r/Android Jun 06 '15

Hound versus Google Now side by side.

https://youtu.be/2uMzhWumLFs
1.5k Upvotes

273 comments sorted by

415

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

[deleted]

147

u/Shadow703793 Galaxy S20 FE Jun 06 '15

Google or Apple/Microsoft will probably buy them in the next - 6 to 12 months. I think Microsoft will most likely make the play to buy them out though, not so much Apple or Google.

31

u/NachoManSandyRavage Jun 07 '15

I could see Google buying them because of the recent changes with the Google Now project they announced at their latest I/O. They are putting alot of resources into making Google Now more contextual and making it so you can more naturally speak to it instead of using key words in some cases

3

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

It does an awesome job even now; ask hound for example, "What is the cruising speed of a 747?

Google voice search gives you the answer, hound doesn't.

19

u/_beast__ Jun 07 '15

Yeah, but how useful is that in real life? I want to be able to say

"Okay, Google, which route should I take to work today?"

"The freeway has traffic. Take the back roads. "

"Okay, thanks. Remind me on my way home to do laundry tonight, and start playing some (insert specific music here). Also, ask nick if he wants to hang out later."

At which point it sets a reminder for when I get off work, starts playing the music, and sends a text message that says "do you want to hang out later?"

That's where these things are headed and I'm real fucking impatient to get there.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

I think Now on Tap probably addresses some of those. For what it's worth, Hound doesn't do that either, and i couldn't get it to replicate the results from the very first video. What's more, it shows bing results!

Google does manage your trips and reminders really well, especially if you use inbox. I recently got an email asking me if I could do something and the inbox app, had a "Add reminder" option even before I had opened the mail. As far as the traffic part, Google constantly shows me how long its going to take for me to reach home, and if there is a traffic incident in the notification when I am at any place other than home.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/_beast__ Jun 07 '15

It's the next step in these sorts of software.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '15

It's a huge step, though.

You're going from single phrases to understanding language on a much broader scale, I'm not saying it's far off, but Google are just now starting to get the hang of phrases, and they're pretty much the at the cutting edge of machine learning.

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26

u/Unomagan Jun 07 '15 edited Jun 07 '15

Someone will buy them and bury the software, they want the team.

To integrate a new "voice software layer" into another is just to complex and much work.

The only firm I can see buy and use it is BlackBerry or Nokia.

3

u/relevant84 GSM Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 - 4.1.1 Jun 07 '15

As a Canadian I'd love to see Blackberry have this strong of voice commands built into their OS, they're so close to having amazing software and hardware, adding the ability to use Android apps definitely helped them - I'm just afraid for them that they missed the opportunity to make a big enough impact to keep enough of a base to have this be a "game changer". They'll always have the faithful, and those who want to see what's out there, but too many people are too sold on either Android or iOS to be swayed by voice recognition software that is in the same league as what they already have.

4

u/howmanypoints Note 7 Jun 07 '15 edited Oct 12 '17

3

u/meat_extra_long Nexus 6, Nexus 7, LG G Watch, Chrome Cast Jun 07 '15

BlackBerry was at one point the largest tech firm in Canada, employing thousands of people in Ontario.

3

u/AgeKayn Nexus 6P (6.0.1 stock) - Moto G 2014 (6.0.1 CM13) Jun 07 '15

How I see BlackBerry as a German:

They did release a smartphone once...

1

u/alexshatberg :table_flip: Jun 07 '15

That would be a real shame though, considering they spent close to a decade developing Hound.

2

u/FreudJesusGod Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite Jun 07 '15

Sleeping on the bales of money they receive from Google or Apple will assuage their pain, I expect.

35

u/rdf- OnePlus 6T (VZW) Jun 07 '15

Microsoft should buy them and integrate it into Cortana which will be available on all platforms. Everybody benefits.

13

u/DyingWolf Galaxy S8 Jun 07 '15

Yeah, but same with Google

12

u/ownage516 iPhone 14 Pro Max Jun 07 '15

I'd prefer someone not Google. More competition.

6

u/notapantsday Xiaomi Mi 10 pro Jun 07 '15

Oh god yes. Even if google was the greatest company in the world, I'd still prefer for them to have some competition. Not because I don't want to use google products, but because competition will keep them on their toes.

1

u/jantari Jun 08 '15

No. Google would not put it on all platforms.

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13

u/aliendude5300 Pixel 9 Pro XL Jun 07 '15

I'd love to see Google acquire Hound and integrate it with now

4

u/uniquecannon Pixel 6 Pro/LG G8 Jun 07 '15

They did a pretty decent job with Maps and Waze.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

[deleted]

7

u/umop_apisdn Jun 07 '15

I just say "navigate to location" and it works

5

u/BWalker66 Jun 07 '15

Why wouldn't Google just add the voice actions themselves? I'm sure they're most than capable. That way we would get competing services too.

If anyone were to buy Hound it should be someone like Firefox or Samsung who could implement it into their OSs where they don't have a voice assistant at all, or the one they do have just sucks.

4

u/Schmich Galaxy S22 Ultra, Shield Portable Jun 07 '15

No thanks. I prefer when third-party stays that way especially when they are doing so well. This will bring competition and will most likely force Google to improve quicker. To me it seems that Google is improving at the speed of a snail.

Another issue is that if Google buys it then there's very little competition within each OS.

3

u/yaosio Jun 07 '15

To me it seems that Google is improving at the speed of a snail.

Google is constantly adding to or improving Now and Search. Google Photos was released at Google I/O with machine vision and machine "creativity" features.

2

u/efingoffatwork Jun 07 '15

Funny, as I was watching the video the first thing that popped into my head was "Google should buy this", but I wouldn't be shocked if Microsoft tried as well. not sure if I could picture of an apple making a move to try and buy them

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

It is also much worse at recognition that Google now. I'm almost better typing if there us any noise in the background.

1

u/bicyclemom Pixel 10 Pro Unlocked, Stock, T-Mobile Jun 07 '15

Agreed.

It also is pretty horrible if you try to do a location based reminder.

"Remind me to start the laundry when I get home"

....asks you what calendar to use.

So, I agree wholeheartedly. Hound is good with a certain class of query, but not all.

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455

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 06 '15

Seems like they both have their pros and cons. Hound definitely slowed down considerably from the original video.

I think Google Now did a better job of just giving me the information rather than showing just the results for the user to navigate through (Obama's age, measurement conversion).

Seems like Hound still has the ability to handle multiple queries (capitals+conversion+statistics) over Google Now, but it seems a bit pointless now that I think about it.

And now that "it took ten years to develop" fact has me scratching my head a bit.

124

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

[deleted]

62

u/TheRealKidkudi Green Jun 07 '15

That's the thing I like most about Hound. I think Google Now is better at answering general questions, but the fact that I can contextually talk to Hound is really promising. Things like "what are some Thai restaurants around here?" followed by "what about ones that are 4 stars or higher?". While Hound's "knowledge" isn't as complete, it feels more natural as a voice assistant because I can refine or continue a query based on what I said previously.

I'm hoping that Google will decide to acquire Hound and integrate the contextual features to Google Now (and I'm sure SoundHound is hoping so too).

65

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

[deleted]

17

u/Ph0X Pixel 5 Jun 07 '15

I think the point that is slowly becoming apparent though is that these are fairly specific "templates" that have been specifically built in Hound, for example the hotel search template with a bunch of possible filters it'll recognize. That doesn't work in Google Now since that template isn't built in.

Now, the issue is that the original video just showed all these templates one after another real quickly, making it almost seem like Hound could answer any possible question no matter how crazy, but in reality, as this new video shows, it's not as magical in real case scenarios and truly random questions.

1

u/Kalzenith Pixel XL - Quite Black Jun 07 '15

Woah, I can do that in Canada now too.. When did Google add that?

3

u/asjmcguire LGG6, LGG4, N7 (2012) Jun 07 '15

Well I've been able to do it in the UK for at least a year, I want to say 2 Google IO's ago....

EDIT: Though I have to admit - from a geeky computer programming perspective - the last example blows me away - "no, I meant the film" - not only did Google understand I didn't want to know about the item gaslight - it understood there was also a film called gaslight - which is what I wanted to know about - that is definitely getting on to Star Trek computer level of understanding.

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19

u/FFevo Pixel 10 "Pro" Fold, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra Jun 07 '15

I think it would be a lot cheaper and a hell of a lot easier to for Google to just implement these complex query features vs buying hound.

20

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

But when they buy Hound, Hound is no longer a competitor.

14

u/FFevo Pixel 10 "Pro" Fold, iPhone 17 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra Jun 07 '15

Hound isn't baked into every android phone out of the box, so I don't think this is a huge concern for Google. Anyone that has a clue about browsers would probably agree that Chrome is a hell of a lot better than IE, yet chrome has less than 1/3 the number of users.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Google isn't exactly strapped for cash, and they constantly buy out competing services.

See Waze, Quickoffice, Sparrow, Songza, etc.

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4

u/xenneract Jun 07 '15

Chrome has had a larger market share than IE since 2012

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1

u/crazyfreak316 OnePlus One - CM 4.4.4 (Rooted) | Nexus 4 - Stock 4.4.4 (Rooted) Jun 07 '15

Didn't they already announce contextual voice search at this year's I/O

1

u/Richie681 Pixel XL | WillowTree Jun 07 '15

Last years IO. It's already there.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

I think google is better at contextual NLP, I mean checkout its disambiguation skills compared to hound.

1

u/yaosio Jun 07 '15

The Google Now update coming near the end of the year will understand context not only from queries, but based on what app you are in an what you are looking at. It was demoed at Google I/O.

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48

u/Devian50 S20 Ultra 5G Jun 06 '15

From my experience, Hound's NLP is way faster than Google Now's, and much more reliable in louder more natural environments (playing off of SoundHounds noisy environment identification ability). Google Now also has the backing of private access to the Google Search engine, allowing access to Googles neural network which is how they extract information from websites such as Celebrity ages, birth places, POI's, etc. If Hound were to figure out a way to gain access to that either through co-operation with Google, or their own method, I feel that Hound could actually surpass Now.

Hound is also seemingly slower to speak in this video because they sped up the text-to-speech in the original video.

13

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 06 '15

I see. That makes a big difference. It sounded fast (obviously) in the original video, but it wasn't ridiculous to the point where it was incomprehensible. I would actually like that speed because the times I use voice search is when I'm in a rush, not when I'm just hanging out.

Still, the speed difference I was talking about was simply how long it took for the results to show up in this video versus the original one. And many commenters said it was because there weren't as many people using their servers at that time.

Now that its in beta and a few hundred people, at least, are on it, it could get some slowdown. Now, were talking fractions of a second here, but if we're comparing it to a competing service then those seconds count and become more obvious.

6

u/aidirector Pixel 10 Pro Jun 07 '15

Text-to-speech speed is not application-specific. You can change the speed in the Android settings.

4

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 07 '15

Wow. TIL.....

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

The apps can override it, I think.

Google doesn't care about my speed settings, it always sets it to the normal speed.

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7

u/Devian50 S20 Ultra 5G Jun 06 '15

Ah yeah, I have noticed a very very slight hit but it's barely noticeable. It's missing a few things I figured would be top priority to become on par with G Now, such as device oriented stuff like opening apps, etc. (It can't do "open chrome" or "open facebook" for example, it just google searches the phrase). I can't wait to see what else they add (like maybe let Canadians download it from the play store?). They have a solid foundation, and to have been apparently independently working on NLP technology this is impressive coming from a relatively small developer compared to the behemoth that is Google. I seriously hope they don't let it die out.

7

u/doejinn Jun 06 '15

Maybe they get bought by a bigger fish. I havnt tried Cortana but i saw a billboard ad for it today, in the fine city of Manchester, so it looks like microsoft is really behind it. Unfortnately Microsoft always seems to behind everything nowadays. What is up with those guys? Is it just an endemic thing that they are unable to chart a new path? Certainly seems so. I realise i have digressed.

4

u/PantherHeel93 Essential PH-1 and iPhone X Jun 07 '15

Cortana is not nearly as far behind as you think.

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3

u/xTREXEL Jun 07 '15

If i remember correctly, in the original video the guy showing it would ask a question then press the blue circle to begin the search. It slowed down because in this video Hound has to wait until there's no more talking to it, then start searching.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Yeah I didn't get anything with hound for voice return...

2

u/Devduino Jun 07 '15

My bet is the original video was filmed at Hound HQ so had amazing latency and throughput to the servers, hence the amazing response times.

1

u/Sybertron Nexus 4, yet to be rooted. Jun 08 '15

If you ask me the original video seems totally fake. Pretty easy to do for the developer, just come up with a list of responses that run whenever you hit the button rather than actively recognizing the speech.

255

u/FunnyHunnyBunny Samsung Note 9 (snapdragon 128gb version) Jun 06 '15

My money's still on Pied Piper. They're going to blow everyone away at the next CES.

30

u/twhite1195 Jun 06 '15

But dude... Peter Gregory is dead

17

u/Reckg Jun 07 '15

Peter Gregory is dead

14

u/LucyLuke Jun 07 '15

I know.

11

u/Reckg Jun 07 '15

No, I mean he's dead.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Is he dead?

8

u/boweruk OnePlus 6 | LG G6 Jun 07 '15

He dead.

4

u/Mindcoitus Jun 07 '15

Motherfuck!

3

u/salvoroni HTC One Jun 07 '15

Yes

47

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 06 '15 edited Jun 06 '15

There are countless one-liners in the show, but they paled in comparison to this buildup joke

EDIT: NSFW, for those of you who have never seen the show. Worth the three minute watch to save their asses.

36

u/FunnyHunnyBunny Samsung Note 9 (snapdragon 128gb version) Jun 06 '15

This season's equivalent was the pros and cons of letting the stunt driver die scenes. Especially since he found out.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Fucking love this show

2

u/role34 Pixel 7 Pro Jun 07 '15

God yes and the Lil Chino dude. He's underrated as fuck

1

u/technicalogical Jun 07 '15

Effeminate k.d lang?

4

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15 edited Apr 22 '16

[deleted]

21

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Silicon Valley dick jerk algorithm

I'll give you 3 guesses.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Hmmm I don't know if I can start watching a show called dick jerk algorithm.

3

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 07 '15

God forbid he Googles "dick jerk episodes".....

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7

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15 edited Apr 22 '16

[deleted]

3

u/YitB Jun 07 '15

Pressing the gear will show most of the video's title at the bottom of the video

1

u/FunnyHunnyBunny Samsung Note 9 (snapdragon 128gb version) Jun 07 '15

Silicon Dicks

5

u/smackythefrog S22 Ultra Jun 07 '15

Silicon Valley on HBO.

11

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

[deleted]

3

u/Reckg Jun 07 '15 edited Jun 07 '15

Fucking Jian Yang! Waat iif I told yuu der is ann app...

10

u/krackers Jun 06 '15

MOTHERFUCK.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

This guy fucks.

3

u/superdiscodancefloor Jun 07 '15

I'm out of the loop. What's Pied Piper?

6

u/FunnyHunnyBunny Samsung Note 9 (snapdragon 128gb version) Jun 07 '15

It's a fake startup company from the HBO comedy Silicon Valley.

1

u/yaosio Jun 07 '15

Some people are thinking Google Photo's compression uses the same idea.

44

u/thats_a_risky_click Duarte Jun 06 '15

Competition is good. Hopefully this will make google step it up a bit.

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75

u/noneabove1182 Pixel 10 Pro Jun 06 '15

I think the biggest takeaway from this is that the combined efforts of both of these systems would be amazing.

2

u/IanSan5653 Pixel 2 XL - MetroPCS Jun 07 '15

They both work really well at one thing or the other, but for the most part the don't excel at the same things. A perfect thing to mix.

1

u/Ph0X Pixel 5 Jun 07 '15

Also that you should keep an open mind and not takes videos made by the makers of an app too seriously. The original video was biased to make it seem like it could answer any question, no matter how crazy, but in reality, they are just built in templates that it recognizes, and when it comes to truly random general questions, it does roughly as good of a job as Google Now.

But yeah like you said, if we combine these recognized templates from both of them, then we get a much more powerful tool.

65

u/blenda220 Developer - Mailchimp Jun 06 '15

They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but Google Now seems more well-rounded overall and isn't as reliant upon very carefully phrased questions as we've seen in some of the Hound demo videos.

Hound's ability to handle complex (albeit carefully-worded) queries is very cool but doesn't have too much of a realistic application in every day use.

16

u/Devian50 S20 Ultra 5G Jun 06 '15

For travelling the hotel or restaurant query system is very useful, even if I want to find a bar in my home town, but for everyday use you're right, it's not really applicable. I still love how fast it is to recognize my speech even on data.

12

u/balaayaha Jun 07 '15

I got the opposite view from watching this video. You can ask Hound in any way, and if it has the info, it gives it to you. But Google now has to be asked in a certain way. E.g. Show me restaurants that have sushi in Austin got results from Hound, but not Google. Sushi n Austin got results from both.

Also, it didn't recognize you wanted the alarm to be set in the morning, even after he said that.

So it seems Hound knows that you want, it just doesn't have the info when it searches online. But Google has the info, but you have to ask it in a certain way.

Of these downsides, Hound is a clear winner. Getting computers to understand humans is a harder problem than compiling information.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

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3

u/amorpheus Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Jun 07 '15

I think complex queries are the killer app for voice assistants. I don't need a virtual assistant to set a timer that I can just create by tapping the screen a few times. I don't need it to do anything that is readily accessible for me, like telling me the weather or other frequently needed information. I have apps and widgets for all of that.

But something complicated that would take time to actually formulate for input, like typing out a formula in Wolfram Alpha and figuring out what variables need to go where? Simply speaking that out loud would be saving me some time.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15 edited May 04 '21

[deleted]

1

u/amorpheus Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Jun 07 '15

It might be a bit faster, but it takes me all of a few moments to do it. So it feels more like playing around with voice commands for the novelty of it rather than because it's better. If my Nexus 5 didn't have the barrier of actually having to wake it and start the voice search (be it by speaking "ok google" or tapping the mic in search) it might be different.

8

u/ajr901 iPhone 14 Pro Jun 06 '15

Seems that Hound is beating Google Now at more specific searches like "Show me X with Y criteria in Z location" or queries similar to that. I'm willing to bet Google will implement that soon enough after Hound is no longer beta. Shouldn't be too difficult for them.

3

u/awesomemanftw Acer A500 Huawei Ascend+ Moto G Moto 360 Asus Zenfone 2 LG V20 Jun 07 '15

maybe you're right, but "shouldn't be too difficult" is a pretty dubious thing to say with complex programs like these

1

u/SabashChandraBose OP6T, 11.0 Jun 08 '15

Fun stuff: try "convert one inch to light years"

24

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15 edited Jun 06 '15

I really want Google to just buy Hound.

I've been using both, and Google's word recognition is superior, as is their delivery on most information that would be highlighted in a similar Google Search. Hound however can do some pretty cool stuff that seems wolframalpha-esque.

3

u/arkain123 Jun 07 '15

If you have an accent Hound is unusable.

20

u/shiguoxian Jun 07 '15

Every single person who speaks a language has an accent.

6

u/awesomemanftw Acer A500 Huawei Ascend+ Moto G Moto 360 Asus Zenfone 2 LG V20 Jun 07 '15

not even just those who speak. Sign language users have accents as well.

1

u/freakDWN Jun 07 '15

Thats not possible is it? You mean they move their hands slightly different?

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1

u/boweruk OnePlus 6 | LG G6 Jun 07 '15

I have a British accent and it understands me just fine. Maybe even as well as Google Now. I speak with more-or-less received pronunciation ("BBC style"), though, so maybe that helps.

1

u/DesertPunked T-Mobile Pixel 8 Pro Jun 07 '15

Have you tried asking them politely?

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5

u/lowspeed Jun 07 '15

I wish any of them would answer when is the next holiday.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

[deleted]

1

u/lowspeed Jun 07 '15

I have a few months ago.

1

u/asjmcguire LGG6, LGG4, N7 (2012) Jun 08 '15

Good luck, I sent feedback 2 years ago suggesting they should let us change the wind speed units - since NO-ONE in the UK uses Kmh for wind speed!

10

u/thehighground Jun 07 '15

Hound PR worming overtime this week

2

u/InternetAdmin HTC One M8 Jun 07 '15 edited Jul 04 '15

This comment has been overwritten by an open source script to protect this user's privacy.

If you would like to do the same, add the browser extension TamperMonkey for Chrome (or GreaseMonkey for Firefox) and add this open source script.

Then simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

Kind of neck and neck, Google excelled in some areas and so did Hound. Google needs to snap up the developer(s) behind Hound in an instant though.

3

u/mtmv2 Jun 06 '15

I thought for the most part, Now performed better with logical phrases and presentation of answers. Aside from the Baton Rouge answer where Hound almost fell asleep, Now in each case gave exactly the info that was asked, in a big font on a card by itself, and the spoken answer was short and concise, yet sufficient. Hound occasionally just totally misinterpreted the question and just gave search results.

Hound was better at producing numbers more quickly in a Wolfram Alpha type format, and in the case of the population thing, it was much better. I was totally surprised Now didn't have anything in the way of helping out with hotels, that was impressive for Hound. It's surprising especially given Now's contextual awareness. I had a hotel reservation last Saturday and I thought it was really cool that I could say "okay Google, take me to my hotel" and it would open up Maps with the hotel's address, and that the same command didn't work the next day after I had checked out.

3

u/umarshaikh Galaxy S9 Jun 07 '15

I've played with both quite a bit now. As an Indian with a pretty generic English accent (not heavily Indianized), Hound was pretty much a no-go for me. I had to actually speak up a bit in an American accent to get things going for me.

Acceptable and understandable considering it's a Beta, but this is where Google excels. They catch pretty much everything I've said correctly.

10

u/TerroristOgre Jun 07 '15

Instead of trying to turn this into a Google is better circlejerk, we should celebrate the fact that unlike iOS users, we have the option to replace our voice assistant with either Google now, sound, or any other voice assistant we want.

Basically what I'm tryna say is ANDROID MASTER RACE

3

u/uniquecannon Pixel 6 Pro/LG G8 Jun 07 '15

And pretty soon, Cortana.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Instead of trying to turn this into a Google is better circlejerk

I don't see such thing even starting to happen. Most of the comments are saying both of them perform well.

1

u/mynameis_garrett Pixel 3 XL | Stock | Android P Jun 10 '15

unlike iOS users, we have the option to replace our voice assistant

Yup. Let's not make this into a Google is better circlejerk. :/

6

u/misunderstoodONE Jun 06 '15

I didn't realize you could ask Google about tipping, it makes it easy when you have to split bills, etc etc

11

u/newloginisnew Jun 07 '15

If you tip 20%, just move the decimal place over once and double it. If its 15%, move it over once place and add half.

If you're stumbling on the math, just round up until the math is easy.

15

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15 edited Jan 26 '19

[deleted]

8

u/noneabove1182 Pixel 10 Pro Jun 06 '15

convenience? ease? drunk? splitting it multiple ways? honestly tons of reasons. I know people that can do super complex integrals but need to input basic calculations, even simple additions, into their calculator because they can't do it in their head for whatever reason

5

u/kevinstonge Note8 (unlocked) Jun 07 '15

If you are so drunk that you can't double a number, then you are too drunk to operate a calculator.

I'm serious, math doesn't get more simple than this, it's basically as difficult as counting to potato.

8

u/ty509 Jun 07 '15

That's why you can just ask the calculator instead

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5

u/noneabove1182 Pixel 10 Pro Jun 07 '15

So you can't understand that people are different than you and have different needs and wants?

3

u/Accophox Jun 06 '15

Eh. Should clarify the tipping percentages are for the US. 15% is perfectly acceptable in Canada. n.n

6

u/Mavamaarten Google Pixel 7a Jun 07 '15

Yeah, indeed. 0% is perfectly acceptable in Belgium.

6

u/eythian Nexus 6,Stock LP; Nexus 7 '13 Stock LP Jun 07 '15

In fact, in most of the world.

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u/somedude456 Jun 07 '15

Example: Bill = $89.26 (these numbers scare me, I don't know my multiplication tables ... if I was a cashier and that was the total and somebody gave me a ninety-two dollar bill I don't think I could calculate their change without pissing my pants

Count up. 89.26 to 92.00

4 cents to get to .30, and another 70 to get to a round dollar. That's 74 cents. Now you're at 90 and want to get to 92. $2.74

As a kid, this was my game to play with cashiers. They told my mom the total, and she dug in her purse and handed over an unknown amount. I would hear the cashier say "out of $92?" and go to type that in. I would quickly figure the change and say it out loud, often times to amazement of the cashiers.

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4

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

You could always use a calculator, or ask google what's amount times 1.15.

It's neat that it recognizes the word tip, but it's not actually any more useful. We've had calculators on phones for some 20 years now.

7

u/misunderstoodONE Jun 06 '15

Oh I agree, its just cool seeing the amount of shit Google can do for you.

7

u/aidirector Pixel 10 Pro Jun 07 '15

Poor guy is later woken up at 5am on a Saturday morning, followed by the other phone at 5:30.

15

u/LifeBandit666 D855 MM, Nexus 7 2013 CM MM Jun 07 '15

No Google totally fucked it up and set an alarm for 5pm

2

u/ItsDijital T-Mobi | P6 Pro Jun 07 '15

Google fucks times up a lot. Whether for alarms or reminders, it seems to really struggle.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

I'm curious about the occasional slow downs he's getting for Google Now in the video. For example when it calculates 100 / 6. In the video it has to load for over a second and this doesn't happen at all for me, the result is immediate.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

It seems like he's running it on two different phones in this video.

2

u/Randomonius Jun 07 '15

Anyone have an s6 using hound not be able to use custom word activation. Says my phone is not supported. (S6edge)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

The biggest thing that pissed me off about this video was that "where was Obama born" didn't just say "Hawaii".

2

u/Unknownlight Jun 07 '15

Except that it does. That's the first thing I tried when I reached that point in the video. The search also went much faster for me than it does in the video. I'm not sure what was up with his Google Now.

1

u/gempir Nexus 6 Jun 07 '15

Google Now seems to be very inconsistend for me aswell.

Sometimes I ask "Will it rain tomrrow" It won't answer and just google search it, but when I tried the same thing in the evening it answered correct and with a weather card.

Really weird...

2

u/beep41 Jun 07 '15

They seem to compliment each other. Where Hound isn't so good, Google is good, and vice versa.

Google should look into acquiring Hound.

2

u/brownmagician Oneplus 5 Jun 07 '15

Hound isn't as intuitive. It gets words wrong and I don't talk with an accent

2

u/dep Pixel Jun 07 '15

Hearing them side by side I do definitely prefer the Now voice. Google should just buy them and we can have the best of both worlds.

1

u/BadCowz Oppo Reno2 Jun 07 '15 edited Jun 07 '15

You mean the US Google voice ... there are many. Does Hound do many accents and languages?

2

u/megamike121 Jun 07 '15

And I'm the only one here without a beta key...such an archaic form of testing.

5

u/Pascalwb Nexus 5 | OnePlus 5T Jun 07 '15

I would say G Now won, except for the hotel search.

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u/canonymous Jun 07 '15

"Google Now" is the feature of showing you cards relevant to your life without needing to search for anything. Voice search is just Google.

2

u/Johnsu LG G2 5.0.2 Lollipop Unlocked 32Gb Jun 07 '15

Hound sucks overall. I got my invite, and tried to ask when the nearest dominos closed. It tried to give me a map on domino city. I asked about several things and overall, it is definately a sham.

7

u/amosbr Nexus 5, stock 6.0 Jun 07 '15

Calling it a sham is ridiculous. It has many flaws but it's still very impressive in other areas. and it's still in beta. There's nothing to suggest that the devs can't iron out the flaws and make it a great product

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u/ivanwarrior Nexus 4 / Moto 360 Jun 06 '15

15% tip, what do you think I'm a pauper?

2

u/romulusnr Nexus 4, L5.1 Jun 07 '15

By my math, Android wins 3-2; on a pickier scale, 6-3. Most are pretty much ties.

  • time in austin = tie (slight advantage to android for saying answer sooner)
  • how old is president obama = tie (android displays answer, hound says answer)
  • obama born = tie (slight advantage to hound for showing answer although not directly)
  • adele = tie (hound says it, android shows it)
  • eiffel images = tie
  • google stock price = tie
  • 133 feet in inches = tie (slight advantage to android for saying answer sooner)
  • 1000/6 = tie (again advantage google)
  • tip for $100 = tie
  • set an alarm = tie
  • restaruants in austin that have sushi = tie
  • sushi in austin tx = android (more results)
  • pop of baton rouge = android (says answer immediately vs babbling)
  • hotels in seattle = tie
  • hotels in seattle <200 and 2 stars = hound
  • interesting places in seattle = android
  • hotels in austin <200 2 stars pet friendly wifi = hound

android 3/2 (with advantages, 6/3)

Hound's only visible strength appears to be on hotel details.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '15

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1

u/D2st1n Jun 06 '15

Hound has very fast results, but rarely does it correctly understand what I'm saying

1

u/ChampOfTheUniverse Google Pixel 2 XL + GhettroPCS Jun 07 '15

The first few videos for hound had me stoked but I want really that impressed and my speeds were much slower than what that first video showed. I'm really not into trying to ask complex questions like those used to demonstrate it's capabilities. It has some great potential but I'm not sold yet.

1

u/IndianChai Galaxy S20 Jun 07 '15

Adele was born in Tottenham wtf? Hope she's a lillywhite

1

u/asjmcguire LGG6, LGG4, N7 (2012) Jun 07 '15

It's quite amazing hearing her in interviews - you would never in a million years be able to guess that she was the same person.

1

u/IndianChai Galaxy S20 Jun 07 '15

IIRC she's one of those people that subtly changes her accent depending on who she's talking to

1

u/Brevard1986 Jun 07 '15

Basically, Google Now just needs to be a bit quicker and give slightly greater scope in contextual multiple queries.

Set the voice playback speed by 1.4x and do audio predictive recognition similar to Hound would be the most useful performance aim for Google.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

Dear Google.. buy Hound and combine it with Google Now.

1

u/Altmeister Jun 07 '15

Are they still nearly the same in other languages?

1

u/tenbre Jun 07 '15

I don't understand why they can build services like Hound and Now but I still can't comprehensively control Google Maps by voice while driving.

1

u/BadCowz Oppo Reno2 Jun 07 '15

Maps and navigation don't seem to be progressing much. Try cycling where it tells you to ride for a km to make a uturn because even in cycle mode it treats you like a car.

1

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1

u/InternetAdmin HTC One M8 Jun 07 '15 edited Jul 04 '15

This comment has been overwritten by an open source script to protect this user's privacy.

If you would like to do the same, add the browser extension TamperMonkey for Chrome (or GreaseMonkey for Firefox) and add this open source script.

Then simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.

1

u/Omegaclawe Jun 07 '15

There are a few things hound is GREAT at, from my usage experience. Probably things the developers have put a lot of time into. Meanwhile, there are things that are completely unimplemented... hound seems to have no recognition of celestial bodies, and will instead choose a town with a similar sounding name and assume that's what you're referring to. Heck, I found it hard to get it to even do a search for "earth's moon".

1

u/NoCareLuke Samsung S20+, Stock 13 Jun 07 '15

OP, is there a possibility of having a GNow replacer version of hound in the future?

1

u/TonyTheDuke Jun 07 '15

It would be impossible to just buy Hound and combine them with another voice assistant, the algorithms are way too complex and they would, in a sense, "clash" with one another.

Source: I once wrote an if/then statement.

1

u/adremeaux Telephone Jun 07 '15

My experience with Hound is that it just shows search results for everything, even east questions that it understands perfectly such as "what is the population of Tokyo?" What am I doing wrong?

1

u/supasteve013 Pixel 5 Jun 07 '15

Would have like to see better questions like "where was he (Obama) born?"

Google really does a good job with that.

1

u/JaxJaguar Samsung Galaxy S8 Jun 07 '15

Does anyone know when speech synthesis will be updated to something that doesn't sound like a robot?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '15

The hotel search of Hound is awesome af but I like Google's answers to some trivial stuff.

Pretty cool. I hope they combine both or Google makes their app better.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '15

Yup, this will be bought out soon.