I don't think the competition has much to worry about. It's an impressive amount of technology packed into this thing, but I don't think it's going to sell well. Bose and other high end speaker makers should worry, but this smart speaker is limited by several factors: 1) price is too high at $350, 2) it only seems only to work with Apple Music (but we will need to wait and see after it's released), which would limit its appeal, 3) I'm not sure I wan't anybody's device listening in my home, even if I trust Apple more than Amazon or Google.
I'm not sure I wan't anybody's device listening in my home,
Lisening for a wake word is not the same as recording. I don't think anyone here wants everything being constantly recorded, but we do take that risk everyday with any and all devices that connect to the internet, and even some that do not. Microphones, cameras, keylogging, app usage, website data, etc. can all be recorded and sent to some distant server to be analyzed to by a machine or people for further discovery. The risk to users does not change because you add a device that listens for a wake word.
Wait. What? Samsung is ‘scrambling’? Aren’t they always the first and best with everything? I thought it was Apple who is always scrambling, and behind, and struggling, and in a precarious position, and teetering on failure. What am I missing here?
Obligatory
Apple is Doomed
Post. Honestly, when Apple decide to do something really seriously then it usually ends up as a game changer. It is when they just dabble that things are a bit shaky. For example, the Apple TV. They could have made it so much better but I get the feeling that they chickened out as they didn't want to offend Hollywood any more that they already do. From what I have seen, the VrKit is very, very good and a big step up from what the competition is currently offering. One has to hope that they don't let it fester and die as they seem to do all too often (like Siri....) Apple might not always be first with the particular bit of technology but when they do it, it is usually done very well but they have to keep developing it. From where I sit, this is a big problem.
I'm not sure I wan't anybody's device listening in my home,
Lisening for a wake word is not the same as recording. I don't think anyone here wants everything being constantly recorded, but we do take that risk everyday with any and all devices that connect to the internet, and even some that do not. Microphones, cameras, keylogging, app usage, website data, etc. can all be recorded and sent to some distant server to be analyzed to by a machine or people for further discovery. The risk to users does not change because you add a device that listens for a wake word.
The question is, do they? Do Apple devices send their wake-word recordings to their mother ship? Do Amazon devices?
I'm not sure I wan't anybody's device listening in my home,
Lisening for a wake word is not the same as recording. I don't think anyone here wants everything being constantly recorded, but we do take that risk everyday with any and all devices that connect to the internet, and even some that do not. Microphones, cameras, keylogging, app usage, website data, etc. can all be recorded and sent to some distant server to be analyzed to by a machine or people for further discovery. The risk to users does not change because you add a device that listens for a wake word.
The question is, do they? Do Apple devices send their wake-word recordings to their mother ship? Do Amazon devices?
Of course they send everything heard after the wake word to their servers to be converted from speech-to-text with context, analyzed for the specific request, and then executed as programmed. However, only Amazon will let you see your "Alexa" requests on their Alexa apps or web portal—which is nice, because you inform them which requests were incorrect. It's not unlike Apple finally offering a way to report on incorrect Maps data. I've never had a reply (or fix) from Apple in that regard but many others have reported that Apple did make corrections. Now, this would be more complex than an address and some coordinates on a map, but they may be able to see trends in Siri comprehension much faster and be able to focus on the most egregious or common errors.
Wait, Samsung has their own Siri? And they chose that name for it? Of all the names, that's what they chose. It's like they're a parody of theft at this point. Or, rather, just a parody of Apple itself. Jeeves, Reginald, Carmichael, Alfred, Oxley, Cavendish, Wadsworth… Plenty of great butler names left for the taking.
I read somewhere that Bixby<>Viv.
Bixby was created/started in South Korea before the Viv acquisition. Bixby is supposed to be about controlling your phone. Viv is more like Alexis doing things over the internet. Viv will be called "Mr French" when released. Lol
Considering Bixby is actually Viv (who Samsung acquired) I don't buy their excuses for having trouble with English. There's something else going on.
Viv is an American company based in San Jose. And I'm pretty sure all the demos they showed over a year ago were in, wait for it, English.
It's been reported elsewhere that it is NOT Viv, instead an upgraded version of Samsung's S-Voice. It could also be S-Voice with some tech dragged over from Viv too by later this year, perhaps the cause of the holdup on US release. Samsung themselves have not officially weighed in on exactly the source of the delay AFAIK.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/video/alibaba-just-joined-home-assistant-143429805.html
(If they can continue using the moniker "Samsung," why can't they come up with a beautiful Korean name?)
Bixby was created/started in South Korea before the Viv acquisition. Bixby is supposed to be about controlling your phone. Viv is more like Alexis doing things over the internet.
Viv will be called "Mr French" when released. Lol