Google Assistant Gaining Support for Multiple Requests and Continued Conversations, Will Be Able to Make Phone Calls for You in the Future

[Shanghaichica]

I am surprised to hear people would seriously consider switching platforms due to Google's assistant potentially being better than Siri. Personally, voice assistants are a current fad that will fade over time. I see people eventually wanting less and less interaction with technology and automation becoming much more useful. I am sure Google has some advantages here also, but certainly no reason to switch platforms. Once Apple isn't the best overall option when it comes to performance, security, privacy, apps, ecosystem, and support, I'll consider switching. Voice assistants? Come on.

The reason why they aren’t being used is because they aren’t useful. Once they start making them useful them people will start using them more.

I really love Apple and I’m heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem but I also love technology. I really hope Apple have some good stuff up their sleeves for WWDC.

 

[DNichter]

The reason why they aren’t being used is because they aren’t useful. Once they start making them useful them people will start using them more.

I really love Apple and I’m heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem but I also love technology. I really hope Apple have some good stuff up their sleeves for WWDC.

I don't think they are as prevalent as some on here think they are. In the privacy of your own home, sure that makes sense, but again - no reason to switch platforms for that. It's a current fad so we'll see what happens. I am sure Apple will come up with something similar in the next few years. No rush for me at least.
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Apple having access to enormous resources still can't manage to make Siri smarter. It's like Google Assistant, Alexa and Cortana manage to graduate to the senior class, while Siri needs to stay back in kindergarten.

Different resources, but yes. Siri should be better, but at this point I am in no rush when it comes to this stuff. A lot of it feels a bit creepy and intrusive and I am okay with Apple taking a bit longer here. Stay in the background, understand what people will end up using, keep everyone's information private, don't be creepy, and then release something useful. I get why Google is moving very quickly in this direction and I get why Apple isn't. No big deal.

 

[nylonsteel]

continued conversation - about time
should have been implemented long ago (in relative time)

 

[Pruus]

Siri could make and must extra Miles here. Very good that the competitors show a new playground and horizon. We Will all benefit from this.

 

[sracer]

I never understand why people defend features on something they have, even when poor. I have an iPhone SE, an Apple Watch. They are great. Siri though, sucks! It's awful! Compared to my Redmi 5A, the iPhone sucks! No automatic turn off the phone, turn on the phone. No football score notifications, time to travel, etc. My iPhone 4S used to do that but not anymore. Siri has become worse! The Apple Watch. Compared to my amazfit BIP Battery life sucks, HR isn't every min, no sleep tracking, etc. I am not going to defend just because I have one.

That's because you don't define yourself by the products you own. (I'm with you on that!) You can tell when a person DOES do that when you criticize their device and they take it as a personal insult. Criticizing the phone or device they own is like insulting their children or ridiculing their physical appearance to them.

 

[honglong1976]

That's because you don't define yourself by the products you own. (I'm with you on that!) You can tell when a person DOES do that when you criticize their device and they take it as a personal insult. Criticizing the phone or device they own is like insulting their children or ridiculing their physical appearance to them.

Agreed. It's ridiculous. It's just a thing! A gadget and certainly not perfect!

 

[andreyush]

Who tf uses Siri or any other AI? Are you blind? Do you have two hands? Then stop being so lazy and find yourself a restaurant or a barber shop. Damn some people are so lazy.

Come at me.

 

[Steve121178]

With the way Apple has fallen behind here, you'd think implementing a useful AI assistant is impossible. Clearly, it isn't. Apple should be embarrassed. Postponing and delaying products and features seems to be the new norm. For these reasons, I might be looking at an android option to replace my iPhone. What a joke.

Fallen behind? Apple have been lapped about twice.

 

[LordVic]

A iPhone 4 can do everything you really need on a phone. Do you have an iPhone 4?

I don't get it. People here say removing ports such as the 3.5mm headphone Jack is such a big step into the future but AI is not...its a fad. I can't even begin to understand that point of view.

It's called the reality distortion field.
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Who tf uses Siri or any other AI? Are you blind? Do you have two hands? Then stop being so lazy and find yourself a restaurant or a barber shop. Damn some people are so lazy.

Come at me.

Lots of people and they can be incredibly useful.

EG: Driving home (1 hour drive) when I realize i want to make a quick appointment for a chiro. When i'm driving, I can't actually use my handheld (against the law here).

I could: Pull off to the side of the road and make the call myself, or just go home and not care...

or "HeyGoogle, Make an appointment tonight between 4-6pm with my chiro" and have the phone do all the work. I never have to get off the road. I never have to actually use my phone or get distracted while I'm driving.

this is just one example where an AI can be incredibly useful. this isn't about being lazy. it's about being efficient and safe.

 

[jerryk]

How the assistant sounds doesn’t really factor into how often I use my voice assistants.

Studies have shown that how they sound is quite a big usability and acceptance factor.

Voice assistance are getting to the point where they learn how you talk. Slang terms you use, analogies you makes, how utterances made in certain ways annoy you, etc. It is all about personalizing the assistance to match what works for you and even the other speakers in the same area.

 

[robbyx]

Yea, I heard it. I suppose it’s impressive, although I find it a bit creepy, intrusive, and more of an example of what tech can do opposed to what will actually be used. I don’t see it picking up. Plus, the fact that it’s built by infringing on people's privacy isn’t something I stand behind. To each their own though.

And when Siri gives you the ability to do the same things, will you feel the same way? What’s intrusive about it? If anything it’s the opposite. I tell Assistant to make me a dinner reservation and it does. It’s not intruding on anything in my life. It’s taking care of tasks and freeing up my time.

Also, if you don’t think this will “pick up”, I suggest watching a few more sci-fi movies! This is the beginning of a conversational UI. Making a dinner reservation is just the beginning. Not only will people use it, it will be equally important to touch when interacting with our devices in the future. So much of what I do on my phone doesn’t really require a screen (or my participation). Banking stuff. Hotel, flight and dinner reservations. Finding a place to eat lunch in a new city. Buying concert tickets. Etc. Being able to say something like “find me the highest rated sushi restaurant in the area and make me a reservation for next Wednesday” frees up a huge amount of my time.

My hunch is that you and the few others poopooing what Google has done here, suggesting it’s no big deal and that no one will really use it, would be singing a completely different tune if Apple had managed a tech demo like this. Sadly it’s seems those days at Apple are over.

 

[DNichter]

And when Siri gives you the ability to do the same things, will you feel the same way? What’s intrusive about it? If anything it’s the opposite. I tell Assistant to make me a dinner reservation and it does. It’s not intruding on anything in my life. It’s taking care of tasks and freeing up my time.

Also, if you don’t think this will “pick up”, I suggest watching a few more sci-fi movies! This is the beginning of a conversational UI. Making a dinner reservation is just the beginning. Not only will people use it, it will be equally important to touch when interacting with our devices in the future. So much of what I do on my phone doesn’t really require a screen (or my participation). Banking stuff. Hotel, flight and dinner reservations. Finding a place to eat lunch in a new city. Buying concert tickets. Etc. Being able to say something like “find me the highest rated sushi restaurant in the area and make me a reservation for next Wednesday” frees up a huge amount of my time.

My hunch is that you and the few others poopooing what Google has done here, suggesting it’s no big deal and that no one will really use it, would be singing a completely different tune if Apple had managed a tech demo like this. Sadly it’s seems those days at Apple are over.

It depends. If Apple is able to implement a similar feature set while still maintaining a level of privacy that I prefer, I will certainly consider it. Ultimately, I don't know if I will ever make much use of this stuff at all. For me, it's intrusive because of the information that's needed for it to be effective. It looks at and examines personal information, habits, trends, etc. to essentially understand what's the next step for the user. You may not agree, but I personally feel that we will go through another technological shift where we lessen it's involvement in our lives, more so on a face to face level. We will still have technological advances in the world around us, but it will be less talking to robots and more so robots making things more efficient for us without user input. I am certainly not saying this isn't progress on Google's part, it definitely is, I am just more weary of society heading in this direction and I am okay with Apple taking a back seat and waiting to release something when it's ready. For those that want to jump on board and see this as the future, that's totally reasonable, just not for me.

 

[spacemnspiff]

If Google can talk on the phone, make appointments and service requests and such, so I don't have to make another phone call in my whole life, then I'm switching to Android.

What a world some people want for future, where robot becomes humans and humans become robot.

It's looking to be a substantial update from Google, well done. Still not good enough for me to switch to a advertising company product.

 

[jerryk]

What a world some people want for future, where robot becomes humans and humans become robot.

In many actions there is not difference in a human doing it and a machine doing it. Except maybe humans complain more and want to get paid.

 

[HarryWild]

Google Assistant is becoming even more of a personal assistant with more features and more friendly while Siri just stuck in the mental retarded classroom and is never used!

 

[femike]

*Maybe* once the novelty wears off once they've become a trillion dollar company, we might see some of this famed innovation we're (previously, way back when) so used to. They're not interested in spending anything at the moment until they get there...

That maybe not too far off the mark. I think Tim Cook has a goal to get his name in the history books as the first CEO of a trillion dollar company. Maybe after that we'll see a new mac mini.

 

[HarryWild]

Read through some of the features, nothing really new here. Feels like a normal Android update to me. I suppose the AI stuff is cool if you use voice assistants (I don't).

You are missing out on a lot of pleasant experiences! Sooner or later everything will be through a personal assistant helping you through voice commands. Remember the StarTrek computer? This is Google Assistant for the average person. It the next step in AI interaction!

 

[andreyush]

It's called the reality distortion field.
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Lots of people and they can be incredibly useful.

EG: Driving home (1 hour drive) when I realize i want to make a quick appointment for a chiro. When i'm driving, I can't actually use my handheld (against the law here).

I could: Pull off to the side of the road and make the call myself, or just go home and not care...

or "HeyGoogle, Make an appointment tonight between 4-6pm with my chiro" and have the phone do all the work. I never have to get off the road. I never have to actually use my phone or get distracted while I'm driving.

this is just one example where an AI can be incredibly useful. this isn't about being lazy. it's about being efficient and safe.

Yea but from here to "call X and talk with him instead of me because I don't have the skills and i am too lazy" is a short step. And people will always try to take the easiest way...And for sure with this type of AI there will be consequences.

 

[LordVic]

Yea but from here to "call X and talk with him instead of me because I don't have the skills and i am too lazy" is a short step. And people will always try to take the easiest way...And for sure with this type of AI there will be consequences.

Lots of research has indicated that the act of having a phone conversation while driving increases the likelihood of collision due to distraction from the conversation. This helps prevent any conversation. you give an order to your phone. and then the phone takes care of all the work.

I don't doubt there will be consequences of this sort of AI. its so new that we haven't yet really thought it through. My gut reaction was "this is cool, but also incredibly creepy, i'm not sure I like it". But ignoring my gut reaction and looking at the facts of what it is. This is a great potential set of tools that have ability to make our lives easier. Now that it's invented, we as a society will need to judge how it impacts us as a society and what sort of limits (if Any) need to be implemented.

However, your comments are basically "I don't like it so it sucks", which isn't really a valid point against it.

 

[DNichter]

You are missing out on a lot of pleasant experiences! Sooner or later everything will be through a personal assistant helping you through voice commands. Remember the StarTrek computer? This is Google Assistant for the average person. It the next step in AI interaction!

Definitely fine for some, but it's not an area that I value. I am okay taking a back seat with all of this stuff until it matures.

 

[9081094]

Like almost all of the Android and Google stuff it will half work and it will never be finished before they move on to some other gimmick.

You mean like Apple maps and Siri? I hope WWDC 2018 will be as exciting as Googles I/O. In my opinion Apple is in definite need of some positive news on innovation and renewal across their whole product range.

 

[BigDO]

LMFAO at "Google Assistant, Google's version of Siri."

Yep. Insanely silly line, wonder who put that together.
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Read through some of the features, nothing really new here. Feels like a normal Android update to me. I suppose the AI stuff is cool if you use voice assistants (I don't).

I use Siri on my HomePod and it works great there. I just would never use it in public, I feel like it's obnoxious.

All 6 explicit, one line commands work great on the HomePod? Excellent!
[doublepost=1525884056][/doublepost]

I'll see when the time comes, but I am confident Apple will bring something to the table when the time is right. I am really in no rush when it comes to this stuff, plus I think privacy is a huge deal. I am good with Apple taking it's time in this area. I currently use HomeKit for smart home automation and it has been the best platform for that.

What are you talking about? Apple bought Siri and popularised the whole voice assistant, AI thing way before Google did. Then they progressively ruined it, while Google continues to impress with their implementations of both VA and AI.

Let's not pretend that this is not something that Apple values and wishes it was good at, they just suck at it.

 

[DNichter]

Yep. Insanely silly line, wonder who put that together.
[doublepost=1525883847][/doublepost]

All 6 explicit, one line commands work great on the HomePod? Excellent!
[doublepost=1525884056][/doublepost]
What are you talking about? Apple bought Siri and popularised the whole voice assistant, AI thing way before Google did. Then they progressively ruined it, while Google continues to impress with their implementations of both VA and AI.

Let's not pretend that this is not something that Apple values and wishes it was good at, they just suck at it.

I mainly use Siri on my HomePod for smart home commands, music requests, and news/weather updates. I am not too big on voice assistants. I am not sure what your second point is really in regards to my post. I know Apple bought Siri and popularized voice assistants, but I am just not in any rush for them to introduce some of these features. It isn't something I need from a platform currently.

 

[BigDO]

I mainly use Siri on my HomePod for smart home commands, music requests, and news/weather updates. I am not too big on voice assistants. I am not sure what your second point is really in regards to my post. I know Apple bought Siri and popularized voice assistants, but I am just not in any rush for them to introduce some of these features. It isn't something I need from a platform currently.

The second point is in the context of your statement of "apple taking its time" - they are not taking its time and waiting to introduce it, they HAVE introduced it (Siri), marketed it widely (ads with Scorcese come to mind), and keep failing miserably with a product which keeps moving backwards.

 

[DNichter]

The second point is in the context of your statement of "apple taking its time" - they are not taking its time and waiting to introduce it, they HAVE introduced it (Siri), marketed it widely (ads with Scorcese come to mind), and keep failing miserably with a product which keeps moving backwards.

Well they are taking their time. They haven't introduced anything like what Google is doing. Do you think they don't see what the competition is doing? Do you think they don't have ideas on similar features? Of course they do, but there are challenges to implementing such things without sacrificing privacy. They also likely want to see how some of these things pan out with consumers before putting some weight behind it. My only point is that I am not clamoring for it and I would rather Apple not rush something new to the market just to compete with Google Assistant. It isn't worth it.