Siri on HomePod Correctly Answered 52.3% of Queries in New AI Test

[FreakinEurekan]

Why would you ask a stationary, home-based device a navigation question?

That said, Siri can be a bit frustrating.

Me this morning: "Hey Siri, play music by Flim and the BB's".
Siri: "I'm sorry, you don't have any music by Flim and the BB's".
Me: "Hey Siri, play 'Tricycle'"
Tricycle plays.
Me: "Hey Siri, what artist is playing?"
Siri: "Flim and the BB's"
Me: "Hey Siri, play more songs by this artist"

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Jaywalk3r]

Ah... Buzz words.

Yes, buzz words like "beam forming".

I prefer more accurate and meaningful descriptions of what's actually happening.

 

[citysnaps]

Yes, buzz words like "beam forming".

I prefer more accurate and meaningful descriptions of what's actually happening.

I understand.

If you don't understand the underlying technology behind beamforming, how it works, the issues it addresses and solves, and its benefits/limitations - and deliberately choose to instead remain uniformed - then I can see where it's so much easier to dismiss the term as a buzzword.

Just say HomePod has seven speakers and call it a day. Even call it a 7.1 system, though no-one else who's informed, will.

 

[Jaywalk3r]

Sorry, but you are wrong. 7.1 has a specific definition (as did 5.1 before it). You might want to read this.

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-surround-7-1-for-theater-tech-paper.pdf

Be careful not to confuse Dolby's trademarked names with the more generic 5.1 and 7.1 labels, which indicate only the number of discrete channels.

The HP is not a Dolby® 7.1 system. It is a 7.1 system, which implies only that there are 7 discrete channels (one for each tweeter) plus a common woofer.

 

[Bawstun]

You should read what you are writing... nothing but excuses for Apple. It doesn't need to be as good as Google Home or Alexa, are you KIDDING? The worst thing about this product is Siri, a crap piece of software that Apple acquired from another company. I have Siri permanently turned off on all my iOS devices. It's completely useless, doesn't understand any damn thing. I go to my friend's house and Alexa is a dream to use compared to the crapware called Siri.

It is embarrassingly bad for the world’s wealthiest company. Inexcusable, really. They could have Siri 15x better in mere months, if they wanted to. Clearly Siri is just a placeholder for Apple.

 

[Jaywalk3r]

I understand.

If you don't understand the technology, the issues it solves, and its benefits - and deliberately choose to instead remain uniformed - then I can see where it's much easier to dismiss the term as a buzzword.

Much easier to just say it has seven speakers and call it a day.

Project much? I understand quite well how the HP works, at least at a high level. The brilliance is in how Apple thought outside the box (and make no mistake, that's the hardest part of most problems) to provide an innovative solution to an old problem. Once the problem is seen as Apple viewed it, the ML solution is pretty straightforward.

 

[deanthedev]

Yes, buzz words like "beam forming".

I prefer more accurate and meaningful descriptions of what's actually happening.

Beamforming is a well understood and well defined technical term that’s been around for some time. It’s not a buzz word.

Be careful not to confuse Dolby's trademarked names with the more generic 5.1 and 7.1 labels, which indicate only the number of discrete channels.

The HP is not a Dolby® 7.1 system. It is a 7.1 system, which implies only that there are 7 discrete channels (one for each tweeter) plus a common woofer.

Do you have any links to technical papers defining what 7.1 means? Perhaps from the AES or other organization?

 

[Jimrod]

"Munster broke this information down further, stating that Siri is good for "local" and "commerce" queries, like asking about nearby coffee shops..."

So an Apple product is good at helping one to locate a Starbucks?

Go figure...

That's great that the HOMEpod can answer questions about nearby coffee shops, I mean it sits in your home, I'd guess you know where the nearby coffee shops are already!

 

[citysnaps]

Project much? I understand quite well how the HP works, at least at a high level. The brilliance is in how Apple thought outside the box (and make no mistake, that's the hardest part of most problems) to provide an innovative solution to an old problem. Once the problem is seen as Apple viewed it, the ML solution is pretty straightforward.

I'm curious now. What outside of the box innovative solution would that be? Please provide some detail, starting with underlying issues, how they were approached in the past, why they didn't pan out, and Apple's brilliant solution.

 

[lec0rsaire]

I don't understand how the company who first introduced (yes they bought the tech) the AI assistant to the mainstream could fall so far behind others who entered much later. I have found that Siri on iOS is the most capable. On MacOS 10.13 it has trouble with many things and on the ATV it's pretty horrendous apart from very basic commands and I don't have an accent!

Still the HomePod's reviews have been quite positive. It has limitations but over time functionality will be improved. The important thing is that the sound quality is there.

 

[Sedulous]

Did you read the article? It says, "Removing navigation, calling, email, and calendar-related queries from our question set yields a 67% correct response, a jump from overall of 52.3% correct. " In no way does that imply what you said.

They included commands that smart speakers can handle. Siri couldn't handle navigation, just like Cortana couldn't handle commerce. Should the speakers only be judged on what the HomePod can do?

Yeah, I did read it. And yet the title uses the ~50% mark when including things the device is not designed to do. Is like having a title that says “HomePod correctly answers 0% when asked to clone an elephant”.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I'm curious now. What outside of the box innovative solution would that be? Please provide some detail, starting with underlying issues, how they were approached in the past, why they didn't pan out, and Apple's brilliant solution.

How about making a single small speaker actually sound good. And how about doing away with the need for a main listening position yet still maintain an immersive experience. How about we start with that? Just name me 1 product that this as well and for this price.

 

[Sedulous]

When the Apple employee demoed the HomePod for me yesterday Siri struggled in the same way it does on the iPhone. It was far from smooth and highly accurate.

My comment was about misleading title that uses misleading result based on queries HomePod is not designed to accommodate. Accuracy is obviously better when tasked with things it can do.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I don't under this perceived lack of navigation function. Sure she doesn't provide turn by turn directions, that would be weird on a HomePod. But I ask; how long with it take me to get to X and she answers including traffic information. Would I possibly want to follow up and send it to my phone that route, yes sure...but even better I'd like for it to be sent straight to my car, and share with those who I will visit

But I knew that wouldn't be the case when I bought it, if it happens one day it will be a bonus.

 

[sir1963nz]

Starting the move away from Apple.
I have had Apple products since the Mac Plus, so I have been a customers for a long time.

However I have things like working Airport base stations that are effectively dead because Apples software no longer supports them, and they can ONLY be configured with Apples proprietary software. ALL of my other gear can be configured using a web browser, safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer , doesn't matter. And Apple has the gall to sell old hardware at premium prices.

My Mac mini server, well thats been languishing in the mud fo years, no updates from Apple. My older Mac mini server, support for that has gone too now, it still works as a print server, dns server, backup server and so on, but again Apples proprietary software gets in the way and it ca not be updated.

So it is with the iPhone and iPad, iPod, Apples proprietary software, when Apple dumps support they become effectively dead. Buy a new laptop, yea the old versions of iTunes, Airport software, Server software don't support your old hardware.

The new TVos sucks dogs balls, its truely a horrid interface.

Aperture, well the photographers out there who used that can tell you what happened to that product.

HomePod, proprietary , grossly expensive to fix, only works with Apples stuff which excludes my iTunes home sharing server apparently.

So, my oldest Mac mini is getting converted to Linux, iTunes server will get converted to Kodi or some other open source software. That will allows a Raspberry Pi or other small development board to link into the network and play all my music on the server through my existing Stereo.

I already have one Kodi box in the spare bedroom, sure the interface sucks, but is is far more flexible than the ATV and costs about 1/6th the price.

My next phone is likely to be an Android, and yes I am aware of their ****, but a phone costing 1/3 the price of an iPhone will be "good enough".

I have just stepped off the bus...... sorry Tim, but enough is enough.
[doublepost=1518381054][/doublepost]

I don't under this perceived lack of navigation function. Sure she doesn't provide turn by turn directions, that would be weird on a HomePod. But I ask; how long with it take me to get to X and she answers including traffic information. Would I possibly want to follow up and send it to my phone that route, yes sure...but even better I'd like for it to be sent straight to my car, and share with those who I will visit

But I knew that wouldn't be the case when I bought it, if it happens one day it will be a bonus.

Well I am still waiting for Siri to arrive on the ATV in New Zealand.
Its there on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, just not on the ATV.

So if "waiting" is your thing, go for it, but expect to be disappointed.

 

[indychris]

“It just works...52.3% of the time!”

Since when did a failure rate of 48% become acceptable to Apple? Since TC took over and stock holders began to run the show. This is definitely one way to “Think different” than Steve Jobs!

But hey, it looks pretty nice and even has an Apple logo on it! Definitely makes it worth $350!

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Starting the move away from Apple.
I have had Apple products since the Mac Plus, so I have been a customers for a long time.

However I have things like working Airport base stations that are effectively dead because Apples software no longer supports them, and they can ONLY be configured with Apples proprietary software. ALL of my other gear can be configured using a web browser, safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer , doesn't matter. And Apple has the gall to sell old hardware at premium prices.

My Mac mini server, well thats been languishing in the mud fo years, no updates from Apple. My older Mac mini server, support for that has gone too now, it still works as a print server, dns server, backup server and so on, but again Apples proprietary software gets in the way and it ca not be updated.

So it is with the iPhone and iPad, iPod, Apples proprietary software, when Apple dumps support they become effectively dead. Buy a new laptop, yea the old versions of iTunes, Airport software, Server software don't support your old hardware.

The new TVos sucks dogs balls, its truely a horrid interface.

Aperture, well the photographers out there who used that can tell you what happened to that product.

HomePod, proprietary , grossly expensive to fix, only works with Apples stuff which excludes my iTunes home sharing server apparently.

So, my oldest Mac mini is getting converted to Linux, iTunes server will get converted to Kodi or some other open source software. That will allows a Raspberry Pi or other small development board to link into the network and play all my music on the server through my existing Stereo.

I already have one Kodi box in the spare bedroom, sure the interface sucks, but is is far more flexible than the ATV and costs about 1/6th the price.

My next phone is likely to be an Android, and yes I am aware of their ****, but a phone costing 1/3 the price of an iPhone will be "good enough".

I have just stepped off the bus...... sorry Tim, but enough is enough.
[doublepost=1518381054][/doublepost]

Well I am still waiting for Siri to arrive on the ATV in New Zealand.
Its there on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, just not on the ATV.

So if "waiting" is your thing, go for it, but expect to be disappointed.

I'm not waiting, perhaps read again what I wrote.

And good luck getting updates for Android You seriously have this ”proprietary” word rather wrong. But hey good luck with the search for greener grass

 

[The Game 161]

“It just works...52.3% of the time!”

Since when did a failure rate of 48% become acceptable to Apple? Since TC took over and stock holders began to run the show. This is definitely one way to “Think different” than Steve Jobs!

But hey, it looks pretty nice and even has an Apple logo on it! Definitely makes it worth $350!

The amazing sound more like makes it worth the price for me

 

[Cmdrx3]

Unfortunately, the article doesn't give many specifics about the questions it used. If they were all simple yes/no questions, 50-some percent would be abysmal. But if they're open-ended or obscure questions, it's probably not too bad.

If that was the case, then it's probably really bad rather than not too bad... If all three major digital assistants scored better (significantly so in Google Homes case) on open ended or obscure questions then what does that really say about the power of Siri... It's getting beaten by Cortana...... CORTANA FFS.

 

[BorderingOn]

this is the thing why would people want to use homepod for directions? not like you would use it to take you right there.

Hey Siri, how long is the drive to X? Send directions to my iPhone.

I can see the use case. That's the nice thing about Alexa skills. It isn't even necessary for Amazon to imagine it for it to work.

 

[Guy Clark]

The amazing sound more like makes it worth the price for me

Take the Apple Logo off and would it it sound as good ?

I have a JBL Flip 4 hooked up to me mid-2011 iMac and the sound quality is amazing.

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the JBL Flip 4 is a fraction of the price of the HomePod but of course its not carrying the Apple Logo is it.
https://uk.jbl.com/wireless-speakers/JBL+Flip+4.html

 

[Jaywalk3r]

I'm curious now. What outside of the box innovative solution would that be? Please provide some detail, starting with underlying issues, how they were approached in the past, why they didn't pan out, and Apple's brilliant solution.

They used machine learning to identify important aspects of the room, thereby making it easy to deterministically map the sound to the listening area in a way that gives the illusion of good room acoustics. Of course, deconstructing the audio signal into 7.1 channels is non-trivial. I can think of a few approaches to try, but none of them stand out as an obvious solution.

Previous attempts (at reasonable consumer prices) were largely limited to volume and (sometimes) EQ adjustments. Previous versions of DSP were novel, but rarely sounded like the space they claimed to replicate, e.g., a concert hall. Dolby Pro Logic and its variants are a notable exception, but they required a properly encoded source and a well arranged room, neither of which the HP needs.

The Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 looks the most similar to the HomePod in audio functionality, albeit without automated setup, and with enough power to get virtually any renter evicted, and, of course, over 120x the price of a pair of HomePods. (I would expect the drivers and amps of the Beolabs to be far superior to the HomePod, while B&O is probably well behind Apple with respect to ML.)

Incidentally, I live close to a B&O showroom, so I plan to check them out in the next few weeks to see how they compare to my HomePod (which I still haven't had the opportunity to unbox).

 

[The Game 161]

Take the Apple Logo off and would it it sound as good ?

I have a JBL Flip 4 hooked up to me mid-2011 iMac and the sound quality is amazing.

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the JBL Flip 4 is a fraction of the price of the HomePod but of course its not carrying the Apple Logo is it.

Considering reviews have even said how great the sound is having an apple logo is irrelevant

The Homepod syncs with apple devices while having amazing sound. Can a JBL control my lights, do times, podcasts as well?

no is the answer.

Homepod is the best sound smart speaker you can buy and it's why I bought it to go with my other needs.

 

[Risco]

Siri is great in my car and handsfree calling from my headphones.

 

[lordofthereef]

Not to my knowledge. Firstly it was never a single speaker, they are multiple smaller speakers relying on direct positioning and an integrated amp in the subwoofer. Or in other words it tried to be a normal 'stereo' setup but with smaller speakers. It still was focussed on a main listening position and competing with the main 'stereo'.

I seem to recall, years ago, a boss product that was essentially s tablemtop mesnt for music only that promised to fill the room. I don't remember what it was called, and I also couidntgfind a product currently in the market. That's what I was thinking of when mentioning Bose. Probably not helpful lol. Unfortunately I never had one, but I heard demos, and remember being impressed for the size. This was easily 10-15 years ago though and I couldn't possibly makes. Direct comparison. It's possible they're not even as similar as I'm making them in my head.

Edit: I think it was called the wave. I actually just came across an article that called the AirPod the modern day Bose wave. Haha. What timing!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/qz.com...views-its-the-modern-day-bose-wave-radio/amp/