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Apple reported on Monday, Oct. 17, that it has sold 4 million iPhone 4S handsets in the debut weekend of the new smartphone. Some may have purchased it for the dual-core processor, while others were sold on the updated 8 megapixel camera and intelligent imaging software. But as a longtime Android owner, one feature alone pushed me to add an iPhone 4S to my stable of smartphones: Apple’s Siri service that turns the handset into a personal assistant.
“But wait,” the Android users are crying out. “Google has voice services, too!” Indeed, Android devices do have similar voice services. Voice search is native to the platform and blew me away when I first used it on a Google Nexus One in January 2010. Even in a crowded room, I could search the Web with ease just by speaking to my phone. And in August of last year, Google introduced Voice Actions, a downloadable Android app that extended voice services to speech commands.
At a quick glance, Apple’s Siri and Google’s Voice Actions appear similar. In many ways, they are. Here’s a quick breakdown of the functions that both services provide through speech:
Creation of text messages and e-mails.
Get navigation directions.
Call a contact.
View a map of a particular area.
Write a note.
Play music.
Perform a Web search.
Google’s Voice Actions also includes the ability to search for and call a business in one step, plus it can be used to open a Web page. Siri comes close to opening Web pages; when I say “go to yahoo.com” Siri does a Google search for the site, making it one tap away.
That’s pretty much the end for Google Voice Actions, which requires users to memorize the exact commands much like Microsoft’s Voice Command for Windows Mobile did back in its 2003 debut. It’s not difficult to do so, and the functionality is certainly useful. However, Siri can do even more and provides intelligence that Android doesn’t yet match. Siri isn’t simply a voice command system. Instead, it’s a semi-intelligent interactive assistant.
The biggest difference is the one that will likely have the most impact going forward: Siri’s use of natural language. Instead of memorizing set commands, Siri can understand questions, even if they’re asked in different ways. The speech engine works with conversational language, much like when speaking to a person.
For example, Siri will pull up my calendar items if I say, “What’s my schedule for today?” “Do I have any appointments?” or simply, “What’s next for me?” By allowing for this variance, I can get the specific information I want: The first case shows today’s calendar events, the second brings up a full week’s worth of calendar events, while the last phrase returned only my next appointment.
Siri’s real value is illustrated when scheduling a new event, although that’s just one example. Instead of blindly creating an appointment, Siri first checks the calendar for any conflicts and warns if it finds any. Plus, it will ask if you want to move the conflicting event. Because Siri uses high-level artificial intelligence (AI), it offers far more value but does so in a way that’s natural, so even first-time smartphone owners can use it. Siri can also learn who’s important in your life. I can tell Siri to text my son and it will automatically create the message with his phone number; no need to speak his name.
Just like Google has done with Voice Actions for Android, Apple has integrated Siri with several native apps such as the phone, e-mail, messaging, notes, and Web searches. Siri can search Google, but it also adds support for Wolfram Alpha, which provides answers to very specific questions. Asking Siri about the square root of a number, for example, will quickly return the answer from Wolfram Alpha.
