Apple Siri and Google new voice search are fierce competitors

Apple made a significant advancement in voice control with the launch of Siri, but Android 4.1, or the same Lollipop, has equally excellent speech features. We just conducted a thorough comparison of Samsung's S Voice versus Apple's Siri. 

Apple Siri

Now that Google has introduced its own voice assistant called "Google Voice Search," we want to thoroughly compare it to Apple's current voice assistant and determine which one will emerge victorious. Together with Zoomit...

Voice commands have recently been included into Google's Android platform, however Google only does this in a way that is appropriate and competitive with rival voice assistants in Android 4.1 (Lollipop).

Because Apple was the first business to create the voice assistant and make it usable through the iPhone's main physical button, it presently boasts the finest voice assistant. Following this road, first Samsung and later Google finished and enhanced their voice assistants.

In a previous piece we published, Apple's Siri defeated Samsung's S Voice in a performance comparison, but fortunately, Google's new voice search tool fared far better in our trials. On an upgraded Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1 Lollipop as well as an iPhone 4S, Brian and Jessica each tested out half of the instructions. 

While Jessica evaluated the phones in San Francisco, Brian did so in New York. You may compare and contrast the results of trying Siri and Google Voice Search in the sections that follow.

1. Getting in touch

You may ask the Google Assistant to call someone, just like Siri.

Siri is just superior to Google Assistant when it comes to making voice calls. When Brian activated Siri on his iPhone 4S by holding down the centre button and stated, "Call Jessica Dalcourt's mobile phone," Siri understood him exactly each time.

Google Voice Actions were not an easy experience. On whichever screen we are on, we must drag our finger up from the bottom of the screen to enter the waiting mode to listen to Android Lollipop. Following that, we must either speak "Google" aloud or click the microphone button in the Google search box. The Galaxy Nexus did not respond to Brian's commands to make calls in the beginning.

On his third try, he was successful, and the Nexus duly carried out the instructions. It's interesting to note that Google's speech recognition improved when Brian spoke to the Nexus using a premium Bluetooth headset.

2. Dial a quick message

We texted each other using Google Voice and Siri.

On the iPhone 4S, sending texts with the voice assistant was made as simple as possible. When Brian commanded Siri to "Send a message to Jessica Dalcourt," Siri immediately prepared the message and prompted Brian to choose the message he wanted to send. Brian said a brief statement rapidly, and the iPhone 4S immediately typed it in. More significantly, Siri explained what she was doing or intended to do verbally. Without having to look at or even touch the screen, this facilitates voice control.

Once more, Google's voice operation did not carry out our orders as precisely as we had hoped. We tested the "send message to Jessica Dalcourt" command three times, and each time it was successful. But in every exam, the assistant accurately recorded Brian's speech. Google's software did not, however, describe what it would do at each step of the message-sending process, in contrast to Siri. The Galaxy Nexus just made a single beep to indicate that it was listening. The display is required, which restricts hands-free operation.

3. Program the alarm.

Alarms were successfully established on the iPhone 4S and Galaxy Nexus.

We had no trouble instructing the iPhone 4S to set the alarm. Siri recognised the command "Set the alarm at 6 a.m. tomorrow" right away. For some reason, Siri ignored our requests to amend or repeat the same alert, but it complied when we instructed it to remove the alarm.

The alarm clock was set just as well by Lollipop. When we said the same thing again, the Galaxy Nexus immediately set off an alarm for 6 a.m. We also successfully asked the phone to turn off the alert by asking "delete this alarm." Voice Action on the Galaxy Nexus also resisted our requests to have it repeat the alarm only on particular days of the week. From the settings menu on the Android watch, it is simple to accomplish.

4. Discover directions

The well-known and well-liked map service from Google offers more precise and thorough directions.

It was proper and sensible to ask Siri and Google's voice search for directions. Apple's voice assistant and Android Lollipop both offered comprehensive directions on how to go by car, foot, or public transportation to one of New York's farthest tourist destinations. Even better, these two rival systems promptly directed us to their respective map apps.

5. Check the weather

Checking the weather using voice commands is a snap on both phones.

Thanks to flashy TV commercials, you've probably heard about Siri's ability to look up the weather. We can definitely testify that Apple's voice assistant provided the day's weather forecast without the slightest interruption. Also, if you want, Siri can display the weather forecast for the next 5 days.

Google's voice operation was able to keep up with Siri's skills in getting the weather forecast. Just like the iPhone 4S, the Galaxy Nexus displayed both daily and 5-day future forecasts in this test. We were also able to complete our request through spoken confirmations.

6. Play a sound recording

The voice assistant from Google considers more of what you say, yet it still functions without any issues. Siri is identical.

When you ask Siri to play an audio file, it will eventually begin to play. In order to capture the screen before the music began playing, we actually had to move swiftly. In the Google voice control app, the term "Listen" should be used in place of "Play." Although the song played a second or two late, we loved having the choice to listen it in the music player or on YouTube. Another intriguing option is to skip going to the music player and view search links in its place.

7. Email transcription

Siri (on the right) appeared cleaner and was somewhat more accurate.

You'll be glad to know that Google Assistant and Siri are both quite good at understanding dictation for email and text messages if you believe yourself to be a competent speaker. The Google service was not as attentive as Siri, and it does not appear very natural when it asks you questions for confirmation. For the most part, it did, however, operate really effectively.

8. Do an online search

Siri (right) seemed to perform better and was more precise, but Jessica was able to find what she was seeking for using Google (left) (third link).

Both speech recognition systems offered comparable photos from Google's database when searching for a topic or specific photographs on the web.

The search for a permanent cooking truck in San Francisco, one of Jessica's wishes, however, encountered some resistance. Siri was more in tune with what he meant, but she was unable to give him the details he required. But the third link led him to the correct location thanks to Google's speech engine, which was able to accomplish it.

9. Access a web page

Google Assistant opened CNET.com on the left, while Siri navigated to the search results page on the right.

Both assistants allow you to open websites in addition to conducting searches. The Google voice command to open CNET.com was carried out more completely, thus the site was opened and CNET.com appeared as a link. Although Siri easily discovered CNET's website and successfully opened it with a gesture, the results of this test force us to conclude that Siri still has to improve.

10. What is the height of Mount Whitney?

Since the information supplied by Siri and Google's voice assistants on California's tallest peak was comparable, we will deem the test's outcomes to be equal.

Final outcome

The user interface for Siri is straightforward but well-designed and completely customizable. However, Google's voice assistant is extremely strong, intelligent, and able to adapt to your voice precisely over time. Google's voice assistant isn't accurate or subtle, though. This voice assistant offers a wide range of capabilities and services that are sometimes confusingly identical. It's not apparent, for instance, where Google Now, Google Voice search, and Google Voice Actions intersect.