App shootout: Siri or Cortana - which is best?

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  • 1-eileen-brown-zdnet-siri-cortana.png

    We asked both Siri and Cortana the same questions to see which personal assistant could best answer our queries. See which app was the most accurate across a range of activities.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / ZDNet

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Where is the best place to eat on 33rd street New York?

    Where is the best place to eat on 33rd street New York?

    Cortana accurately showed me a list of restaurants on 33rd St NY and surrounding areas. It showed the distance to the restaurant, the Yelp review rating and the approximate cost.

    Siri couldn't work out where I was despite location being enabled in settings.

    Which performed better?

     In this case: Cortana

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Wake me up at 7.10am tomorrow

    Wake me up at 7.10am tomorrow

    Cortana set the alarm and confirmed that it had completed the task.

    Siri set the alarm and confirmed that it had done so.

    Which performed better?

    Both Siri and Cortana succeeded in their tasks.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • How much are Apple shares worth?

    How much are Apple shares worth?

    Cortana showed the stock price for the day, a graph with the day’s historical trend and a suggestion about other tech stocks to follow. It also showed the percentage and monetary change in value.

    Siri displayed two stocks, one for Ares and one for Apple. It showed the stock price, percentage and monetary change in value.

    Which performed better?

    Both Siri and Cortana succeeded in their tasks, however Cortana showed more detail in its response.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • What is the status of BA 49?

    What is the status of BA 49?

    Cortana showed the departure and arrival airport for the flight. It showed the scheduled arrival time for the flight, and showed the flight delay for the flight. It detailed the arrival terminal at the airport. It also gave a link to flight updates and showed a list of search results for the query.

    Siri showed a list of search results for the flight number.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana - for a much more intuitive response.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Find me the cheapest place to eat in London EC1

    Find me the cheapest place to eat in London EC1

    Cortana struggled with the district, showing me a list of 10 restaurants in London that were inexpensive. However, it did come up with suggestions on what to ask it next such as “how which of these are open” or “how many have three stars”

    Siri could not show any information even though location services were enabled.

    Which performed better?

    Both apps did not complete this task.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • How many dollars in one British pound?

    How many dollars in one British pound?

    Cortana displayed the currency exchange from pounds to dollars and also how many dollars in one British pound. It showed a graph of the change in value over the last month. It also showed web results from bing search.

    Siri responded with the conversion rate from pounds to dollars.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana - which showed much greater detail in its response

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Change my appointment tomorrow from 10am to 11am

    Change my appointment tomorrow from 10am to 11am

    Cortana displayed the correct appointment asking for confirmation to change the time. Once confirmed, the appointment detail was changed.

    Siri responded with two appointments asking which appointment was to be changed. On selecting the correct appointment the time was changed.

    Which performed better?

    Both Siri and Cortana performed equally well on this task

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Get me directions to the nearest Starbucks

    Get me directions to the nearest Starbucks

    Cortana initiated directions to Starbucks It initialised the mapping software and driving directions.

    Even though location services were enabled Siri did not know the location of the device and could not give directions.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Remind me to do my expenses at 3pm tomorrow

    Remind me to do my expenses at 3pm tomorrow

    Cortana created the reminder and asked for confirmation that the details were correct. It then created the reminder.

    Siri created the reminder, asked for confirmation and then confirmed that it had created the reminder.

    Which performed better?

    Both Siri and Cortana completed this task.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • What is the temperature in Hong Kong on Tuesday?

    What is the temperature in Hong Kong on Tuesday?

    Cortana showed the temperature high and low for the correct location on the correct date.

    Siri showed the high and low temperature for the correct location on the correct date. It also showed the temperature for a ten day range.

    Which performed better?

    Both Siri and Cortana completed this task but Siri showed extra detailed information.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Show me a map of Manhattan

    Show me a map of Manhattan

    Cortana showed the map of Manhattan and the distance to get to the location.

    Siri initially showed a map of the US which quickly shut down. It then asked for location services to be enabled. Location services were enabled on the device.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • How many calories in an English muffin?

    How many calories in an English muffin?

    Cortana showed the calorific content, fat, carbs and protein in the muffin with a link to further nutritional information. It also showed a list of bing search results.

    Siri showed a list of search results for the English muffin calorie count.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana - for giving the answer straight away without the need for a further web search.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • How did the New York stock exchange do today?

    How did the New York stock exchange do today?

    Cortana showed the bing results for NYSE web site links.

    Siri showed a graph of the NYSE showing High and Low values and a historical display of variations in value. It also showed the opening rate and market cap value.

    Which performed better?

    Siri

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Play me some rock music

    Play me some rock music

    Cortana queued up music and started to play it using the Xbox music app. It also queued up the next track to play.

    Siri responded with a rock music song. The voice command “Open Music” did not work, but clicking this command started to play the track.

    Which performed better?

    Both assistants performed the requested task.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Sing me a song

    Sing me a song

    Cortana sang a snippet of a song. It also showed lyric results from bing search.

    Siri refused to sing the first time it was asked. It displayed a song when asked a second time.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana actually sang the displayed song.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Tell me a joke

    Tell me a joke

    Cortana told a clean joke.

    Siri refused to tell a joke even when asked several times.

    Which performed better?

    Cortana actually produced a joke. Whether it was funny or not depends on your sense of humour.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Tell me a poem

    Tell me a poem

    Cortana displayed a list of poems and lyrics from bing search.

    Siri responded with several poems, each ending with a sarcastic comment.

    Which performed better?

    Siri – for its snarky comments.

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Who won the SuperBowl this year?

    Who won the SuperBowl this year?

    Cortana returned a set of websites using bing detailing the Super Bowl sites.

    Siri delivered the correct answer detailing the results for each section of the game.

    Which performed better?

    Siri

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

  • Where is the world’s wettest country?

    Where is the world’s wettest country?

    Cortana returned a set of results from bing showing a variety of answers.

    Siri showed a list of web results from Google.

    Which performed better?

    Siri and Cortana both performed equally on this task

    Photo by: Eileen Brown / @CathieTinn

    Caption by: Eileen Brown

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We asked Siri and Cortana the same questions to see whether the Apple -- or Microsoft -- personal assistant gave the best answer to our questions for work and leisure.

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We asked both Siri and Cortana the same questions to see which personal assistant could best answer our queries. See which app was the most accurate across a range of activities.

Caption by: Eileen Brown

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