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As if Android and Apple fans didn’t have enough to argue about, now they can begin to compare the relative accuracy and usefulness of their digital assistants.
Using your voice to command a computer used to seem like something from a sci-fi movie. Now we take our digital assistants for granted, getting frustrated when the answers are slow or wrong.
Siri from Apple and Google Assistant from (you guessed it) Google compete to bring the most accurate, helpful and timely responses to your queries. The companies hope that by offering the best digital assistants, they will attract more users to their products and services.
Siri
Siri was first launched on the iPhone in October of 2011 with the iPhone 4s and has expanded to become available on iPad, AppleTV, Mac computers, Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple CarPlay.
You can use Siri to:
- Control Apple Music
- Launch apps
- Set a timer
- Check your email
- Navigate to a destination
- Add an appointment to your calendar
- Send a text message
- Start a FaceTime call
- Check your calendar for your next appointment
- Search the Internet
- Set a reminder
- Find photos according to dates, places and keywords
- Get scores from sporting events
- Tell you a joke
- Check the weather forecast
- Ask Siri what it can do
[tip] One thing you shouldn’t ask Siri is to divide zero by zero. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! [/tip]
As Siri has been added to devices, it also has expanded its capabilities. Beginning with iOS 10, Siri can now be used with third-party apps. You can now ask Siri to:
- Make reservations using OpenTable
- Get a ride with Uber
- Tweets using Twitter
- Discover the best local places on Yelp
- Start a run with Nike Run Club
- Make a call on Skype or Whats App
- Post to Facebook
- Recognize songs using Shazam
Siri can also work with IFTTT to use other third-party apps. See its uses on the IFTTT site about Siri.
Google Assistant
Google Assistant is a fairly new digital assistant, the descendant of Google Now, having recently arrived on the Pixel and Pixel XL phones, and the Google Home smart speaker. Google Assistant works with other Google services such as Gmail, Google Flights, Google Photos and Google Maps. The more you use Google, the more useful Google Assistant becomes.
You can use Google Assistant to:
- Get a Daily Briefing of news
- Find out your travel schedule
- Set reminders
- Send videos to your Chromecast streaming TV device
- Get the weather forecast
- Find out the travel time to work
- Check your calendar appointments
- Find photos on Google Photos
- Ask Google Assistant what it can do
While Google Assistant doesn’t yet connect directly to third-party apps, you can connect it to IFTTT to perform tasks such adjusting your Nest thermostat and controlling smart light bulbs and other smart home devices.
[tip] Connect to the Google Assistant IFTTT Channel to discover other applets (formerly called recipes) using Google Assistant.[/tip]
Google Assistant vs. Siri Infographic
Wondering how Google Assistant and Siri match up? This infographic compares the pros and cons of both:
Infographic courtesy of 50waystohelp.com
Which One Is Best for You?
Both Siri and Google Assistant can be very useful in many situations. But their usefulness is enhanced by how much you use their compatible products. If you use Apple products, Siri is the assistant that will work best for you. If you use Google products, then Google Assistant will work better for you.
The choice between an iPhone that has and an Android phone that has Google Assistant (as of right now only Pixel and Pixel XL have Google Assistant) should not be made based on the assistant it uses.
Assistants can be improved through updates, their capabilities can be enhanced with new releases. Choose the tech that works best for you and learn what its assistant can do to help you the most.
Your Thoughts
Do you use a digital assistant? If so, which one? Which features are most important to you in a digital assistant? Would you choose a phone based on which digital assistant came with it?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
I am using Google assistant, and it’s excellent. And on the other hand, I have not used SIRI. But through your infographic, I have known the difference.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Robin, I’m glad you’ve found a digital assistant that works well for you. Both Siri and Google Assistant can be very helpful. It’s exciting to think of how they will become even more useful in the future.
Hey Carolyn, you have written an amazing comparison. It helps me to know the difference between Google Assistant and Siri by Apple. Hence I love Google Assistant over Siri. Also infographic is looking nice. Great post. Keep sharing more comparison posts like this one. Thanks and Happy New Year.
Hey Sakil, Thank you, I’m so glad you found this article and infographic to be helpful. It really does come down to which services you use most. Both Siri and Google Assistant work best when you use their compatible services.
Either way, it’s still cool to be able to have an assistant there for the asking!
Hello you have written an amazing comparison. It helps me to know the difference between Google Assistant and Siri by Apple. Hence I love Google Assistant over Siri. Also infographic is looking nice. Great post. Keep sharing more comparison posts like this one. Thanks and Happy New Year.
Hi Akshay, I’m glad you enjoyed this article and found the infographic to be helpful. Yes, we do wonder which assistant is best for us so this is a very interesting infographic.
Thank you, Carolyn, for this very excellent post. I am using google assistant a lot. It’s very useful. Sometimes I do get wonder who is more responsive and accurate. Is it Siri or Google now? After reading your post finally, I’ve got my answer. Cheers:)
Hi Thomas, I’m glad you found your answer here. Are you satisfied with Google Assistant? Is it working well for you?
We expect much from these digital assistants, so we want to make sure we use the one that’s best for us.
Hi Carolyn,
I’m Dennies from Zlated.
Thanks for sharing our work 🙂
Cheers!
Hi Dennies, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Thank you very much for creating such an interesting infographic and sharing it with Wonder of Tech readers.
I’ve had an apple phone for years and I seriously dislike Siri. I won’t use it because of how inaccurate it is.
I ask it to play a certain song and it tries to make a phone call to some random person in my contact list.
It kind of reminds me of Windows back in the day. It broke my trust and I won’t go back to it no matter how great Windows 10 is.
Geeze I think I just talked myself into buying a Google Pixel 🙂
Hi Steve, You’re right, it can be very annoying when Siri gets the instructions wrong. The worst that I have had happen is when I asked Siri to send a text message to someone but she sent it to the wrong person. Luckily that person had a good sense of humor!
Before you commit to the Pixel, try Google Assistant to see if that works better for you than Siri. The Pixel is a great phone but if you don’t like Google Assistant any better than Siri, then you might want to consider alternative phones.
Yeah true.
Maybe Amazon will make a phone again and I can buy that. I love Alexa. It rarely makes mistakes and when it does it’s usually because I didn’t speak clearly.
Good point, I’ve been wondering the same thing. To fully utilize Alexa, Amazon should try launching another phone, perhaps this time using a true Android OS. It should be interesting to see what happens.