Tests find iOS 7 update improves Apple's Siri, but Google Now for Android closes the gap

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  • Reply 21 of 72
    C+...
    For the year 2013 those are some pretty miserable scores. I'm sure, I hope, that both companies are pretty disappointed in the the performance of these products.
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  • Reply 22 of 72
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Sacto Joe View Post

     

    1. Google was quick to see an important Apple innovation and move in that direction. Have they achieved parity? Don't know, since I've never used Google Now. But once again, Google is having to follow where Apple is leading. The same will be true of the fingerprint sensor and the 64-bit microprocessor.

    2. I am curious about what version of Android is required for Google Now to work, and what devices it's limited to. My guess is that there are far more Siri-capable devices in the wild than Google Now-capable devices, and that a larger percentage of capable Apple devices, versus Android devices, are used actively.


     

    Google Now works on any Android phone, 4.1+. Since technically there's an iOS version of it, and no Siri for Android, there's clearly more Google Now capable devices in the big picture. As for platform vs platform at this juncture it's probably a slight lead for Siri depending on how you want to size the global market which is obviously a heated topic by itself. iPhone 4 which is still pretty common doesn't have Siri, and ~56% of Android devices are 4.1+

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  • Reply 23 of 72
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    Siri is still better at following a conversation.

    Google Now is still faster at delivering information and a lot better at answering complex queries via the knowledge graph.

    Both perform terribly in foreign languages. In French or Italian, Siri doesn't do half of the cool stuff it does in English. No wolfram alpha, no movie showtimes and a voice recognition that's not very good compared to english. I'd use it in English, but I often need to tell something in french (the name of a restaurant or just the name of a person).

    One thing I'd like for Siri is that ability to teach it how to pronounce foreign names. I've got a friend with a name that's written in a complex way. Every time I try to teach Siri, she doesn't understand, probably because the sound she hears is so different from the way it's written.
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  • Reply 24 of 72
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    Check again.




     

    That was a very good and objective test. The panel of questions they asked is fair.

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  • Reply 25 of 72
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

     
    Siri


     

    Un-Controlled Environment - iOS7 Dec-13

    94%

    7%

     

    Total of 101%

     

    Math score D-

    Maybe they were using Excel on a Surface.

     

     

     

    I think C+ is a pretty lame conclusion when the majority of the scores are in the mid 90's and the average is nearly 90%.

    Surely the best one should be a milestone that others are compared against.

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  • Reply 26 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    clemynx wrote: »
    One thing I'd like for Siri is that ability to teach it how to pronounce foreign names. I've got a friend with a name that's written in a complex way. Every time I try to teach Siri, she doesn't understand, probably because the sound she hears is so different from the way it's written.

    I'm not sure it works for French but for English it's a new feature since iOS 7b2.

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  • Reply 27 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    evilution wrote: »
    Un-Controlled Environment - iOS7 Dec-13
    94%
    7%

    Total of 101%

    Math score D-
    Maybe they were using Excel on a Surface.



    I think C+ is a pretty lame conclusion when the majority of the scores are in the mid 90's and the average is nearly 90%.
    Surely the best one should be a milestone that others are compared against.

    That's quite common with rounded numbers. If the results were 93.5% and 6.5% which equal 100%, but they were rounded to the nearest whole number you end up with 94% and 7%.
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  • Reply 28 of 72
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    Check again.




     

    One thing this test doesn't show is conversational commands, which is central to Siri's genius. On Siri you can ask "How is the weather today?" and it'll give you an answer, then you can follow-up that question with "How about tomorrow?".

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  • Reply 29 of 72
    timbittimbit Posts: 331member
    Shouldn't a 79% rating be a B+? I know different countries have different grading systems,but a C+ rating makes me question siri's reliability and if I was a new consumer, I wouldn't buy or use the product. A 'B' would be average, meeting expectations.
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  • Reply 30 of 72
    Originally Posted by Timbit View Post

    Shouldn't a 79% rating be a B+?

     

    Someone’s getting a D- this semester.

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  • Reply 31 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    timbit wrote: »
    Shouldn't a 79% rating be a B+? I know different countries have different grading systems,but a C+ rating makes me question siri's reliability and if I was a new consumer, I wouldn't buy or use the product. A 'B' would be average, meeting expectations.

    It depends on what you're measuring. For some things, being less than perfect is a Fail. Note that a score of 100% can still be less than perfect and therefore a Fail. For instance, how many dead pixels does Apple allow before they say a display panel isn't suitable for their Macs? My MBP has over 5.1 million pixels so if 99% of the pixels were working that could mean 77,760 dead pixels and still get a score of 98.5% which rounds to 99%, or if we are doing whole number only that would be 51,840 dead pixels. Apple used to allow a couple dead pixels but I don't think they've allowed any for years now.
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  • Reply 32 of 72
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    timbit wrote: »
    Shouldn't a 79% rating be a B+? I know different countries have different grading systems,but a C+ rating makes me question siri's reliability and if I was a new consumer, I wouldn't buy or use the product. A 'B' would be average, meeting expectations.

    Last I checked A grades were 91-100, B grades were 81-90, and C grades 71-80.
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  • Reply 33 of 72
    Google Now has come a long way since Andy Rubin said we shouldn't be talking to our phones.
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  • Reply 34 of 72

    I just want Apple to get into robots in a huge way to take on Google and Rubin, so you would have a walking, talking representation of Siri as your office worker/assistant for real-world tasks (walk the dog, go to the post office, get groceries, mow the lawn, analyze my golf swing and show me some pointers, etc.)...

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  • Reply 35 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I just want Apple to get into robots in a huge way to take on Google and Rubin, so you would have a walking, talking representation of Siri as your office worker/assistant for real-world tasks (walk the dog, go to the post office, get groceries, mow the lawn, analyze my golf swing and show me some pointers, etc.)...

    Sirigates?

    [VIDEO]
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  • Reply 36 of 72
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,769member
    One thing this test doesn't show is conversational commands, which is central to Siri's genius. On Siri you can ask "How is the weather today?" and it'll give you an answer, then you can follow-up that question with "How about tomorrow?".

    Google Now also has a conversational mode and will answer the same types of followup questions as Siri.
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  • Reply 37 of 72
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    It depends on what you're measuring. For some things, being less than perfect is a Fail.

    Yes, and this just in from JD Power and Associates:

     

    "Our report resulted in Samsung achieving an A+ in voice recognition."

     

    They also responded to skepticism, "While losing in all other categories of voice recognition testing, it was the cheapest, so well...it was calculated based on our complex formulation to have the best one."

     

    :-)

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  • Reply 38 of 72
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    With Siri's scores in high 70s, 80s and 90's how does that average to a C ?
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  • Reply 39 of 72
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    C+ compared to what other voice recognition software or product?

     

    God, our expectations are so high for little smart phones.

     

    Siri works freaking great.  It's better with every iteration.



    What do we expect smart phones to do? Cook us pancakes and bacon?

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  • Reply 40 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    512ke wrote: »
    Cook us pancakes and bacon?

    That's what the original Apple TV is for.
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