It has been several years since Siri was first introduced on an iPhone. Since then, not only has Siri improved (I know, it's hard to believe), and expanded to other Apple-branded products, but the competition has also spiked quite a bit. Digital personal assistants are quite "the thing" these days, with companies like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and even HTC, getting in on the fun.

I wouldn't be surprised if LG eventually tried its hand.

They all have their benefits and negatives. None of them are perfect and there's a lot of room to grow, to improve, and to get even more functionally helpful. Even Apple, who is deadlocked with Siri improvements and user security, has found ways to make Siri more helpful in other ways. As for Google and Microsoft, which aren't necessarily hindered by the same issues Apple has taken up arms over, Google Assistant and Cortana have quite a bit of headroom to improve.

And then, of course, there's Samsung, which just this year introduced Bixby. It's a new digital personal assistant that has obvious aspirations well beyond the smartphone. We are all going to see Bixby on a lot of products, because Samsung has dumped a lot of money into this feature, and they can include it in things like refrigerators and maybe even washing machines one day. Bixby is going to be everywhere, which is what Samsung wants.

Google and Microsoft would like it if you used their digital personal assistants everywhere, too. While Bixby hasn't found its way to iOS devices (yet), Google Assistant and Cortana certainly have. Both have been in the iOS App Store for a bit, Cortana being present longer. But both offer plenty of functionality, despite the fact it's obvious both are better experiences on Android devices.

There was a rumor not too long ago that Apple might actually let iPhone 8 owners choose to replace Siri as the default digital personal assistant on their phone, and will be able to choose Google Assistant as the standard feature. First, I just want to say that this is probably an absurd rumor, but I'd also admit it would be a pretty cool thing to happen. I don't expect it to, and outright doubt it will, but, hey, here's hoping.

The fact that Siri is built into iOS gives it an immediate advantage over the other digital personal assistants that are available for Apple's mobile operating system. You can simply ask Siri a question without ever touching your phone (as long as your phone supports this), but getting to Google Assistant and Cortana (and others) requires actually getting into the app. You could ask Siri to open the Google app, and then continue to use your voice to activate Google Assistant, yes, but that's still more steps than it takes to activate Siri.

And yet, I can't help but wonder if there are iOS users out there that do just this. If there are, I'd love to hear the reasoning behind it. Are you an iPhone owner that has opted to use Google Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, or another digital personal assistant instead of Siri? And if so, why? Let me know!