Google Home & Amazon Alexa(virtual assistants)

 UX designers’ user a term called Skeuomorphism, where an object in software mimics its real-world counterpart. The ‘email icon’ is an envelope, the ‘trash can icon’ is a dustbin; these are among the most recognizable skeuomorphic objects. This design philosophy is practiced by developers to friction when people adopt new technology. With Voice, the challenges are not just in designing software but in getting the entire product-market fit right; and cracking a strategy for a diverse country such as India is like nailing jelly on a wall.

Here are some pointers to critically examine if we are ready to enter the voice-first world.

Value vs. Price:

Google Home

 Amazon Echo & Google Home starts at Rs. 4400, the same  price as an entry-level Android phone with a camera and memory. But itis un-equal in its value and utility right now, though smart assistants are chatty, comes with bundling of music and entertainment packages from OTT brands, its ability to get things done in real-world is limited right now for the masses who don’t have a smart hub, smart TVs, smart bulbs or thermostats. Google and Amazon it warrants a collective contribution by brands and businesses who must recognize the significance of ecosystem play and embrace voice by building for it, ground up.

Alexa

These limitations can’t be solved by

Languages and context:

 A/O to  Stephen Hawking to PA systems in train stations, voice recognition & synthesis has been around for decades, what’s so new about it now that everyone is so excited? It is due to the advancement of computing power like as natural language processing which powers the voice assistants, this helps people ‘talk’ to it, convey ‘intent’ and get back human-like responses that are meaningful and contextual. About 22 official languages, India will never be one size of all market,  English, Hindi, and Hinglish marks a good start to woo the early adopters and the affluent lot, but we need an exponentially high amount of content and support in vernaculars for mass adoptions of voice as a preferred UI. In other words, Star Plus alone won’t do, we need Sun TV as well!