3 ms·

It certainly doesn't do everything Siri does on iOS devices, because it can't. Apple's hand won't be forced because no one buys an Android device over an iPhone

by IBM 10y ago

It certainly doesn't do everything Siri does on iOS devices, because it can't. Apple's hand won't be forced because no one buys an Android device over an iPhone/iPad because Siri doesn't do the same things Google Now does. Google believes that is a feature that can sell phones, but I predict that the Pixel will never pose a threat to Samsung or Apple and likely won't sell much more than Nexus devices have. Apple also has a good working relationship with Microsoft so if they wanted this functionality it wouldn't be via "scraping".

Itsdijital 10y ago
Oh well sure it can't on iOS devices, but that is Apple's doing, not Google's. It does have full functionality on all GMS (Google Mobile Services) Android devices though (Sammy, HTC, LG, 1+, Sony, etc.). As for people not buying a device for it's assistant, I think that is an extremely short sighted comment. At least in the US where everyone has an iPhone and considers Siri near worthless, not many people use their assistant. And many of those that do are locked into a mindset that it can only do basic things/answer simple questions (i.e. remind me of x, whats the weather, whats score of the game, text nick hey). My friends head nearly fell off the other day when I asked my phone why people put nitrogen in their tires and it read back a perfect response without me even having to touch it. As people break out of the "assistants are shitty" mindset in coming years, and especially as talking to your phone becomes more socially acceptable, I think there will be much more focus on who does it best. Without a doubt the future is going to be riddled with AI. In that sense to write off personal assistants as marketing gimmicks sounds as ludicrous as writing off the electric light bulb as a neat trick in 1850.
- IBM 10y ago
  You missed my point, which was that Google Now can't do the things Siri can on iOS. This is important because Apple has aggregated a large and highly valuable user base. Contrary to your claim otherwise, this user base makes 2 billion Siri requests per week [1]. The fact that Google Now can't insert itself into this position works to Apple's advantage because that dataset will enable Apple to improve the product over time. It also means that everyone who wants to reach that audience will partner with Apple and/or use the newly available Siri API (as many have done), which will further add new functionality. And if Apple really wanted to replicate the "answer general interest questions" use case with Siri it wouldn't require Apple to create a search engine, just a bizdev deal with Microsoft and some engineering work (probably from both parties). I also never made any claims that assistants are shitty or would stay shitty. I said that Assistant/Google Now isn't enough differentiation to convince a customer to purchase a Pixel over an iPhone (or a Samsung Galaxy for that matter). The iPhone's competitive advantage doesn't rest on any one single feature or service. It isn't enough for Google to make a better assistant, they must be better than Apple on a number of vectors (too many to list, one big one that tech nerds often don't consider is Apple's retail footprint and the customer service advantage that provides). [1]http://www.apple.com/ca/pr/library/2016/06/13Apple-Previews-Major-Update-with-macOS-Sierra.html http://www.apple.com/ca/pr/library/2016/06/13Apple-Previews-...
piyush_soni 10y ago
Just curious, what are those things that Siri does and Google Now doesn't (except being more conversational and telling jokes, which 'Google Assistant' does too now with Pixel phones)? I'm definitely bought over by the Google Assistant, it only improves upon the vastly useful and very smart Google Now already and is going to get a lot better with every release.

by IBM 10y ago

Itsdijital 10y ago

Oh well sure it can't on iOS devices, but that is Apple's doing, not Google's. It does have full functionality on all GMS (Google Mobile Services) Android devices though (Sammy, HTC, LG, 1+, Sony, etc.). As for people not buying a device for it's assistant, I think that is an extremely short sighted comment. At least in the US where everyone has an iPhone and considers Siri near worthless, not many people use their assistant. And many of those that do are locked into a mindset that it can only do basic things/answer simple questions (i.e. remind me of x, whats the weather, whats score of the game, text nick hey). My friends head nearly fell off the other day when I asked my phone why people put nitrogen in their tires and it read back a perfect response without me even having to touch it. As people break out of the "assistants are shitty" mindset in coming years, and especially as talking to your phone becomes more socially acceptable, I think there will be much more focus on who does it best. Without a doubt the future is going to be riddled with AI. In that sense to write off personal assistants as marketing gimmicks sounds as ludicrous as writing off the electric light bulb as a neat trick in 1850.

IBM 10y ago
You missed my point, which was that Google Now can't do the things Siri can on iOS. This is important because Apple has aggregated a large and highly valuable user base. Contrary to your claim otherwise, this user base makes 2 billion Siri requests per week [1]. The fact that Google Now can't insert itself into this position works to Apple's advantage because that dataset will enable Apple to improve the product over time. It also means that everyone who wants to reach that audience will partner with Apple and/or use the newly available Siri API (as many have done), which will further add new functionality. And if Apple really wanted to replicate the "answer general interest questions" use case with Siri it wouldn't require Apple to create a search engine, just a bizdev deal with Microsoft and some engineering work (probably from both parties). I also never made any claims that assistants are shitty or would stay shitty. I said that Assistant/Google Now isn't enough differentiation to convince a customer to purchase a Pixel over an iPhone (or a Samsung Galaxy for that matter). The iPhone's competitive advantage doesn't rest on any one single feature or service. It isn't enough for Google to make a better assistant, they must be better than Apple on a number of vectors (too many to list, one big one that tech nerds often don't consider is Apple's retail footprint and the customer service advantage that provides). [1]http://www.apple.com/ca/pr/library/2016/06/13Apple-Previews-Major-Update-with-macOS-Sierra.html http://www.apple.com/ca/pr/library/2016/06/13Apple-Previews-...

piyush_soni 10y ago

Just curious, what are those things that Siri does and Google Now doesn't (except being more conversational and telling jokes, which 'Google Assistant' does too now with Pixel phones)? I'm definitely bought over by the Google Assistant, it only improves upon the vastly useful and very smart Google Now already and is going to get a lot better with every release.