I like the concept of Echo, but don't want to give information to Amazon and Jeff
People squawk about privacy but their actions prove they don’t care. The populace accepts the surveillance culture that has developed with the technology. It’s fait accompli. We are being watched 24/7/365.
I don't care how the public views privacy. I'm talking for myself only. No way am I giving Amazon/Google access to the audio in my home 24/7
The public is dumb. I'm not.
Lol, are you some kind of privacy freak with a lot of illegal activities to hide? Amazon Alexa would be triggered by 3 names only and not process any other things.
you are so naive if you don't think Alexa is not always listening.
I'm not a privacy freak. There is ZERO reason why Amazon should know what I talk about in my own home. ZERO.
If Alexa has access to my conversations for YEARS they can compile that data and do god knows what with it.
Sigh* Slowly shaking my head... If folks simply won't the time to find out how something works it's impossible to have an intelligent discussion of the merits with them.
Apple should bring this into ATV 4: always on Siri built in and Bluetooth speakers capable! Don't do standalone speaker like Echo because it sounds like crap. Why build a new device while they can just upgrade existing one?
1) Why do people want everything put in the Apple TV? How much do you think an Apple TV will cost with a WiFi router, HomeMit hub, and digital personal assistant built-in? How big do you think it would be? Since it's controlled via BT it doesn't have to be in plain sight so how does that work for the digital personal assistant feature? If one uses it in a room that doesn't have a TV, like a kitchen, you're saying I should buy a lot of extra HW at an inflated cost that can't be fully utilized?
2) Clearly you've never used an archive if you don't think it's speaker is exellent. Same goes for its far-field mic setup. The entire system is excellent because of the HW, which I know firsthand from having both an Echo and Echo Dot. On a scale of 1 to 10 the Echo is a 10, the Dot is a 5 and the iPhone is a 1. That's how disparate the mic and speaker systems are from each other.
Apple absolutely needs to fix Siri before launching a product like this, every year the promise of better Siri is a fail. I have an Amazon Tap, and I must say it works well, tells me the weather, plays specific songs or genres (I have a Prime membership), how many teaspoons in a cup, jokes, traffic, general questions. There's a more natural back and forth conversation with Alexa compared to Siri's snarky attitude, its 'let me look that up ... sorry, I couldn't find an answer' response or dud jokes. I'm absolutely shocked that Apple cannot create a comparable (preferably better) experience!
Bullshit! It’s an alternative fact that Alexa is superior. I’ve used both and Siri trumps. If you had expressed this as your personal opinion I may not have a problem. But like so many you present your personal opinion as established fact, undeniable, true. It’s NOT!
You're the only one I've seen of that opinion. The overwhelming majority realize that Siri lags behind Alexa in usability and accuracy.
Siri supports 21 languages. The Echo supports four....so the overwhelming majority are using Siri
I'm always an Apple fan first but I have an Echo Dot and I have to admit Alexa is far more helpful than Siri and the voice controlled speaker is much more convenient than always pulling my iPhone out of my pocket. If Apple were to launch their own version with a comparable speaker/microphone, AirPlay, AirPort, and phone call ability along with an improved Siri I would love to have it. I trust Apple more than Amazon for privacy but Amazon is winning on convenience and experience at the moment.
Apple absolutely needs to fix Siri before launching a product like this, every year the promise of better Siri is a fail. I have an Amazon Tap, and I must say it works well, tells me the weather, plays specific songs or genres (I have a Prime membership), how many teaspoons in a cup, jokes, traffic, general questions. There's a more natural back and forth conversation with Alexa compared to Siri's snarky attitude, its 'let me look that up ... sorry, I couldn't find an answer' response or dud jokes. I'm absolutely shocked that Apple cannot create a comparable (preferably better) experience!
Bullshit! It’s an alternative fact that Alexa is superior. I’ve used both and Siri trumps. If you had expressed this as your personal opinion I may not have a problem. But like so many you present your personal opinion as established fact, undeniable, true. It’s NOT!
You're the only one I've seen of that opinion. The overwhelming majority realize that Siri lags behind Alexa in usability and accuracy.
Siri supports 21 languages. The Echo supports four....so the overwhelming majority are using Siri
Most use Siri because it comes with the iPhone. Alexa could support 100 languages and more would still use the iPhone.
PS: The HW category is Echo, and one product is called Echo, but the service that is comparable to Siri is Alexa.
Congratulations. "Excellent" source of knowledge. The way to brainwash people has just got easier.
Honestly I think this device by both: Amazon and Apple... is dumb. So go ahead and use it - I will not. And if you come to me with knwoldege from asking questions to those devices I may choose to: 1. make fun and redicule that knowledge. 2. Ignore you. 3. Accept is facts line up with what I alead know for sure.
I have a Echo and Alexa is almost perfect in understanding me and executed my request! Siri is just stupid! I turn Siri off on all my Apple devices because I get frustrated at the results from Siri! I am very happy with Amazon's Alexa and never buy Apple's come lately voice assistant because it plain stupid and frustration.
Having both an Echo and Echo Dot a lot has to do wit the HW. Siri sucks because of the comparatively weak microphones on Apple devices. If Apple makes an Echo-like device it could be just as good or better, burn it's hard to imagine it being better at understanding what you say than the Echo does now. I guess better contextual understanding. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apple absolutely needs to fix Siri before launching a product like this, every year the promise of better Siri is a fail. I have an Amazon Tap, and I must say it works well, tells me the weather, plays specific songs or genres (I have a Prime membership), how many teaspoons in a cup, jokes, traffic, general questions. There's a more natural back and forth conversation with Alexa compared to Siri's snarky attitude, its 'let me look that up ... sorry, I couldn't find an answer' response or dud jokes. I'm absolutely shocked that Apple cannot create a comparable (preferably better) experience!
Bullshit! It’s an alternative fact that Alexa is superior. I’ve used both and Siri trumps. If you had expressed this as your personal opinion I may not have a problem. But like so many you present your personal opinion as established fact, undeniable, true. It’s NOT!
You're the only one I've seen of that opinion. The overwhelming majority realize that Siri lags behind Alexa in usability and accuracy.
Siri supports 21 languages. The Echo supports four....so the overwhelming majority are using Siri
Most use Siri because it comes with the iPhone. Alexa could support 100 languages and more would still use the iPhone.
PS: The HW category is Echo, and one product is called Echo, but the service that is comparable to Siri is Alexa.
No people will use what works. Siri works in far more countries because they put the effort in. Alexa simply lacks the sophistication to understand more languages which means on a global scale it simply isn't a factor.
I thought it was going to happen last year but significant merging of the best of Siri with VocalIQ tech naturally is going to take some time. I've never had doubts that Siri was due for improvement. Apple telegraphed the improvements 2 years ago.
2) Clearly you've never used an archive if you don't think it's speaker is exellent. Same goes for its far-field mic setup. The entire system is excellent because of the HW, which I know firsthand from having both an Echo and Echo Dot. On a scale of 1 to 10 the Echo is a 10, the Dot is a 5 and the iPhone is a 1. That's how disparate the mic and speaker systems are from each other.
You must have an older version of the Dot because here in the U.K. at least they both have the same omni-directional 7-microphone array. In either case I would not be satisfied with the sound quality from either speaker when listening to music for example so for me the scale of 1 to 10 might even be reversed when you take into account the size and especially the price. The Dot is a third of the price of the full size Echo and if sound quality is important you also have the option to connect it to a nearby speaker if you wanted to. There's much less disparity in the mic system as you think.
I like the concept of Echo, but don't want to give information to Amazon and Jeff
People squawk about privacy but their actions prove they don’t care. The populace accepts the surveillance culture that has developed with the technology. It’s fait accompli. We are being watched 24/7/365.
Just to be slightly pedantic, it is 24/7/52 or 24/365 How many years is 365 weeks? (around 7)
If Apple makes something like this, I hope they put some focus in sound quality. It would be nice if they used Beats speakers. The sound quality of Echo while playing music is terrible.
2) Clearly you've never used an archive if you don't think it's speaker is exellent. Same goes for its far-field mic setup. The entire system is excellent because of the HW, which I know firsthand from having both an Echo and Echo Dot. On a scale of 1 to 10 the Echo is a 10, the Dot is a 5 and the iPhone is a 1. That's how disparate the mic and speaker systems are from each other.
You must have an older version of the Dot because here in the U.K. at least they both have the same omni-directional 7-microphone array. In either case I would not be satisfied with the sound quality from either speaker when listening to music for example so for me the scale of 1 to 10 might even be reversed when you take into account the size and especially the price. The Dot is a third of the price of the full size Echo and if sound quality is important you also have the option to connect it to a nearby speaker if you wanted to. There's much less disparity in the mic system as you think.
I have the latest Dot, which I only bought at the beginning of this year as I remodeled by bedroom and removed all electronics—save for the Dot—to help facilitate better sleep, and replaced it with a single Dot so I can audible ask for the time and set an alarm without having any visual lights a with a standard alarm clock.
They both have an omni-direction, far-feild, 7-mic array, but on my Echo is considerably more powerful in terms of understanding both from a distance and when I'm still half-asleep and mumbling something as I walk around to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Your post makes me wonder if my Dot has a HW issue.
No people will use what works. Siri works in far more countries because they put the effort in. Alexa simply lacks the sophistication to understand more languages which means on a global scale it simply isn't a factor.
I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying the Echo is a good product because their market is currently smaller? Of course Apple supports more languages, because as previously stated they support a lot more countries and users with a lot more languages. If Amazon had the same unit sales, revenue, and profit margins as the iPhone I'm certain they wouldn't supported more countries by now.
BTW, how many countries did Siri support after only 2 years on the market?
you are so naive if you don't think Alexa is not always listening.
You called the public dumb and yet I've never read a more idiotic post from you.
To make this clear so you can hopefully understand how this technology works:
OF COURSE ALEXA IS ALWAYS LISTENING! THAT'S HOW IT FUCKING WORKS! THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO LISTEN FOR A KEYWORD WITHOUT ALWAYS LISTENING FOR THAT KEYWORD. THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME—ZERO DIFFERENCE—WITH APPLE'S "HEY SIRI"! WHAT THEY AREN'T DOING IS ALWAYS RECORDING!
ADDITIONALLY, SINCE YOU HAVE MICROPHONES AND CAMERAS AROUND YOU, IN YOUR HOME, AND ON YOUR PERSON PRETTY MUCH ALL THE TIME YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER THESE DEVICES ARE LISTENING, RECORDING, AND SENDING YOUR DATA TO SOME SERVER IN SOME OTHER PART OF THE WORLD! YOU SIMPLY CAN'T BE SURE, BUT TO SAY THAT BECAUSE AMAZON DESIGNED A DEVICE TO LISTEN FOR A 'WAKE WORD' THAT IT—AND ONLY IT—CAN POSSIBLY BE USING A MICROPHONE (OR CAMERA) OUTSIDE OF YOU PURPOSELY ENABLING THEM; YOUR CLAIM THAT AMAZON MUST BE DOING SOMETHING NEFARIOUS IS THE MOST MYOPIC, PARANOID, AND DOWNRIGHT STUPID THINGS I'VE EVERY READ ON THIS FORUM!
Apple absolutely needs to fix Siri before launching a product like this, every year the promise of better Siri is a fail. I have an Amazon Tap, and I must say it works well, tells me the weather, plays specific songs or genres (I have a Prime membership), how many teaspoons in a cup, jokes, traffic, general questions. There's a more natural back and forth conversation with Alexa compared to Siri's snarky attitude, its 'let me look that up ... sorry, I couldn't find an answer' response or dud jokes. I'm absolutely shocked that Apple cannot create a comparable (preferably better) experience!
Bullshit! It’s an alternative fact that Alexa is superior. I’ve used both and Siri trumps. If you had expressed this as your personal opinion I may not have a problem. But like so many you present your personal opinion as established fact, undeniable, true. It’s NOT!
Your answer is clearly BS because you've failed to include any details about this experiment you've conducted. The established fact is that Alexa understands what the user says because the Echo HW is better at obtaining audio clips that are more easily and accurately parsed.
If Echo is a surprise hit, show me the sales numbers that prove it. How do we define a hit? 1M? 15M?
Exactly. I saw great sales during the Holiday season but after the stock was low and it sales returned back to sane levels. Many Echo dot buyers were existing Echo users adding on to additional rooms and during the Holiday gift giving.
Apple is poised to deliver a revamped Siri this fall with iOS 11 and MacOS SomePlaceInCalifornia. I think Alexa and Google Home have given them good data on what to do and what not to do. For instance
1. Consumers really don't want to download "skills" they just want things enabled. 2. The target for voice control is to not require any specific commands it should be natural language "Siri order me a pizza from Dominoes" versus "Hey Google tell Dominoes to order me a pizza" 3. Siri today isn't designed for far field access. Nextgen should be better equipped to handle far -field microphones and screenless devices.
I've tried the person recognition on Google Home. it worked for like 5 minutes and then things went right back to the way they were. Certainly a work in progress. Perhaps Apple can deliver a better solution.
Comments
If folks simply won't the time to find out how something works it's impossible to have an intelligent discussion of the merits with them.
cost with a WiFi router, HomeMit hub, and digital personal assistant built-in? How big do you think it would be? Since it's controlled via BT it doesn't have to be in plain sight so how does that work for the digital personal assistant feature? If one uses it in a room that doesn't have a TV, like a kitchen, you're saying I should buy a lot of extra HW at an inflated cost that can't be fully utilized?
2) Clearly you've never used an archive if you don't think it's speaker is exellent. Same goes for its far-field mic setup. The entire system is excellent because of the HW, which I know firsthand from having both an Echo and Echo Dot. On a scale of 1 to 10 the Echo is a 10, the Dot is a 5 and the iPhone is a 1. That's how disparate the mic and speaker systems are from each other.
PS: The HW category is Echo, and one product is called Echo, but the service that is comparable to Siri is Alexa.
based on the VocalIQ acquisition
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/10/02/apple-enhances-siri-team-with-purchase-of-vocaliq-a-car-focused-british-speech-tech-firm
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/05/30/apples-vocaliq-takeover-could-hint-at-siri-upgrades-for-wwdc-and-beyond ;
I thought it was going to happen last year but significant merging of the best of Siri with VocalIQ tech naturally is going to take some time.
I've never had doubts that Siri was due for improvement. Apple telegraphed the improvements 2 years ago.
How many years is 365 weeks? (around 7)
They both have an omni-direction, far-feild, 7-mic array, but on my Echo is considerably more powerful in terms of understanding both from a distance and when I'm still half-asleep and mumbling something as I walk around to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Your post makes me wonder if my Dot has a HW issue.
I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying the Echo is a good product because their market is currently smaller? Of course Apple supports more languages, because as previously stated they support a lot more countries and users with a lot more languages. If Amazon had the same unit sales, revenue, and profit margins as the iPhone I'm certain they wouldn't supported more countries by now.
BTW, how many countries did Siri support after only 2 years on the market?
To make this clear so you can hopefully understand how this technology works:
OF COURSE ALEXA IS ALWAYS LISTENING! THAT'S HOW IT FUCKING WORKS! THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO LISTEN FOR A KEYWORD WITHOUT ALWAYS LISTENING FOR THAT KEYWORD. THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME—ZERO DIFFERENCE—WITH APPLE'S "HEY SIRI"! WHAT THEY AREN'T DOING IS ALWAYS RECORDING!
ADDITIONALLY, SINCE YOU HAVE MICROPHONES AND CAMERAS AROUND YOU, IN YOUR HOME, AND ON YOUR PERSON PRETTY MUCH ALL THE TIME YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER THESE DEVICES ARE LISTENING, RECORDING, AND SENDING YOUR DATA TO SOME SERVER IN SOME OTHER PART OF THE WORLD! YOU SIMPLY CAN'T BE SURE, BUT TO SAY THAT BECAUSE AMAZON DESIGNED A DEVICE TO LISTEN FOR A 'WAKE WORD' THAT IT—AND ONLY IT—CAN POSSIBLY BE USING A MICROPHONE (OR CAMERA) OUTSIDE OF YOU PURPOSELY ENABLING THEM; YOUR CLAIM THAT AMAZON MUST BE DOING SOMETHING NEFARIOUS IS THE MOST MYOPIC, PARANOID, AND DOWNRIGHT STUPID THINGS I'VE EVERY READ ON THIS FORUM!
We’ve seen that the exact opposite is true. Don’t lie and expect to be taken seriously.
Your answer is clearly BS because you've failed to include any details about this experiment you've conducted. The established fact is that Alexa understands what the user says because the Echo HW is better at obtaining audio clips that are more easily and accurately parsed.
Exactly. I saw great sales during the Holiday season but after the stock was low and it sales returned back to sane levels. Many Echo dot buyers were existing
Echo users adding on to additional rooms and during the Holiday gift giving.
Apple is poised to deliver a revamped Siri this fall with iOS 11 and MacOS SomePlaceInCalifornia. I think Alexa and Google Home have given them good data on what to do and what not to do. For instance
1. Consumers really don't want to download "skills" they just want things enabled.
2. The target for voice control is to not require any specific commands it should be natural language "Siri order me a pizza from Dominoes" versus "Hey Google tell Dominoes to order me a pizza"
3. Siri today isn't designed for far field access. Nextgen should be better equipped to handle far -field microphones and screenless devices.
I've tried the person recognition on Google Home. it worked for like 5 minutes and then things went right back to the way they were. Certainly a work in progress. Perhaps Apple can deliver a better solution.