Microsoft is working to bring Cortana to its Outlook app for iOS. The virtual assistant will give users the ability to listen to their emails, which will be particularly useful in situations where you need to be hands-free.
Microsoft Cortana is now available on iPad. The smart assistant comes with all the features you’ve been enjoying on iPhone since July, combined with an interface that’s optimized for massive iPad screens. It also promises a much faster experience.
Siri is now “actively” used on more than half a billion devices, Apple has revealed. The virtual assistant, which will be used to control HomePod, has been attracting users at a rapid rate despite falling behind its competitors in features and accuracy.
Samsung currently has no plans to take on HomePod with a smart speaker of its own.
Recent rumors have claimed the South Korean company is working on a standalone Bixby device, but a source familiar with its plans says the market is too small to be profitable.
Google Assistant for iOS was released at Google’s latest I/O event. Having never tried it (being an Apple fanboy and all) I thought it was only fair to put the two virtual assistants head to head.
There’s still a lot Google needs to fix such as being able to open apps other than it’s own. But check out the head to head battle in my video below.
Samsung’s new Bixby assistant finally found its voice in South Korea today, over a week after making its debut on the Galaxy S8. Unlike its rivals, Bixby has the ability to rap, and Samsung uses that to take a cheeky, secret stab at Siri.
S Voice, Samsung’s answer to Siri, has been a poor excuse for a virtual assistant for the last four years. But the South Korean company is working on a brand new version for the Galaxy S8 — and it will have features that blow its competitors out of the water.
With the improvements Apple made in iOS 10, Siri is more useful than ever. It is proving particularly helpful to lonely guys desperately looking for love, with hundreds of people turning to virtual assistants for “sexually explicit” conversations every day.
Apple has taken big strides to make Siri even greater in recent years, like bringing it to Apple TV and macOS, and opening it up to third-party developers. In that time, Apple’s virtual assistant has also gotten more accurate and more reliable.
But some might say third-party alternatives — particularly those from Google — are still a step ahead, with greater features and more flexibility. So, is Apple doing enough to make Siri just as stellar as Google Now and the new Google Assistant?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we go head-to-head over virtual assistants.
Siri is (usually) great for answering questions, but for helping us stay on task it’s a bit of a dud. EasilyDo on the other hand will make sure you’re on time and on point with all your obligations. It’s a powerful assistant for managing contacts, calendar, email and more that’s just $19.99.
As Apple knows full well, it’s lonely at the top!
As if the constant shots from Samsung weren’t enough, Microsoft has just unleashed a new ad pitting its Cortana virtual assistant against Apple’s Siri. The ad, for those who can’t view it, begins with Siri ‘singing’ “I feel pretty, oh so pretty” into a mirror, only for the HTC One M8 with Windows to turn up, apparently dazzling the iPhone 5s with its superior size.
I use OS X’s Dictation feature all the time while I’m working, but a new patent application published Thursday suggests that Apple’s looking to go much further when it comes to having users talk to their Macs.
The Intelligent Digital Assistant In A Virtual Environment application was filed February 4 this year, and describes a Mac-based Siri every bit as smart as its mobile iOS counterpart.
The patent application depicts a future OS X dock featuring an icon for Siri, which could be available to use for dictation or commands from inside various different programs.
While everyone’s focused on which virtual assistant can provide the best automated response, the company behind storage solution iDrive has come up with a different idea: Why not hand the job over to humans?
Asking if users are “tired of trying to explain to a computer program what [they’re] searching for,” or are “sick of getting answers that have nothing to do with what [they] need” OOLOO is a free-to-download iOS app, which connects you to real people 24/7, able to give you the kind of personalized answer that you’re unlikely to get from a tool like Siri.
