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I use Siri on my phone every day. Mainly to set timers and alarm clocks or to check the weather. I don’t believe I’ve ever used it regularly for anything else.

I use Siri on my phone every day. Mainly to set timers and alarm clocks or to check the weather. I don’t believe I’ve ever used it regularly for anything else. Maybe once in a while I’ll be driving and I’ll ask Siri for directions to some place. It’s difficult to see why anybody would bother paying monthly subscription money for Alexa. If you have an iPhone Siri can do all the basic stuff (set timers, look up the weather) that Alexa can. Do some people use Alexa to adjust their home lights and stuff? Would non-wealthy people actually pay money in the form of a monthly subscription just so Alexa can adjust your home lights? Seems like Amazon’s strategy here doesn’t make sense to me. But I’m not Jeff Bezos so what do I know….

ekianjo 3y ago
is Jeff still involved in this kind of decisions?
- mft_ 3y ago
  Indeed; to my eyes, Amazon has set course more directly towards enshittification since Bezos left day-to-day involvement. I wonder if ‘customer obsession’ means less to his successor;or maybe the new boss’ success is judged differently (eg profit) than in Bezos’ time?
  - ekianjo 3y ago
    > Amazon has set course more directly towards enshittification Maybe, but I have not noticed any significant change in the day to day quality of the service compared to when Jeff was around. Have you?
    - ipaddr 3y ago
      Ads in prime video is a recent example
      - ekianjo 3y ago
        Good point, I don't use any of the prime content so I would not know.
chihuahua 3y ago
We use Alexa every day for lights, weather, and timers for cooking. It understands us correctly 98% of the time. The compelling thing about it is that it works purely by voice. I don't have to push any buttons. We have 4 Echos in different rooms so I don't have to have my phone on me all the time.
- beebeepka 3y ago
  you used your phone to adjust the lights at home and checking the weather? Talk about inventing problems.
  - sliken 3y ago
    I live in Colorado, the weather can vary 30F in just a few hours. If I'm in a hurry to leave, it's pretty useful to get the weather for the next few hours without having to stop and grab a device.
    - beebeepka 3y ago
      According to my research, 30f swing does not appear linear and i cannot tell if that would be significant or not. Still, my main point was the lights. I guess I am well into minority situation since turning them on/off is easier than talking to a thing or, god forbid, using a phone. From experience, I just as baffling to these people as they are to me.
      - ksmith14 3y ago
        I have a house with 3 levels and when I moved in, 2 of those levels had analog thermostats. I'd be watching TV in the basement with the heat set to 68, go upstairs to bed, and realize I'd left the heat up so I'd trudge back down stairs, change the temperature, and then go back to bed. I ended up replacing everything with Nest thermostats within a few months so I could adjust them from my phone if necessary. Then Alexa came along and I could just lay in bed and tell it to do things, which was even more convenient. I also have kids that are terrible at turning things off, so I've stuck one smart bulb in each of their rooms and quietly conditioned them to prefer that light to some of the switch-activated lighting so I can just centrally switch them all off once they're gone or when leaving the house without trekking around.
danaris 3y ago
I have a single smart plug that I use to control a light that's inconvenient to reach, but frequently needed. Siri has no trouble controlling that. I often use Siri to play music, either from my library or from the free Apple Music radio selection. It rarely has trouble with that (provided the environment isn't noisy). I use it regularly to add items to the grocery list when my hands are full or covered in raw chicken or something. I don't think there's a lot Alexa can do that Siri can't, besides letting you spend money directly on Amazon products (if that's still a thing). Would I pay a subscription to do these things if that were the only way to access them? Honestly, I don't know. It's hugely convenient to be able to do it, and it's definitely become habit to do so in various ways. I would absolutely be pissed at Apple if they pulled a move like this.
- ViktorRay 3y ago
  That’s part of the point I’m making though. Why pay a subscription to Amazon for Alexa when Siri offers all this for free? I can understand if someone pays a one time payment to get an Alexa smart speaker for convenience. But a monthly subscription? Doesn’t make sense when Siri is free
  - danaris 3y ago
    Yep, no worries—I didn't make it clear, but I'm absolutely agreeing with you ^_^
    - ViktorRay 3y ago
      It’s all good. Glad we agree haha

ekianjo 3y ago

is Jeff still involved in this kind of decisions?

mft_ 3y ago
Indeed; to my eyes, Amazon has set course more directly towards enshittification since Bezos left day-to-day involvement. I wonder if ‘customer obsession’ means less to his successor;or maybe the new boss’ success is judged differently (eg profit) than in Bezos’ time?
- ekianjo 3y ago
  > Amazon has set course more directly towards enshittification Maybe, but I have not noticed any significant change in the day to day quality of the service compared to when Jeff was around. Have you?
  - ipaddr 3y ago
    Ads in prime video is a recent example
    - ekianjo 3y ago
      Good point, I don't use any of the prime content so I would not know.

chihuahua 3y ago

We use Alexa every day for lights, weather, and timers for cooking. It understands us correctly 98% of the time. The compelling thing about it is that it works purely by voice. I don't have to push any buttons. We have 4 Echos in different rooms so I don't have to have my phone on me all the time.

beebeepka 3y ago
you used your phone to adjust the lights at home and checking the weather? Talk about inventing problems.
- sliken 3y ago
  I live in Colorado, the weather can vary 30F in just a few hours. If I'm in a hurry to leave, it's pretty useful to get the weather for the next few hours without having to stop and grab a device.
  - beebeepka 3y ago
    According to my research, 30f swing does not appear linear and i cannot tell if that would be significant or not. Still, my main point was the lights. I guess I am well into minority situation since turning them on/off is easier than talking to a thing or, god forbid, using a phone. From experience, I just as baffling to these people as they are to me.
    - ksmith14 3y ago
      I have a house with 3 levels and when I moved in, 2 of those levels had analog thermostats. I'd be watching TV in the basement with the heat set to 68, go upstairs to bed, and realize I'd left the heat up so I'd trudge back down stairs, change the temperature, and then go back to bed. I ended up replacing everything with Nest thermostats within a few months so I could adjust them from my phone if necessary. Then Alexa came along and I could just lay in bed and tell it to do things, which was even more convenient. I also have kids that are terrible at turning things off, so I've stuck one smart bulb in each of their rooms and quietly conditioned them to prefer that light to some of the switch-activated lighting so I can just centrally switch them all off once they're gone or when leaving the house without trekking around.

danaris 3y ago

I have a single smart plug that I use to control a light that's inconvenient to reach, but frequently needed. Siri has no trouble controlling that. I often use Siri to play music, either from my library or from the free Apple Music radio selection. It rarely has trouble with that (provided the environment isn't noisy). I use it regularly to add items to the grocery list when my hands are full or covered in raw chicken or something. I don't think there's a lot Alexa can do that Siri can't, besides letting you spend money directly on Amazon products (if that's still a thing). Would I pay a subscription to do these things if that were the only way to access them? Honestly, I don't know. It's hugely convenient to be able to do it, and it's definitely become habit to do so in various ways. I would absolutely be pissed at Apple if they pulled a move like this.

ViktorRay 3y ago
That’s part of the point I’m making though. Why pay a subscription to Amazon for Alexa when Siri offers all this for free? I can understand if someone pays a one time payment to get an Alexa smart speaker for convenience. But a monthly subscription? Doesn’t make sense when Siri is free
- danaris 3y ago
  Yep, no worries—I didn't make it clear, but I'm absolutely agreeing with you ^_^
  - ViktorRay 3y ago
    It’s all good. Glad we agree haha