Voice assistants

Alexa and Cortana have teamed up to create a more intelligent voice experience

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ August 15, 2018

Voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant haven’t been created equal, with each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Amazon and Microsoft seemed to have recognized this when they announced a unique partnership last year that would combine the resources of Alexa and Cortana, respectively, across the two voice platforms. Nearly a year later, that collaboration is being put on display for the public for the first time, according to CNET.

How Siri recognizes obscurely named points of interest like local restaurants & businesses

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 9, 2018

Apple Thursday published a new entry on its Machine Learning Journal blog which goes highly technical on Siri's ability to recognize obscurely-named points of interest on a map, like your local restaurants, businesses and other places.

How to use “Hey Siri” with multiple nearby devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 2, 2026

Learn how to properly use the hands-free “Hey Siri” or “Siri” feature in a multi-device environment so that only the right Apple device responds to the wake-up phrase.

Siri comes out ahead of Alexa in new digital assistants survey

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ July 25, 2018

Loup Ventures has published the results of a new survey that looks at the intelligence of the smart assistants currently on the market. The study asked Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Microsoft's Cortana the same 800 questions. The results were somewhat surprising.

Using Raise to Speak to invoke Siri listening sessions on Apple Watch without Hey Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 6, 2024

If you own an Apple Watch Series 3 or newer, Siri can talk to you via the built-in speaker. And with the watchOS 5 software or later, you can invoke a Siri listening session on your watch without saying “Hey Siri”. Just raise your wrist and start talking, that's it!

Alexa for iPhone picks up voice controls

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2018

Alexa for iPhone now lets you check the weather, get sports scores, control smart home accessories, ask questions and more—all by using just your voice.

Assistant no longer requires “Hey Google” hot word for follow-up requests

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2018

As first demonstrated at the Google I/O 2018 developer conference held back in May, the search giant today rolled out a tremendously useful new feature that makes it easier to chat up Assistant without requiring the “Hey Google” hot word for follow-up requests.

Watch HomePod execute Siri Shortcut automation scripts on other devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 20, 2018

Shortcuts, Apple's new vision for Siri and automation on the iOS platform, is a new feature in iOS 12 that many power users and fans of the Workflow automation app will appreciate a lot.

HomePod can now read the news in Canada

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2018

Ahead of HomePod's scheduled launch in Canada three days from now, Apple's Siri-driven wireless speaker can already reads the news in the 37 million people country.

Sonos unveils Beam smart sound bar, confirms AirPlay 2 and Siri coming to its speakers in July

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2018

Sonos today unveiled a brand-new smart sound bar for your TV with dual-assistant support and beam-forming mics whilst confirming that Siri voice control and AirPlay 2, the latest and greatest version of Apple's local media-streaming technology, are both coming to the One, second-generation Play:5, Playbase and future speakers via a free software update in July.

Untethered Hey Siri on iOS 12 works even when your iPhone is in Low Power Mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 1, 2023

iOS 12 adds support for Hey Siri even when your iPhone's battery is running low.

List of AirPlay 2 Siri voice commands for controlling multiple speakers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 29, 2024

AirPlay 2 brings the ability to control audio across multiple speakers from your HomePod, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. You can use voice commands to do things like play music in a particular room, play different songs on different speakers, enjoy a playlist on all or just specific speakers, continue playing a track on another speaker and more. Here's our list of the best AirPlay 2 Siri voice commands that are specific to multi-room audio support.