Siri now has a dedicated smart speaker to call home, so it's time to consider how Apple's voice assistant compares to Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant. Let's explore the obvious -- as well as more nuanced -- differences between these voice AIs. By the end of it, we'll have a better sense of each assistant's strengths, as well as where they need the most work.
The HomePod simply doesn't provide that depth of personalization. That said, Google and Amazon haven't completely nailed the feature. During testing, we were able to trick Alexa and Google Assistant by pretending to be our coworkers. On the HomePod, unlike the iPhone, Siri can't differentiate between voices. That means anyone who says "Hey, Siri" will elicit a response from the Apple smart speaker. In contrast, both Amazon and Google smart speakers have voice training capabilities. With voice training, your whole family can use the speakers, but each of you can also get customize responses (and perform custom actions, like making purchases) based on who the speaker is talking to.
The HomePod simply doesn't provide that depth of personalization. That said, Google and Amazon haven't completely nailed the feature. During testing, we were able to trick Alexa and Google Assistant by pretending to be our coworkers.
Making calls.
If I say "Hey Siri, call Tyler Lizenby" (CNET multimedia producer) on my iPhone, she responds, "Calling Tyler Lizenby, mobile." If I give HomePod the exact same command, she'll reply: "I wish I could, but I can't help you make calls on HomePod." Bummer. Yep, Siri (on HomePod) doesn't let you dial in or out. Instead, the HomePod acts as a speakerphone. Either dial or receive a call on your iPhone and use the Audio button on the call screen to transfer the audio to your Apple speaker (see screenshot).
Alexa- and Google-Assistant-enabled speakers work differently. Both can currently dial out with simple voice commands. On Alexa, you can only receive calls from other Echo speakers; cell and landline calls are not supported. Google Assistant can't receive calls.
Unlike calling, you can send messages from HomePod, as well as from Alexa and Google Assistant.
Music services
Amazon and Google support a wide range of third-party music services so your Alexa or Google Assistant speaker can play a Spotify song with a simple voice command.
Siri on the HomePod isn't able to do this. You can only use voice commands to play Apple-approved music services. So, if you want to use Spotify, YouTube or another third-party service, you can, but you have to send the song manually from your phone or another iOS device (or on Windows PCs running iTunes) via Apple's Airplay service.
Here's more info on approved music services for Siri (on HomePod), Alexa (on Echo speakers) and Google Assistant (on Home speakers).
Smart home
I'm conflicted about using "Hey, Siri" on the HomePod to control smart home devices. During the HomePod setup, all of the info about your local Wi-Fi network, contacts, and preferences are automatically sent over to the HomePod. That includes any existing HomeKit products you have set up on your iOS device. It's ridiculously simple.
And every smart-home integration is so closely regulated by Apple that using voice control to open smart shades, adjust a thermostat or turn on lights is easy to achieve with a basic "Hey, Siri" command because Apple supports all of those device types directly. In contrast, both Alexa and Google Assistant give you "invocation" words to interact with device types they don't support out of the box, such as, "Alexa, ask Geneva when the dishwasher will be finished." Alexa doesn't have built-in support for dishwasher commands yet, but it at least lets device partners engineer a workaround. Up to this point, Apple has managed to avoid using those more clunky phrases simply by not offering those partnerships. It ensures a more streamlined user experience, but across a more limited set of devices.
The winner?
While Siri has improved in terms of her ability to process and respond to natural language, she still has some ground to cover to match the depth and breadth of Alexa and Google Assistant. I like the seamlessness of "Hey, Siri" for controlling HomeKit devices versus the invocation words you occasionally have to use to manage/control Alexa- and Google-Assistant-enabled products. But, again, Apple has far fewer third-party smart-home partners than either of its competitors. I'd like to see her become more capable of speaking out loud her findings from around the Web.
When Apple officially drops its MFi (made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) requirement for HomeKit devices, its limited list of compatible products will likely grow. But we won't know for sure until iOS 11.3 launches the spring. In the meantime, I expect Alexa to maintain its smart speaker dominance for the foreseeable future.