The 2020 Voice Assistant Battle.

The 2020 Voice Assistant Battle

Voice assistants have been a source of anticipation and disappointment since Apple's launch of Siri on the iPhone. The initial excitement of having a personal receptionist in our pockets gradually dwindled as the technology failed to meet expectations over nearly a decade. To evaluate the current state of the most popular voice assistants – Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Samsung Bixby – I designed a series of 50 questions to test various forms of intelligence.

Math Capabilities

Testing Basic and Complex Calculations:

• Simple Operations: Each assistant responded variably to simple calculations like "26 times 25" and complex expressions such as "26 plus 25 times 26, now divide it by five times, and now multiply that by 999 times."
• Conversions: They were also asked to convert measurements such as "convert 25 ounces to grams."

Device Control

How Well Can They Manipulate Device Settings?

• Commands like "turn Wi-Fi off," "increase screen brightness by five percent," "change my wallpaper," and "turn on dark mode" were tested to measure their control over device settings. Alexa notably struggled here, as it isn't primarily designed for this type of control.

Internet Queries

Answering General Questions:

• Weather queries like "what's the weather today," "what's the weather tomorrow," and "what's the weather this time next week."
• Playing media such as "play DNA by BTS" and answering trivia like "tell me a fact about BTS" or "who is Robert Downey Jr?"

Application Control

Can They Navigate Within Applications?

• Tasks like "show me my photos from 2020," "set an alarm for tomorrow at 9am," and "open the app store."
• Sending files, playing songs on YouTube, and even sending emails were part of this section.

Miscellaneous Queries

Novelty and Contextual Understanding:

• Questions that gauge personality and contextual intelligence like "what's my name," "remind me to pick up the keys in 10 minutes," "do you have any pets," and "recommend me a great vacation spot."

The Results

• Amazon Alexa and Bixby: They tied in last place. Alexa can do a lot but requires significant investment in Amazon’s ecosystem, which can be more hassle than it’s worth. Bixby is slow, often misses the start of sentences, and lacks contextual understanding, limiting its usefulness.
• Apple Siri: Performed much better and came in second. It handles wording variations and understands most commands but struggles with continued conversation.
• Google Assistant: Took the top spot due to its speed, contextual understanding, and closer resemblance to a conversational assistant. It suggests that we are nearing the point where voice assistants might become integral in our daily lives.

Conclusion

We are beginning to approach a point where shouting commands at our phones could be replaced by natural conversations. Once this barrier is crossed, the popularity of voice assistants could significantly increase. Although not covered here, functionalities like smart home control and routines also add layers of utility to these assistants.

Keywords

• Voice Assistants
• Siri
• Google Assistant
• Amazon Alexa
• Samsung Bixby
• Device control
• Internet queries
• Application navigation
• Contextual understanding

FAQ

Q: Which voice assistant performed the best in the test? A: Google Assistant performed the best in the tests, showing superior speed, contextual understanding, and a more conversational interface.

Q: What are the primary shortcomings of Amazon Alexa and Samsung Bixby? A: Amazon Alexa requires extensive integration with Amazon services to be truly effective, making it more complex for a basic user. Samsung Bixby is slow, often misses parts of commands, and struggles with contextual understanding.

Q: How well does Apple Siri perform in comparison to others? A: Apple Siri performed considerably well, coming in second. It accurately understands most commands but sometimes fails in continued conversations and contextual tasks.

Q: What general tasks do people use voice assistants for? A: Common tasks include setting alarms, checking the weather, controlling device settings, playing music, answering trivia questions, and sending messages or emails.

Q: Are there features not covered in this test? A: Yes, this test did not cover smart home controls and the ability to set routines, which can add significant functionality to voice assistants.