The Future of Voice

Anyone who has used Siri has an opinion of the service. My own is that it's immensely helpful in most situations, while being incredibly frustrating in others. Like most, I wish it was faster. Google's recently updated search app for iOS sets the bar for speed very high. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend you do.

Kontra has taken the introduction of this updated app to share his thoughts on the possible future of Siri. I hope Apple is devoting resources to develop Siri along these lines. It seems it would be one of the best possible uses of the substantial bank role they're sitting on.

Hat tip once again to Daring Fireball

Apple and Search

All Things D reports that Apple has hired a former Amazon exec​ and search expert. Traditional web search is already declining on mobile devices, and that trend will only accelerate as apps continue to proliferate and services like Siri take hold. Apple is making a serious push to establish a foothold in this business. It will be interesting to see where this hire leads.

Meet Samsung's Completely Original Voice Control: Suri

Just because two things look alike doesn't mean the second thing is a copy of the first. Sometimes, there might be essentially only one way for something to work. That said, it might be in your best interest to envision at least a slightly different way of doing something. If for no other reason to prevent posts like this.

Jim Dalrymple posts a link to Samsung’s implementation of their voice control feature. Samsung has been widely criticized, and justifiably so, for copying Apple. The trend continues here. The least they could do would be to slightly change the voice, the way the UI pops into the screen or the shape of the elements, but no.

Apple first gave voice control a personality and interface with the introduction of Siri. It's been widely popular and is pretty well known. If Samsung wants to immunize itself from continued legal action and ridicule, they need to step up their game.