Samsung S-Voice vs iOS 6 Siri, your assistant choice
At Apple’s WWDC 2012 keynote yesterday we finally heard many more details about the upcoming iOS 6 release in the fall, including improvements to the Siri voice feature. We have already told how the Galaxy S3 (S III) has its own version of Siri, known as S-Voice and so now we want to take a look at Samsung S-Voice vs. iOS 6 Siri in a bid to see which assistant choice is the best.
When Siri came to the iPhone 4S last year it was initially hugely popular but it’s fair to say that many of us found it lacking, especially if not in the US. We had been hoping then for major improvements to Siri with iOS 6 and the Siri update certainly seems to mean business and will be available for the iPhone 5. The Galaxy S3 is already available in many regions, although not in the US yet, so many people are also having the chance to get used to its S-Voice feature, so how do they compare?
The Siri improvements in iOS 6 include the ability to launch apps, perform Twitter and Facebook updates with voice activation and also other delights such as being able to ask for sports results and movie times. Earlier today we wrote about the new Apple Maps app and how Siri can now also be used with this. For instance you can ask where the nearest gas station is or the closest shopping mall and you’ll now receive turn-by-turn navigation instructions for how to get there. Siri can also answer how much longer is left of your trip if you ask “are we there yet?”
Other enhancements of Siri in iOS 6 as detailed by Cnet include API’s for developers enabling them to communicate with Siri in the iOS 6 beta and another aspect is that Apple will be working with car manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mercedes and Toyota in a bid to bring Siri direct to the steering wheels of autos, starting within the next year.
Samsung’s S-Voice on the other hand has some unique features such as the voice assistant being able to wake the GS3 simply with your voice and also unlocking the device with voice recognition and also face detection. S-Voice already has the ability to launch apps and has turn-by-turn navigation so is ahead of Siri until iOS 6 in that respect. Other highlights of S-Voice include the ability to voice dial, compose a memo, schedule tasks, search contacts, take photos, answer calls, search the Web, and tweet, all with the voice, as well as sending emails and texts, adjusting the volume and more. Thus S-Voice is definitely not to be sniffed at.
So which is best? Cnet compares the two services closely and gives Apple the advantage in the long-term. The site tested the two with 15 commands and found that S-Voice won out with only one of them. Three other advantages were also outlined. Firstly it was pointed out that Apple’s Siri is further down the road of development. Secondly Apple’s entire iOS was seen as a big plus with many devices now being able to use Siri whereas for now the only device using S-Voice is the Galaxy S3, although it will of course be coming to other devices.
Thirdly, another advantage for Apple’s Siri it that it “just seems to work better,” appearing to be quicker and more accurate. Ultimately then S-Voice has some great ideas so far missing on Siri, but with iOS 6 arriving in the fall the longer-term best option is seen as Siri. We’re interested to hear what you think about this though. Have you tried both Siri and S-Voice and if so which do you find better at the moment? Which do you think is the better long-term bet? Let us know with your comments.
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5 thoughts on “Samsung S-Voice vs iOS 6 Siri, your assistant choice”
Only technically, SVoice is exclusive to the SGS3. With the android community so active in getting “exclusive” things on other devices, many have been using SVoice since it was pulled from an SGS3 over a month ago. I have it on my Galaxy Note and my One X. I really don’t find much use for it except to make fun of my friends/enemies that own iPhones, showing them all the stuff Siri can’t do. It’s a novelty just as Siri was/is. How often do you really see people using Siri out in public? Maybe once every couple of months I see some idiot asking his phone what the weather is. He pulled his phone out, unlocked it, held the home button down, asked siri for the weather, waited a couple seconds, and then recieved a response. I can just look at my lock screen to see that without having to take more than 2 seconds out of my day. Voice assistants are a joke until they are actual AI and can be listening and learning all the time
 “Earlier today we wrote about the new Apple Maps app and how Siri can now also be used with this. For instance you can ask where the nearest gas station is or the closest shopping mall and you’ll now receive turn-by-turn navigation instructions for how to get there.”
Boy. That sounds like something my Motorola Driod (1st Generation) could do using my Google Search Mic. “Direction to the nearest gas station” then my navigation would turn on and take me there.Â
With Apple suing Samsung over S-Voice. I wonder if Google now has a US Patent lawsuit with Apple which would delay or even cancel the launch of the iPhone5. Â
“…with many devices now being able to use Siri…” Only iPhone 4S and New iPad – not THAT many!Â
I know this comment was 3 months ago, but if you haven’t heard about the update, 4 devices will support Siri.
– iPhone 4S
– iPhone 5
– iPod touch 5th gen.
– iPad third gen.
I have tried to use the S Voice for several days now. We have experimented with several different people (just in case my southern draw was too hard for it to understand). This has been the most frustrating program of all time. It will not even recognize the simplest of all commands. For example, when trying to navigate to 700 Main Street she instead takes me to 193 and Palm or some other address that did not sound remotely close to the command. If she does not understand my command, she will ask me to try again…then she goes to sleep!!!! I have reprogrammed the wake up command two different times, using ‘hello’ as the command. It can’t even understand that.
I haven’t found enough people using Siri to give me a true comparison review.
To say the least, Samsung needs to work on an update. I recommend that S Voice should require a command for it to stop responding, such as saying ‘goodbye’ or ‘have a good day’ before it goes to sleep. I don’t need to be pushing buttons to get her to wake up while I am driving. Samsung tech support told me that S Voice does not ‘learn as I go,’ so in other words, she either understands you in the beginning or will not.