So, as my fellow editor, Anna, pointed out yesterday, Apple is not the company that’s known to be first across the board. They revolutionized the smartphone market years ago, and ever since they’ve handled their businesses in exactly the way they’ve meant to. Yes, Google has managed to race ahead with a ridiculous number of updates for their Android platform in the mean time, but that’s not a bad thing. As Android improves, so do the other platforms. The same goes for when iOS and Windows Phone do something right, it should be mimicked and improved in other areas.
When one platform does something well, whether it’s hardware or software, we should all want that specific feature to help improve every other phone, too. Some things will be exclusives, sure, but the general features that really stand out shouldn’t be.
Apple takes its time. They aren’t the only ones, of course. So does Microsoft. And, when it comes to the latter company, the wait was certainly worth it when it comes to a certain digital personal assistant. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to use Cortana yet, a feature specific to Windows Phones (and eventually other Windows-based devices), but this is one thing that I can say Microsoft just got right. It took them some time to create it, but the decisions they made with it, its implementation and the information it has access to are all fantastic. It’s a digital personal assistant, but also a Google Now competitor.
Meanwhile, Apple’s Siri is still just Siri.
Yes, the digital personal assistant has been able to learn a few new tricks over the years, but for the most part Siri is still exactly the same. She exists on your iOS device, but as a passive observer until you need her. Which is fine, for the most part. But, it’s also something that I can admit isn’t quite good enough anymore. Not when I know how well Google Now and Cortana work.
Siri needs an upgrade, and Siri needs to take some cues from the competition. It’s been long enough now, Siri deserves to be a bit more prominent on iOS devices (or even Macs). Here’s one thing I want: “Hey, Siri,” without having to have the iPhone plugged into a power source. Just that, right there, would be pretty great.
Do you still use Siri, and if so, how regularly? If you are using Android or Windows Phone, are you using Now or Cortana? Let me know!
