Voice-controlled smartphone searches are slowly becoming all the rage, thanks to tools like Apple's Siri and Google's "enhanced" voice search. While Google's technology has been available to Android users for some time, the company recently updated its native search application for iOS with its latest developments in contextual voice queries. For iOS users, this means there's now actual competition for what you use when you want to make quick lookups without your thumbs. So which one is better: Google or Siri?
Arstechnica asks both "applications" the kind of questions and the whole test you can see here.
In the end of this test, Google's app may be more efficient because it will require fewer taps to get to the answer if it can't give it to you directly. Ultimately, these results could differ depending on the kinds of queries you tend to make from your smartphone.
Gizmodo decided pit Apple’s (AAPL) Siri against Google’s (GOOG) new iOS Voice Search application in a speed test, and the results were not pretty for Siri. Google’s application “came up with a quicker response almost every time, was more accurate, and frankly sounded much less grating than Siri.” In the speed test, it’s clear to see that Google Voice Search almost instantly comes up with responses to questions while Siri takes at least a couple of seconds to “think” before coming up with its reply. You can see speed test here.
The blogosphere has turned this feature improvement into a "Siri killer". The improved voice system in Google Search is great. Siri is a personal digital assistant that integrates with applications. So, we cannot compare Siri and Google Voice Search application on iOS. Unlike Google's application, Siri is able to perform a number of other actions on your iOS device—setting timers, making calendar appointments, creating reminders, sending texts or tweets, making calls, and so on. These are things Google's app can't do, undoubtedly because Apple restricts third-party applications from being able to perform many of those functions.
The real comparison can be done by running, in example, Google Voice Search on the Galaxy Nexus (Android 4.1 Jellybean) and Siri on the iPhone 4S (iOS5). Marques Brownlee published that kind of test here.
Google has some awesome features and their speech recognition is impressive, but Apple feels more natural. It's easy to look at Siri and Google Voice Search the way we look at Google versus Apple Maps. Apple Maps is pretty as are Siri's graphical repsonses, but Apple Maps can't touch Google Maps for depth of information. That's where Google Voice is. It produces more relevant information.
Both Siri and Google have a few "Easter egg" responses. Try telling the Google application "I'm bored," for example. And if you ask "what's the best smartphone?" it will tell you "No one smartphone is right for everyone" and show you the relevant Google search results for "best smartphones." Siri typically suggests the iPhone is the best. A joke, perhaps, but also perhaps not funny to someone who genuinely wanted to know where to go for reviews.
Google Voice Search is very good with actual facts (asking of birthdays, weather, distances, sizes) and display the source of information.
For now, the voice search capabilities are an excellent addition to the Android platform. Google is putting its search expertise to good use, furnishing Google Voice Search with an ever-expanding pool of information. As an information assistant, it’s a compelling Siri competitor.
Clearly Google's voice search is ridiculously fast. Some like Siri's beauty & others like Google's simplicity. Which side are you on?