Google Assistant Enhancement Could Rival Siri iOS 11 Upgrades
With the iOS 11 release on the horizon, Apple has focused mainly on the improvements coming to its built-in virtual assistant, Siri. However, its rival Google Assistant isn't standing idly and plans to keep its dominant position by demoing a few features that will be coming to it in the near future.
Apple is hoping that the improvements it will implement on Siri will remedy the negative perceptions users have of the virtual assistant. She is now more naturally spoken and allows users to get real-time translation between select languages. Additionally, Siri is said to possess a greater understanding of the user's needs dependent on circumstance and time of day.
Nevertheless, Google Assistant, which is integrated into Google's iOS Search app, isn't planning to move aside to give Siri a chance to shine. One of the major features coming to the assistant is a new translator mode which repeats everything the user says to the specified language, both visually and vocally. This feature is expected to be a great tool for travelers allowing them to conveniently communicate with locals even without learning the native language.
Another big addition is better contextual understanding of questions. This allows the virtual artificial intelligence (AI) to better answer user's queries and was showcased during the demo when it was shown how the assistant can help them remember the name of a movie that's on the tip of their tongue.
The upcoming update will also give the AI a faster response time and better understanding of the user's voice. It also now has a deeper integration with Google search allowing it to provide a more detailed answer to user's queries.
For now, these updates appear to be aimed at the Google Assistant currently powering Google's Pixel smartphones. It is unclear whether these features will come to Google's iOS Search app as Apple had already set limitations on the virtual AI to prevent it from supplanting Siri.
