Voice assistants: which ones will change our lives and how much?
From Google Assistant to Siri, Alexa and Cortana: although there is still some scope for improvement, voice assistants have developed into a widespread tool, popular with smartphone and computer users.
In 2011 Apple equipped its iPhones with this function, making voice recognition more easily accessible. At that time, it was possible to use it for tasks such as web searches or making calls, but in the future the range of available tasks should expand considerably.
The main objective is to that smart assistants will start to interact with consumers more effectively, gradually replacing buttons, peripheral devices and touch interfaces. In order to do this however, such technology must be capable of reacting to inputs more efficiently.
According to research carried out by Capgemini involving around 5000 Americans, English, French and German people, by the year 2021:
- 40% of users will use voice assistants instead of websites and apps;
- While 1 in 3 users will prefer to communicate with their own devices instead of participating in business-related activities personally.
Of course these systems are used more widely in technologically advanced nations. Despite that, colossi of the calibre of Apple, Android, Samsung and many others are investing a sizeable portion of their resources into becoming leaders in a global market.
In any case, how could it be otherwise, considering the fact that voice assistants or chatbots are becoming so important that they could potentially modify the working procedures adopted by a large number of professional figures?
This is because the purpose seems to be to create automation systems, able to guarantee significant advantages for businesses. These systems allow society to become more advanced from a technological point of view and also simplify executive procedures.
In future, according to some experts, such solutions will concentrate on the automation of routine tasks, automized assistance for workers, the analysis of large amounts of information and learning and development, as well as on the selection of passive candidates who are looking for work.
Alexa is now more and more frequently mentioned: Amazon’s virtual assistant present in Echo, which could be included in a wide range of devices (as it hasn’t yet arrived in Italy, for now we are mainly referring the USA).
The biggest difference between Alexa and the voice assistants of Apple, Google and Microsoft lies in the fact that Amazon’s invention is not designed to be built into smartphones, but rather into domestic appliances in the home and other commonly used devices.
Whether used for refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners or cars, Alexa is becoming popular with brands such as LG, Whirlpool, Ford, Hyundai etc. It cannot be ruled out that Amazon might also target the smartphone market, but the battle with Apple and Google could be somewhat complicated.
Following our brief summary of the current situation, we will now explore the features of the various systems Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple Home Pod, as we dedicate a few words to each of them.
As far as design is concerned they are all relatively distinctive and fit well into a domestic environment, where music reproduction is concerned, Home Pod offers the best performance. The facility to add other instruments is however better with Echo, which provides greater opportunities for this.
Also from a domotics point of view, Amazon offers a few more advantages compared to the others, because it would seem to be compatible with more systems. Despite that, Apple has offered clarification, explaining that Home Pod is able to communicate with every Home Kit product immediately.
Regarding the intelligence of voice assistants, the Google tool seems to be the best overall, but the other two also provide good levels of user satisfaction. Another separate consideration is the abilities they offer, which have been mastered more effectively by the Amazon tool.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
