Cortana

Cortana vs Siri – Which is the Smartest Virtual Assistant?

Published

3 years ago

December 25, 2019

Digital assistants have been around for decades. However, we are now starting to view them try to push their way into our day-to-day lives. The iPhone’s Siri, Android’s Google Now, and the Windows 10’s Cortana are all highly advanced assistants, complete with the artificial intelligence and remarkably accurate voice recognition. As long as you don’t have a thick accent. Now the Apple is set to introduce Siri to its Mac OS, and we thought that we take a closer look at each of the digital assistants to see which is the best of the lot.

Siri

Which phones use them? iPhones

How do you use it? You press down the home button of your iPhone and wait for Siri to pop up. You can then talk to the Siri, rather than typing into the text box. She’s a good listener. You can choose Siri on both male and female gender too!

You can even access some of Siri’s burgeoning pre-emptive suggestions by scrolling them from the main home screen, it is not as advanced as some of the assistants, but it’s there.

What can it do?

Search the web
Send SMS texts
Open apps
Make calls
Send tweets
Make FaceTime Calls
Suggest apps and contacts
Update Facebook statuses
Look up calendar details
Setup/alter calendar events
Change some phone settings
Set alarms
Look up directions in Apple Maps
Look up movie details
Locate nearby attractions/restaurants and so on
Ask for public transport directions
Readout text messages
Identify and Play music
Show photos according to date and location
Readout unread emails

What can it not do?

Send Facebook messages
Pre-empt most of what you want
Interact with most third-party apps
Pull out info from your email

Is Siri Better One?

Siri is powered by some exciting technology, which tries to understand not just your words but also your sentences. Understanding meaning is a lot complicated than just recognising words. It’s improved a lot with the iOS 9, too. It is no longer the separate module within the iOS or one which exists merely because it’s cool. It’s now tightly integrated into the Apple’s mobile OS and has been rolled up with the Spotlight Search into the dedicated screen to left of the main home screen, This also shows off the Siri newfound smart, as it recommends the contacts and applications, nearby services, and the latest news through the Apple News. It is still no as the wide-ranging as another digital assistant like the Google Now, but it ties in the better with the platform owner’s applications. It is still not as wide-ranging as another digital assistant like the Google Now, but it ties in the better with platform owner’s applications.

Cortana

Which phones use them? Windows 10 phones and Windows 10 desktop

How do you use it? Cortana is taking over as the Search part of Windows 10. It’s not only a speech assistant but also like both a Siri-like voice assistant and an intelligent text analyser so that you can type, not just talk, to Cortana. Just long-press the search button to make the Cortana start listening, or a quick tap to type. There is also a live Tile dedicated to the personal assistant, and you can configure a ‘Hey Cortana’ vocal prompt.

Cortana feels a bit like the amalgamation of the ideas behind Siri and Google Now. For example, you can tool Cortana up with the information about your interests and life, such as your interests, hours when you don’t need to be disturbed, and so on. It even learns more about you based on the Bing search history. Or you can talk to it – your choice.

What can it do?

Send text messages
Make calls
Show local events, restaurants, and the like
Add/change calendar events
Search the web (using Bing)
Offer weather reports
Make notes
Offer travel advice
Tell you how long it’ll take to get to home/work
Check your flight status
Identify music
Set reminders while you next talk to the person

Is Cortana the Better One?

Cortana is the most adaptable personal assistant out there for the simple fact, which is built into Windows 10 desktop OS as well as Windows 10 Mobile. It reduces together some of the best bits of the other two, with the scheduling and email integration of Google Now and the personality of Siri.

However, Cortana is arguably the most hit and miss of the three regarding results. When it works, it feels like the best of the bunch – but it fails more frequently than the Siri or Google Now.

It also has an over-reliance on merely offering up the dumb web search results when Siri and Google Now will often try and contextualise or zoom in on a more accurate answer. Cortana feels like it’s in the beginning stage of development – because it is – so there’s plenty of scope for growth here. It’s already handy in the way it works to get to know your habits and concerns, and being able to have it remind you of things the next time you can talk to the specific contact is cool. Right now, however, it lacks the little polish and consistency.

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