't verify or use visual, text-based info). Transition to an all-voice phone may be the way to go, I'm thinking.
anonymous 21 June, 2012 11:21
I want a voice assistant like GLaDoS on my phone. That witty, that intelligent. Not quite that crazy/moody, though. If Google can make an assistant like that then we will love Google forever. I mean, more than we currently do.
Bonus points if they turn it into something you can run on a desktop too.
anonymous 28 June, 2012 05:45
i think cnet is working for apple