mistergsf

lukei said:

mistergsf said:

lukei said:

I have 6 homepods and 2 Echo devices. Former are great speakers but Siri is so far behind Alexa it is at times incomprehensible that a company like Apple allow this state of affairs. 

Apple need to up their game otherwise they remain as now just speakers that I use for basic HomeKit tasks.

I have a pair of HomePods in my master bedroom; a pair of Alexa-enabled Sonos Ones in my living room which controls my Logitech Harmony that controls my home theater. I'm always hearing and reading how "far behind" Siri is to Alexa and I wonder exactly how far?

In my usage Siri has performed on par with Alexa. In fact the most frustrating thing about Alexa is the numerous times it gets activated by dialog coming from the TV. When I'm watching "Schitt's Creek" it constantly gets activated when it hears the name, "Alexis" for example.

I have many HomeKit devices that also have Alexa skills so I'm able to ask Siri or Alexa to do the same things. My experience is I have to repeat my commands more often with Alexa. Also, there was an instance back in November right before Thanksgiving, where my Logitech Harmony skills just stopped working for a few days. I checked on Twitter and discovered I wasn't alone. This was after I had already wasted about an hour of my time troubleshooting. When I got back from the holiday, it was working again.

All said and done, in my experiences, I can't say that Alexa is far superior to Siri. Maybe because I use them both generically. That's not to say I don't believe you when you say Siri is far behind. I would just like some examples that I can try out myself.

My experience is just the opposite, although I only use Siri/HomeKit to control my Smart home devices.

example Siri

’Turn living room lights off’

75/25 - correct action/‘it doesn’t look like that scene has been setup yet’

example Siri vs Alexa ‘Play TalkRADIO’

(TalkRadio is a dedicated speech channel and is the fastest growing in the UK against some Stiff competion)

Alexa - every time plays TalkRADIO
Siri - sometimes chill radio, sometimes another talk radio station, sometimes TalkRADIO

Just one example off the top of my head as it frustrates me daily. I wonder if this reflects the US centric nature of Siri? (don’t start just my thoughts!)

Amazon have a strong UK prescence and maybe it plays to that?

I feel Apple had the lead initially but perhaps the bargain basement device strategy of Amazon means they get more sample data to work with regarding accents, typical queries etc? After all I suspect it is listening a lot more often than Siri...

I’m totally bought into the concept and I find HomeKit enabled products to be stable and ‘just work’ unlike previous smart home experiences! Current Siri limitations mean I control mainly on my iOS device which is frustrating.

Yeah, I use Siri mainly for HomeKit automation in my home and it always works. I will use Alexa sometimes just for variety and comparison and there are times when I have to repeat a command; most of the issues are with Logitech Harmony, Lutron Caseta, and Eocbee thermostat.

lukei said:

I have 6 homepods and 2 Echo devices. Former are great speakers but Siri is so far behind Alexa it is at times incomprehensible that a company like Apple allow this state of affairs. 

Apple need to up their game otherwise they remain as now just speakers that I use for basic HomeKit tasks.

I have a pair of HomePods in my master bedroom; a pair of Alexa-enabled Sonos Ones in my living room which controls my Logitech Harmony that controls my home theater. I'm always hearing and reading how "far behind" Siri is to Alexa and I wonder exactly how far?

In my usage Siri has performed on par with Alexa. In fact the most frustrating thing about Alexa is the numerous times it gets activated by dialog coming from the TV. When I'm watching "Schitt's Creek" it constantly gets activated when it hears the name, "Alexis" for example.

I have many HomeKit devices that also have Alexa skills so I'm able to ask Siri or Alexa to do the same things. My experience is I have to repeat my commands more often with Alexa. Also, there was an instance back in November right before Thanksgiving, where my Logitech Harmony skills just stopped working for a few days. I checked on Twitter and discovered I wasn't alone. This was after I had already wasted about an hour of my time troubleshooting. When I got back from the holiday, it was working again.

All said and done, in my experiences, I can't say that Alexa is far superior to Siri. Maybe because I use them both generically. That's not to say I don't believe you when you say Siri is far behind. I would just like some examples that I can try out myself.

chadbag said:

I solved this problem long ago.  I had a Nest Thermostat and when Google bought Nest I soon there after took the Nest off the wall and replaced it with another brand smart thermostat which had since been replaced by an Ecobee.   Works great, supports Homekit, and no Google in my house.   

There are other brand cameras available as well 

Same here!

gordy said:

Smart toothbrushes are a stretch. I can see these being used with an app once or twice for novelty's sake, but this seems excessive, especially considering the price. And the replacement brushes costs? Visual alerts on a toothbrush are also shortsighted. Unless I'm standing in front of a mirror in a room that isn't a brightly lit bathroom, how will I see it? Why no audio alerts? My current Oral B pulses to alert, why not that?

My current Oral B electric toothbrush pulses every 2 minutes and I already know how to brush my teeth thoroughly. Does one really need this new way of brushing?

hentaiboy said:

97 cents. Use twice daily for 2 minutes.

Even better, I get free toothbrushes from my dentist.