Voice assistant is one of the coolest things about buying a smartphone. Be it Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Samsung’s Cortana or Apple’s Siri. All these are designed to make our lives better and offer value by doing several tasks for us.
When it comes to the tech giant Apple, it has remained entirely restricted about its voice assistant Siri. The company’s ecosystem is known for its tight-packed structure that seldom allows the intervention of any third-party applications. Since a customer’s safety is one of the foremost priorities for Apple, its significant low exposure to third party apps seems legitimate. But, this is also one of the reasons that limit Apple’s potential to do wonders.
It was last month that Apple launched version 13 of its iOS. While the operating system’s initial release was filled with bugs, its later updates just turned out to be okay. iOS 13 was launched with a motive to transform the user experience radically. And there are no doubts about the fact that it did fulfill its purpose. One of the most exciting features from iOS’s latest release was that Siri is now open to third-party iOS applications. Once the feature was released, it instantly made news with people talking about what’s in store for users with Apple’s this step.
What it was Like Before?
Earlier, when a user asked Siri to make a call or send a message, the voice assistant would automatically use iPhone’s inbuilt apps to do so. It did not ask the user whether they wanted to make a call via Skype or WhatsApp, hence its restricted nature. The only thing a user could do was ask the voice assistant to open a third-party app, and that was all.
But, with its latest release of the iOS, Apple has removed any such limits to Siri. The voice assistance is now allowing users to make calls or send messages via third-party applications like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Skype, etc. Not just this, but Siri is also seen providing navigation to users with apps like Google Maps and Waze. This drastic development is enabling iOS developers all across the globe to enjoy Siri’s deeper access to their app.
Lossing its Exclusivity
While Apple’s move to opening Siri to other than its inbuilt apps seems like great news for this-party developers, customers might have a different angle to it. The company Apple is known for its exclusivity. Siri was one of the things that Apple users enjoyed exclusive access to and made them rely more and more on inbuilt applications. For instance, Siri provided its users’ navigations through Apple Maps, even though the app only held an 11 percent market share. On the other hand, Google Maps have a market share of 67 percent.
No More Unfair Advantage
One of the most popular music applications, Spotify is a direct competitor to Apple Music. Spotify recently stated that Apple was unfairly benefitting from Siri being a default to their Music application. However, this stranglehold of Apple over Siri was a turn off for many of its users.
According to a recent survey by the Creative Strategies, Apple users were 97 percent satisfied with the devices such as iPhones. But, when it came to the voice assistant Siri, there was a 20 percent decline in the rate of satisfaction.
With its openness, the functionalities of Siri are expected to develop and enhance user experience over time. There are more than a few areas where Apple can benefit from this decision and increase the adoption of Siri.
Boon to a Handsfree Experience
For example, when it comes to navigation, a large number of people use Google Maps instead of Apple Maps. With Siri’s access to these apps, users can expect better navigation and enhanced hands-free experience. Users will also be more keen on using Siri now that it works with a variety of applications and audio devices.
While Apple’s position in the smart speaker market is no less than a disaster, Siri’s improvements could help it give fierce competition to the others. Currently, it just holds 5 percent of the market share as compared with Amazon’s 70 percent and Google Home’s 25 percent. Since Siri enabled speakers lacked even the basic functionalities, the user went to other devices.
To establish itself as a leader, Apple has also started promoting its third-party applications on the App Store. Through the medium of App Store Stories, Apple is displaying its friendliness to developers from across the globe.
Conclusion
With every generation of updates, Apple is enhancing its built-in capabilities for higher performance, long battery life and increased customer satisfaction. The company’s move will contribute to establishing Apple as a leader in various areas, where it is currently stamped upon by its competitors. First reported by Bloomberg, the new system for Siri will be applied on a per-contract basis as of now. Not only will this step result in a higher degree of satisfaction for customers but also a fair market for its competitors.
Author Bio – This post is written by Rosina De Palma – A business development executive at Nex Mobility a reputed enterprise application development company in USA and India. She has a professional team, and they are always ready to help you and give the unique ideas and also give a bright future to your business through iOS and Android application development.