Siri And Google Assistant Are The Most Popular Digital Assistants

According to a new Microsoft Market Intelligence study, Apple’s Siri and the Google Assistant tied for first place with 36% as the most popular digital assistants.

Alexa comes in third with 25% of respondents reporting usage, closely followed by Microsoft’s Cortana with 19%. Microsoft notes that the popularity of Siri and Google is likely due to the sheer volume of mobile phones.

Both Siri and Google are more aligned with mobile phones while Alexa is more closely aligned with smart speakers. Microsoft’s March – June 2018 survey was conducted online with over 2,000 global responses representing the U.S., UK, CA, AU and IN. Here are some of the highlights:

• 69% of respondents have used a digital assistant.
  
• 75% of households will have at least one smart speaker by 2020.
  
• 41% of users reported concerns around trust, privacy and passive listening .
  
• Consumers won’t divulge personally identifiable information without a substantial reward .
  
• Over half of consumers expect their digital assistants to help make retail purchases within the next 5 years.
  

Cortana Is Now On iOS And Android

Microsoft has launched their digital assistant Cortana on both iOS and Android. Cortana users will be able to set reminders, track things like packages and flights, provide notifications for missed calls and much more. If you've used Siri or Google Now in the past, Cortana shouldn't be all that different. Of course, Cortana will have a few advantages on Windows Phone that wont be on iOS and Android. For example, the ability to toggle settings or open apps won't be possible on anyother phone. iOS and Android users must be running iOS8 or higher, or Android 4.1.2 in order to use use Cortana. What do you think of Cortana ?

Could Siri Have Some Competition On iOS ?

Could Siri have some competition on iOS ? Microsoft has been hard at work developing an iOS and Android version of its Siri-like personal assistant, Cortana, which could hit the iPhone and iPad sometime in the fall 2015. Cortana was named after an artificial intelligence character in Microsoft produced video game series Halo. Cortana can reads and understands your email, messages, contacts, calendars and other types of information, permitting it to tell a user when to leave for the airport. After it realizes you were planning a flight, Cortana would automatically check flight status, determine where the phone is located using GPS and check traffic conditions. Siri, as you know, responds to simpler user requests for the time being, although Apple is constantly advancing the capabilities of its digital personal assistant and could very likely announce new features at its annual summer pilgrimage for developers.

Microsoft Possibly Revealing Windows 9 In Late September

According to various sources Microsoft is planning a press event on September 30th that will detail upcoming changes to Windows as part of a release currently codenamed "Threshold." Microsoft also plans to release a preview version for developers on the same date or sometime afterwards.The preview will give developers a first look at a new mini Start Menu, as well as several UI changes and the removal of the Charms Bar. Microsoft is reportedly compiling builds of Threshold that include the digital assistant Cortana which is similar to Apple's Siri but it's unknown whether Cortana will be made available as part of the tech preview.