The app allows users to ask the app questions orally and receive verbal responses along with what pops up on the screen.
In the update, not only can users ask the app a question to start with, but they can also ask follow-up questions based on the context of what they asked before. A California administrator visiting Los Angeles for business, for example, can ask the app about the current weather, and after the app answers verbally, the administrator can follow up with, “How do I get there?”
The update’s features allow users to say, “OK Google” to activate voice search and begin asking questions. Users can also ask the app to remember things for them by saying, “Remind me to pick up the dry cleaning” or “Buy my daughter that new dress for Christmas.” They can also ask to be reminded when something important makes the news, like a political event or celebrity activity.
Google’s technology could be a game-changer in the voice search market. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak admitted to the BBC that Android’s speech recognition capability was more accurate than Siri’s because of Android’s access to Google’s search engine.
“Sometimes I say, ‘Go to Joe’s Diner’ and [Siri] doesn’t know where Joe’s Diner is. And very often usually I found out that Android does,” Wozniak said.
