Our last industry update featured stories on Baidu, Sony, Disney, Amazon, and iHeartRadio making confident moves into voice technology. This one focuses on tech giants Google and Microsoft, two companies that have been ardently courting voice technology and artificial intelligence over the past few years. The companies’ founders have demonstrated a great deal of A.I.- and speech-related enthusiasm since the beginning. Now that the technology has caught up, Google and Microsoft are finally capitalizing on those early visions. On to the stories…
- Google’s I/O developer conference is this week and the rumors are flying. VentureBeat shares a few, including possible Google announcements of expanded voice control for the new Android and the Google Now API opening to the public. According to Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica, “This sounds like a great idea for apps with small functions or something that only needs to present a limited amount of data.”
- Microsoft will be releasing iOS and Android mobile apps featuring Cortana, the company’s virtual assistant. This follows earlier news about Cortana’s deeper integration with third-party partner apps on the Windows Phone and in Windows 10. Analysts in a Computerworld article agree that offering Cortana apps on rival platforms is part of a larger push to expand the reach of Microsoft’s key services on mobile.
- The 2015 Hyundai Sonata is now the first production vehicle with Android Auto, an in-car system designed by Google that’s specifically designed to be safe on the road and makes heavy use of voice controls. Expect Apple’s CarPlay (a similar service) to also be appearing in new vehicles soon.
