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Siri vs Google Now (Apple vs Android Grudge Match)

We put Siri and Google Now through a gruelling outdoor test, to see how they handle London commuters, drunken slurring and West Coast accents. It’s an Apple vs Android grudge match, so which is best?

We’ve seen plenty of Siri vs Google Now comparisons conducted in nice, quiet environments by well-spoken, entirely sober people. But we’re willing to bet that 99% of the time people crack out their voice assistants is when they’re jogging down a street filled with screaming kids and traffic, or blasted out of their minds on cider. Here’s our real world Google Now vs Siri test, conducted in the heart of London’s commuterville with a variety of accents.

In case you can’t be bothered to watch a three-minute video, here’s those results in full:

Siri vs Google Now Grudge Match round one: Busy street

Test: We ask Siri and Google Now who the manager of Sunderland FC is, while stood beside the bustling Oxford Circus tube station.

Siri understood our question on the first attempt, and correctly revealed that Sunderland FC’s manager is Gus Poyet. Google Now, when it eventually woke up, took three attempts to correctly understand the question, and actually requested that we speak up a bit. The result was a list of related websites, rather than an actual answer which Siri provided.

Winner: Siri

Siri vs Google Now Grudge Match round two: Drunken slurring

Test: We drunkenly beg the voice assistants to direct us home from the pub.

Neither phone understood what the hell we were blabbering on about. Siri tried to play us music and then sent a drunken text message to ourselves for some reason. Google Now tried to take us to Birmingham, and also search for ‘St Harwood beach sex’. Don’t even ask…

Winner: Epic fail all round

Siri vs Google Now Grudge Match round three: Random accents

Test: We ask each voice assistant a question in three different accents, to see if they understand.

Apparently both Siri and Google Now hate you if you’re from the West Country, and Siri was the most consistent with the Scottish and Brummie tests.

Winner: Siri

Overall winner: Siri

If you’ve had any problems/weird experiences with Siri or Google Now, let us know in the comments below.

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