Google Assistant now on iPhone

[THeEmpire.01]

One the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O this week it that Google Assistant is now on iOS. Google is attempting to widen their ecosystem and devices that can use its Assistant. Google putting their Assistant on the iPhone is their direct attempt to compete with Siri and Apple's ecosystem.

Siri vs Google Assistant

 

Access

One of the main advantages of Siri is its ability to launch anywhere in iOS with a hold of the home button. However Google has done their best to combat this. They've made it possible to access through a widget on the home and lock screen. And through 3D Touch.

 

Integration

Because of Apple's highly controlled iOS there is only so much that Apple allows the Assistant to do. Simple tasks like volume up, down, and playing music work well with both Siri and Assistant. However some basic and highly used Siri features can't be accomplish in Assistant. Things like turning on low power mode, setting the system alarm clock, and controlling home kit devices.However Assistants use and access of smart home products like Phillips hue and Logitech Harmony give it an upper hand in the smart home department. 

 

One of the big features of Google Assistant on iPhone is not even available yet on Android which is an interesting move. The feature is the ability to just talk to assistant though text instead of voice.

 

After looking though the similarities and differences in my opinion Siri is currently better that Google Assistant on iPhone, but not by much. If there weren't hardware limitations than Assistant would be my go to voice AI. However its is clear that google is putting a lot of effort into AI and that work is showing in Assistant. If Google is able to put in new features that overcome the ability to not control the iPhones hardware than it would be a much better option than Siri. If all of this is uncertain, than one thing that is clear is Google is continuing its attempt at world domination by releasing another app made by them with there logos that you put on your iPhone's screen. 

 

Interesting Side Note: If you search for Google Assistant on the iOS App Store for what ever reason it shows up really low in the search results. Its first result it Google Allo and then other not very common Google Apps.

 

The Verge: How does Google Assistant stack up against Siri on an iPhone?: https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/19/15655558/google-assistant-vs-siri-iphone-ios-apple-locked-down-sandbox

 

[AnonymousGuy]

Soooo why would I use this over Siri? 

 

Quote

setting the system alarm clock,

This is pretty much 50% of what I use Siri for.  She also does cool stuff like "delete all my alarms".  The other 50% is "hey Siri, facetime audio call ----".

[THeEmpire.01]

Yeah I agree, and I think one of the most Siri used commands is turn on low power mode. And Assistant will never be able to do that on iPhone.

 

[Centurius]

20 hours ago, AnonymousGuy said:

Soooo why would I use this over Siri? 

 

This is pretty much 50% of what I use Siri for.  She also does cool stuff like "delete all my alarms".  The other 50% is "hey Siri, facetime audio call ----".

I mean, with more and more devices going for either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa compatibility it's useful to have those devices controllable from iOS too. But then again, no one has managed to make a compelling case to me yet that voice assistants are anything more than privacy-destroying gimmicks anyway.

[BuckGup]

They act like people actually use voice assistants. The only person I know to use it is blind and they use the special version of siri so I wouldn't even count that. You look like an idiot yelling into your phone to make an appointment when you could simply tap 2 times and type.

[Commodus]

25 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

They act like people actually use voice assistants. The only person I know to use it is blind and they use the special version of siri so I wouldn't even count that. You look like an idiot yelling into your phone to make an appointment when you could simply tap 2 times and type.

I use Siri all the time, but that's partly because I have both an Apple Watch and Hue lights.  It's easier to use voice commands when they're right on your wrist, and "turn on my evening scene" is usually faster than opening the control center, swiping to the Home section and tapping a button.

[vetali]

I've never used siri. Its been disabled on my phone since forever. Feels silly talking to your phone without another person on the receiving end. 

[BuckGup]

52 minutes ago, Commodus said:

I use Siri all the time, but that's partly because I have both an Apple Watch and Hue lights.  It's easier to use voice commands when they're right on your wrist, and "turn on my evening scene" is usually faster than opening the control center, swiping to the Home section and tapping a button.

Yeah I can see that useful with a watch but you still look like an idiot talking to your wrist on a bus.

[Commodus]

3 hours ago, BuckGup said:

Yeah I can see that useful with a watch but you still look like an idiot talking to your wrist on a bus.

Ah, but the thing is that you don't always have to use it.  It's like a touchscreen on a laptop: you use it when it makes sense.  I'll talk to my wrist when I'm at home or all by myself at the street corner, but not when it's going to be awkward.

 

As it is, when you're on the bus you're already likely staring at your phone, or else not in a position to do much of anything.  It's for those other situations where you're unlikely to have your phone at the ready.

[BuckGup]

3 minutes ago, Commodus said:

Ah, but the thing is that you don't always have to use it.  It's like a touchscreen on a laptop: you use it when it makes sense.  I'll talk to my wrist when I'm at home or all by myself at the street corner, but not when it's going to be awkward.

 

As it is, when you're on the bus you're already likely staring at your phone, or else not in a position to do much of anything.  It's for those other situations where you're unlikely to have your phone at the ready.

Right but it's hard to justify it as I have never been in one of the situations

[Commodus]

57 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

Right but it's hard to justify it as I have never been in one of the situations

Well, just remember that there are some people who can definitely make use of it... even if Siri definitely isn't perfect (or Google Assistant, or Alexa, or...).