Google’s got something big up its sleeves for Wednesday: the official unveiling of the next big Android update, Ice Cream Sandwich, and likely the Samsung-made Google Nexus Prime phone alongside it.
Despite showing off some fascinating new tech headed to the platform back in May, we still don’t know all that much about ICS, or whether it’ll pack the voice control smarts to take on the iPhone 4S. But even if it does, there’s a bigger problem. If Google ever wants to take on Siri, it needs to tackle a hardware problem: headphones.
Until last week, Google was actually leading the charge when it comes to voice search and control on mobile. Every smartphone running Android 2.2 or up can be bossed around by voice: you can dictate messages, tell it to navigate to locations or even send a text. And its scary Google Translate app actually performs speech-to-speech translation in 14 languages, meaning fumbled conversations with locals on holiday are a thing of the past, if you can stomach data roaming charges.
It’s pretty smart, but Siri is smarter still. It doesn’t need robotic uniform commands: its natural language skills mean you can say “Set an alarm for 8.30am” however you want within reason and still get a response.
It’s this jump that’s so important. Siri’s ability to understand contractions and sentences, as well as the words within them, make it more than just voice recognition: it’s not hands free, it’s a timesaver.
I’m not worried about Google lagging behind however. The big G has some of the finest minds in language and speech science on its payroll, and you can bet they’ve not been slacking off for a year. If not this week, Android will get more powerful natural language control very soon.
But here’s the catch: if it’s to work properly, and actually get used by every Android owner, not just the Bluetooth headset toting berk brigade, Google needs to solve the headset problem.
I try to use Google’s current Android voice features when I’m walking along, but they often go horribly wrong. And it’s not because of my accent (a blazingly posh RP, don’t you know). It’s because I don’t have a mic in my headphones – so it’s as likely to capture the roar of a car in the background as it is my voice.
Even if I used the awful bundled pair instead, which does I still can’t launch voice search from them with a push (You can launch voice dialling with a Bluetooth headset, but that’s a lot more limiting – do you see how confusing this already is?). In fact, on my Nexus S, I can’t even answer a call with them.
Apple bundles a pair of headphones with every iPhone and iPod touch it sells. They sound terrible, but they stay in your ears when you run, and for most people, that’s enough. Even if you don’t like them, you can just go buy another pair that packs the same remote, mic and call/hang up button, such is the size of the iOS after-market nowadays. And now, a long press on the middle button triggers Siri.
But Android? By its very nature – software distributed to manufacturers to do with as they please – it doesn’t provide anything similar by default. And that didn’t matter before. Everyone knew bundled headphones were garbage. No one ever considered them part of the package, so no-one ever bothered to improve them, or pioneer any type of standard or in-line remote for Android.
Now though, it matters. We’re rapidly moving towards a world where computing isn’t even done by touch anymore. My favourite example of this was demoed by iOS chief Scott Forstall at Apple’s iPhone press conference earlier this month. He demonstrated how you could set up a geo-fence, so that his phone would remind him to do something as soon as he leaves a location – remember the milk, say.
True, you can already do that with an app on Android (Tasker), but it’s not simple. But for most people, this effortless new way to do it will be the first time they discover it’s even possible. Even if you’ll be able to do that in Ice Cream Sandwich, you’d struggle without a decent microphone you can easily activate. Why would I use voice search on Android if I have to unlock my phone first?
Slowly, companies are coming round to this. HTC can’t compete on hardware with Samsung anymore, so it’s smartly bought a stake in Beats By Dre, the only headphone brand which could be considered cool/down with the kids/etc. Klipsch is ahead of the curve and has launched a pair of earphones, the S4As, designed specifically for Android, with track and call control, and the ability to launch voice search.
But Klipsch is an after-market solution that comes at a cost. If Google wants people to move to that on Android, it needs to start specifying a better standard headset solution. Not the same buds, of course, but the same in-line remote that can trigger voice search, as well as control tracks on your music player of choice.
And why shouldn’t it? It’s already specifying the hardware you’ll need for Android phones to work with your lightbulbs and fridge. So come on Google, let’s see you talk about sound come Wednesday.
