Google is expanding its wings into almost everything possible and the new addition to its bandwagon of products is the HomePod powered by the voice activated assistant Siri on a digital platform. Google has made a great product which is one of the best speakers already. But much is being discussed about the limitations of the product due to Siri. We would all need some changes in the products that we use. But since HomePod is not yet used to its core, we can leave that aside for now and concentrate on the bigger discussion which is the limitations of Siri.
The Annoyance
When you speak to people about any faults or limitations it should be through the regular or dedicated users. It surprises us to see the long list of feedbacks that Siri has. You would need to look at a lot of changes that need to be done from a development perspective. Something similar happened with iPhone 6s screen replacement. It was a task to get this done from the service center. Apple then came up with a solution and the users were relieved about it.
The most annoying part about Siri is its cutesy jokes that it cracks when responding to your request. This might be a proud moment for Apple as it can help you get a little personal. But this may not be a good option for all. The intent should be to get down to business and not speak much about a topic which is not required. Also, many people do not like an assistant with an attitude. That is the least expected from an assistant. They would rather turn off the Digital assistant than hear something which is not needed. This can be bad news for Google.
Comparison with Similar Products
When you compare the voice assistant with Alexa there is a lot that needs to be changed. Especially if you are using the recipe from it. It has the perfect timer option that would tell you to do exactly what is needed. So, when you are moving pots or chopping vegetables or something else, it would tell you to take the food out of the stove as per the timer set. While Alexa also has a limitation to accept two commands together but it is great n this aspect. Siri is way away from what Alexa does and should have a learning curve for such features.
Voice Activation
Siri has a voice actvation phrase called as “Hey Siri” which can be difficult at times to remember. Just like Alexa has an option to be activated with Computer or Amazon or Echo apart from Alexa. This is also possible without an internet connection which is not the case with Siri. Why would you need an internet connection to let your digital assistant work for you? Same was the case with iPhone when it used to handle music feature with a voice recognition. It had no use if there was no internet connection. All these are very basic limitations that should not cause a problem to all.
Identify User
It has another issue with identifying its owner. The least expected is that you know whom to give the information. Anyone can come in and use Siri to take whatever data needed and that is intrusion. It should be a huge problem and using Siri can be risky in such a way. Siri has been bad in its competition and this is not good for the company too. Though the team is working on making it the best digital voice assistant but there is a long way for Siri to go.
