I know we talk a lot about hardware on AC, but...

[anon(10092459)]

.. I gotta believe the future is going to software/services and AI. Personal assistants, IMO, are really where differences will be made in the coming years.

I use Google Assistant daily and it keeps getting better and better it seems. It's really top of it's competition, though Cortana seems to be really good too. Siri, just looks pitiful when compared to those competitors.

https://www.stonetemple.com/digital-personal-assistants-test

My question is, even though this is AC, is anyone using Cortana on Android? Better yet, do many Android users here engage any assistant at all?

 

[kbz1960]

I haven't used the assistants as I still feel funny talking to my phone especially when other people are around. I can see the usefulness they can provide.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I haven't used the assistants as I still feel funny talking to my phone especially when other people are around. I can see the usefulness they can provide.

Indeed. Also, I should've clarified that I carry a Pixel. They've made improvements to GA and you can now type your inquiries instead of having to speak out loud. It's gotten a lot more convenient since there are times, like in a waiting room or lobby, when discretion can be important.

 

[VN750]

I don't use any assistants on my phone (they're actually disabled) or have any interest in a stand alone one (ex. Google Home, Alexa). I'm just not a fan of talking to a device to get it to do something. Also not comfortable with the data collection they often need to do in order to learn and do their thing. It's also just creepy to me that it's sitting there always listening for a keyword. The whole machine learning thing is creepy to me anyway. Makes me think of HAL 9000, "I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." or something worse like Skynet. LOL

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I don't use GA often.

I sometimes use it to set reminders, check the weather and stuff like that, but I never actually engage in some sort of conversation with it.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I don't use any assistants on my phone (they're actually disabled) or have any interest in a stand alone one (ex. Google Home, Alexa). I'm just not a fan of talking to a device to get it to do something. Also not comfortable with the data collection they often need to do in order to learn and do their thing. It's also just creepy to me that it's sitting there always listening for a keyword. The whole machine learning thing is creepy to me anyway. Makes me think of HAL 9000, "I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." or something worse like Skynet. LOL

LOL!! I get that... and you're right you do have to let it into your life for it to be most effective. I understand why many people aren't comfortable with that, yet. I've always taken the "other side of the coin", so to speak. Trying to stay anonymous with technology is a losing battle, so better the devil I know, than the devil I don't.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I don't use GA often.

I sometimes use it to set reminders, check the weather and stuff like that, but I never actually engage in some sort of conversation with it.

I started out that way as well... Then I started to push for more information to see if it could help me be more efficient. "where's the closest Post Office to me?" Where's the closest (my bank) ATM from my location?" " What year did Julius Caesar die?"

Granted, there are other ways to get that information, but I wanted to see if GA could extract that information for me as a single point of contact.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I guess, I'm more wondering what the next ten years in mobile and technology are going to look like. I can't see it being about hardware as much. Phones and market share feel like their at a mature stage. The differences on that side of the equation are becoming razor thin.

So if it's not going to be devices that make the big differences any more, then the impact has from come from somewhere else. Differentiation has to look differently to the consumer besides screen ratios and camera color hues. How will a technology company set itself apart going forward, ya know?

 

[Matty]

I haven't used the assistants as I still feel funny talking to my phone especially when other people are around. I can see the usefulness they can provide.

I'm also this way inclined I prefer to just use Google search and type in my questions. As soon as I say 'OK Google' to my phone, my family or anyone around me always look at me and I know they thinking 'what silly question are you going to ask this time' LOL

It's definitely really awesome and perfect for when my hands are frozen and I need to send a message or set an alarm for something so I hope we continue to see assistants improve.

 

[smvim]

LOL!! I get that... and you're right you do have to let it into your life for it to be most effective. I understand why many people aren't comfortable with that, yet. I've always taken the "other side of the coin", so to speak. Trying to stay anonymous with technology is a losing battle, so better the devil I know, than the devil I don't.

Personally I'm not a fan of vocal interactions with online services, I'm just now getting comfortable with touch interfaces really. My preference is still a keyboard and mouse. It's not about staying anonymous, it's about my preferred interface with online services.

 

[Kayza]

Personally I'm not a fan of vocal interactions with online services, I'm just now getting comfortable with touch interfaces really. My preference is still a keyboard and mouse. It's not about staying anonymous, it's about my preferred interface with online services.

What's nice is that you can interact either way, now. So, when I'm in the kitchen or have my hands full but realize I need to buy something, it's a voice reminder to put whatever on my shopping list. Then, when I get to the store, I pull it up by touch. I was so glad when they added the keyboard interface. It's a little thing, but it does make a huge difference.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

I don't care for the voice commands, I don't use them often. I tell Google to call someone while driving so I don't need to look at my screen and that's about it.

 

[Paul Shipman]

I use GA and it's very responsive comparing with Siri, Google giving a tough fight to Siri but talking about daily use GA is very much popular now a days and i'm huge fan of GA.

 

[Morty2264]

I sometimes use Assistant, especially if I want to send a text quickly. But I don't use it as much as I probably should.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I sometimes use Assistant, especially if I want to send a text quickly. But I don't use it as much as I probably should.

Why do you think that you don't use it more..? Just don't like voice commands or something else?

 

[Inders99]

Not interested yet. Somehow, I don't want to relinquish my life to a box or machine. I good for using technology in many areas but I sort of draw a line...for now anyway.

Also I'm usually a late adopter, I'll jump in when all the kinks are worked out, I'm too busy to be a beta test for another company.

 

[Morty2264]

Why do you think that you don't use it more..? Just don't like voice commands or something else?

I found that, at least on my Honor 8, voice commands would interfere with my Facebook Messenger voice messaging system. My brother is out of the country for work and so I need Facebook Messenger to be able to send voice messages and potentially make phone calls... So I disabled voice commands for the most part. Kind of unfortunate because I was starting to enjoy the experience, but Brother trumps pretty much anything and everything.

 

[stmax]

I use GA all the time. Maybe this group can help me with a problem I posted in the S7 forum with no replies. About a couple weeks ago GA is repeating it's last verbal response every time I wake up my phone now. Eg. If I set a reminder it now says "Reminder Saved" until I open GA again and force close it... Driving me nuts... Is this a one off or something broken after an update?

 

[Golfdriver97]

I think the rest of the tech industry agrees. This is the reason why Amazon, Google, and Apple is rumored to have some kind of assistant technology.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I don't even like talking on a phone, much less talking to a phone. I'll use Gboard for Google Now, but never any voice commands.