I prefer Apple products but because of Homepod being delayed + many articles stating that the Siri's AI is way behind Amazon Echo " Alexa ", and Google Home Google Assistant " Ok Google" , I preordered Echo ( 2nd Generation ) which arrived Dec 5 , here in Canada.
Lasted a day as skills advertised not available such as BMO banking and Radioplayer. Skill for SiriusXM did not work with Canadian account but tried to link to USA account. Having product launch not working with skills being advertised is pretty useless.
Security of data seems not to be priority for Amazon or Google. Guess just have too hope Apple updates Siri to compete well with other AI voice assistants.
Dan
In my experience this is and isn't true. It depends on what I'm asking either for or to do. If I ask Siri or Alexa a question that they can't answer or don't answer up to my expectations I'll immediately ask the other one. I bought a Amazon Dot for 30 bucks (still on sale btw) but I have no experience with Google Home unfortunately although I am going to buy one (spiteful Amazon doesn't sell them lol).
Alexa definitely gives the impression of being more intelligent mostly out of necessity. Since it doesn't have a screen Amazon needed to program it to answer most questions and not rely on a web search since it can't display anything (prior to the Echo Show anyway). I think we will see this with the HomePod over time. However if you have an Alexa, cross reference her responses and you'll find many/some are generic answers. I can't ask Alexa right now to see if its been updated since people are sleeping but when asked "what is the distance from the earth to the moon" she would give an average but not say it was an average. Siri gives the current distance (Wolfram Alpha) which varies ~30,000 miles over the course of a year. Probably not important information to most people and a average is all they really wanted however IMO that info its vital because people take what a computer tells them as FACT. Plus it goes back to intelligence or at least the impression of it, giving an answer, any answer makes you look much more intelligent vs saying "I'll search the web for you".
Alexa also feels more human like because you can download apps for it like Insult-a-bot. So she will make fun of you and your friends and it can natively tell jokes (even some decent Chuck Norris jokes I've never heard before). Stuff like that gives it more of human feel than a computer feel Siri has. Alexa's open source nature makes it possibilities limitless really. Apples closed ecosystem makes that sort of functionality pretty much impossible.
However while on the surface Apples closed ecosystem system gives the impression it will handicap the HomePod it also opens the possibility to make it very powerful. I'm just winging things off the top of my head because I don't know the HomePods capabilities but like with the Apple Watch the HomePod could be able to "hand-off" data to other devices. For example if you asked a question that has a generic answer it could also send the Wolfram Alpha data to an iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV for the visual. And since Apple tightly controls their ecosystem and has the lowest levels of hardware access easily available (like an Apple Watch unlocking a Mac, or locating an iCloud device) the possibilities how their devices can interact with each other are only really limited by the technologies they use.
I have a Amazon Dot now and I'm holding out for the HomePod because I'm just curious of how it can/will be used. Like mentioned I don't find them to be competing devices because Siri...Alexa...Google...who cares? Most of their answers are coming from the same place. However I think HomePod will stand out in sound quality and have low level hardware functionality within Apples eco system while maintaining a higher level of security for home automation.
And you are right, security of data isn't even in the same ballpark as Apples HomeKit. Apple uses their own wireless protocol HAP (HomeKit Accessory Protocol) which uses levels of security that are WAY over the top, at least by todays standards. When I hear of other devices sending information to China, Russia and/or "others" (hackers in China or Russia lol) it makes the premium I paid for HomeKit devices seem WELL worth it, if nothing else but for the peace of mind. Privacy is even worse although it should be well known by now Amazon is trying to sell us products, and Google is trying to sell us as a products. Not that Apple is a saint but they aren't in position to profit as much from invading your privacy and currently find it more profitable to maintain your privacy.
