Now, I love me some Siri, but even I have to admit that the personal voice assistant isn’t always super fast or super accurate. Last night, when I asked it when the new iMac would ship, it said, “I don’t know that that means. If you like, I can search the web for ‘When does the new iMac ship’.” Today, it directs me to “Apple’s rather fabulous website.”
When I asked Google search the same question? I got a ton of responses, including a link to an Amazon.com question And Answer: When will the new imacs ship…”
Google search also seems a LOT faster in recognizing and interpreting what I mean when I speak to it, and it works on non-Siri capable iOS devices. Apple’s got some competition here.
Download Google search from the iTunes app store, and launch it with a tap. Then, tap on the little microphone “Voice” icon. Speak your search, and watch the app race through recognition. I asked, “What’s the cheapest price for an Ion Drum Rocker for Playstation 3?” and instantly got a list of links to buy the requested item. When I asked, “Where is Home Depot in Anchorage,” Google search replied, in voice, “Here are addresses for Home Depot near Anchorage,” along with maps, links, phone numbers, and buttons to call the business with.
Tap the downward-pointing arrow in the upper right corner of the screen to go back to the Google Search app home screen, or tap on the microphone at the bottom of the screen to speak another request. From the home screen, you can also tap on the Apps icon to quick link to any Google apps you use, or tap the Goggles icon to snap a picture of something to search for it online. Goggles is cool, but nowhere near as accurate as the voice search.
Via: 148Apps
Rob LeFebvre is an Anchorage, Alaska-based writer and editor who has contributed to various tech, gaming and iOS sites, including 148Apps, Creative Screenwriting, Shelf-Awareness, VentureBeat, and Paste Magazine. Feel free to find Rob on Twitter @roblef, and send him a cookie once in a while; he’ll really appreciate it.
4 responses to “Use Google Search On Your iPhone And Get Faster, More Complete Results Than Siri [iOS Tips]”
When it comes to search, for some functions, perhaps Siri is in bed with Bing.
I just downloaded it and have already replaced Safari with this app! Thanks for the tip :D
I posted here earlier today but it doesn’t show up in the comments. What’s the bug? I’ve had this happen several times recently.
The new Google Search is remarkably fast and feels twice as snappy as Siri. It’s quite embarrassing that Siri isn’t miles ahead of Google Search, and this may be the reason Scott Forstall has been removed. Siri paved the way and should be amazing, so why does Google Search feel and operate so much better? I love my iPhone 4S and iOS6, but it becomes awkward when the company that copies Apple ends up creating a better tool.
Well, actually, Google has had voice action for a loooooong time, since Android 2.2 (Q2 2010).
http://www.google.com/mobile/voice-actions/
What Siri did was take it a step further and was able to integrate it more into the software but Android has always had the ability to use voice for search, email, text, calls, directions, etc. Just throwing that out there to clear up the common misconception. *thumbs up*