Siri is arguably the most well-known virtual assistant to date, but the competition is beginning to heat up when Google Assistant has made its way out to the public and shown impressive intelligence — more often than not, at the very least.
That said, it seems that Apple has no plans of letting the new contender have its way, presumably taking steps in a bid to make sure it beats Google's vibrant AI.
Apple Hires Carnegie Mellon AI Expert
Earlier this month, Apple tapped Ruslan Salakhutdinov, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, to head the AI research team of the company.
Excited about joining Apple as a director of AI research in addition to my work at CMU. Apply to work with my teamhttps://t.co/U2hQl2GdhA
— Russ Salakhutdinov (@rsalakhu) October 17, 2016
While it's unclear what exactly he's going to do there, his recent research (PDF) possibly hints that he might focus on improving Siri's capability of understanding the context of the questions people ask it.
Apple Acquires Tuplejump
Back in September, reports of Apple having purchased the machine-learning company Tuplejump made rounds online.
The move is widely believed to have been taken to significantly improve Siri. What's more, the India-based startup's technology that processes huge portions of data efficiently seems perfect for the virtual assistant.
However, it should be pointed out that the Cupertino company didn't really confirm the acquisition.
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
But whenever Apple says that, it usually means it has already purchased the company it's being asked about.
Notable Mention: Apple Bought Vocal IQ
Last year, Apple acquired UK company Vocal IQ, and at the time, it was the Cupertino brand's push to make Siri interact with users naturally. More than that, it gave the virtual assistant the ability to learn from experience and conversation after conversation.
Interestingly enough, the company also issued its we-bought-the-company-but-we're-not-confirming-it response when asked about this deal back then too.
Google Assistant, Siri And How They Started
Before wrapping things up, here's a short a look at the two virtual assistants in question:
Google Assistant has begun to become widespread ever since the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones and messaging app Allo rolled out, not to mention that it can be installed on other Android handsets too.
Meanwhile, Siri launched way back in 2011, landing on iOS, watchOS, tvOS and macOS devices out there. That means it has enjoyed a five-year head start on the new virtual assistant in town.
Siri vs. Google Assistant: So Which One Is The Better Virtual Assistant?
Putting Siri against Google Assistant involves a lot of factors, from intelligence to personality, but the gist of which one is better ultimately boils down to the user's preference.
Long story short, Google Assistant is the perfect fit for anyone who wants a lively and vibrant companion that can shoot off a zinger occasionally and also get important tasks done, while Siri is for those who want straight answers and perhaps not-so-funny jokes.
The Bottom Line
Based on the steps and acquisitions Apple has taken so far, it's safe to assume that the company is up and about in making Siri the best virtual assistant among the current brood, and that includes taking on the likes of Amazon's Alexa — aside from Google Assistant, of course.
