Perplexity turns into a voice assistant on iPhones

iPhone users can now activate Perplexity's voice assistant in the app and ask it to write emails, create reminders and make restaurant reservations, for example. According to a post on X, the company's voice assistant can also be used to send calendar invitations and play podcasts, YouTube videos and other media.

Apple had already announced some of these functions for the new Siri generation, but has not yet been able to deliver them. Instead, Apple relies on ChatGPT for more demanding requests, but the OpenAI solution on iPhones is incapable of performing similar tasks to the Perplexity Assistant. Perplexity basically delivers in part what Apple had already promised at WWDC 2024.

However, Perplexity has clear limitations on iPhones, as only Apple's voice assistant is deeply integrated into the operating system, meaning that only Siri can be activated by voice command. Unlike Android, Siri cannot simply be replaced by another voice assistant. Apple would not allow this, simply because of the loss of control over its platform.

Perplexity wants to become an alternative to Gemini on Android devices

As Bloomberg reports, Perplexity seems to want to compete directly against Google's Gemini on Android devices. According to the financial newspaper, the company is in talks with Samsung and Motorola. According to the report, an agreement has already been reached with Motorola.

The first Motorola devices with Perplexity as an alternative assistant are to be released shortly. Among other things, the voice assistant with “a customized user interface” is to be used for the updated foldable Razr models.

Despite a close partnership with Google and a deal involving “huge sums of money” for the installation of Gemini on Galaxy smartphones, Samsung could also rely on Perplexity. According to a court statement by Peter Fitzgerald, Google's Vice President of Platforms and Device Partnerships, there is no exclusivity.

(afl)