Skip to main content

Android developers create Siri clone in just 8 hours

Iris-Siri-AndroidIf there’s one thing that gets under the skin of Android fans more than anything, it’s Apple receiving glowing praise for something Android already does, or could easily do if anybody just put their mind to it. Not to be out-shined by the Siri voice recognition assistant, a major selling point of the new iPhone 4S, one Android developer team took it upon themselves to create an Android alternative, and did so in a mere eight hours, just to drive the point home.

The result is Iris (“Siri” backwards), created by Android dev team Dexetra, which says it was inspired by “the influx of tweets and posts on the ‘Awesome Siri’” that began flying around the web by the truckload.

“Suddenly, I got the urge to do something similar for Android,” writes Dexetra on its blog. “Since we have been working on NLP and Machine learning for over an year now, I had a crazy belief that I could pull this off. Somehow I managed to write a tiny engine that could answer your questions, digging the results from the web.”

After only eight hours, Dexetra had “created a decent layout and design,” and added voice input, text-to-speech and “a lot of heuristic humor.”

Following a wave of positive feedback, Dexetra submitted Iris to the Android Market, where it is now available for download.

Users should be aware that Iris is still very much in alpha, and requires “Voice Search” and “TTS Library” to be installed on the handset for Iris to work properly. And even then, it’s still a bit quirky; as expected for an app developed in so little time, Iris doesn’t work nearly as well as Siri, which has draw praise across the board for its surprisingly solid functionality. Still, if Iris – or something like it – can get up to par with iPhone 4S-exclusive Siri, it would remove one of the primary reasons to purchase the new Apple handset, which is faster than the iPhone 4, and has an impressive 8-megapixel camera, but is already being outdone by a number of Android devices with better specs.

Download Iris from the Android Market here, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Via SlashGear

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
Look who just replaced Samsung as king of the global smartphone market
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's cameras.

Samsung has been sitting pretty at the top of the global smartphone market for more than a decade. Until now, that is.

Data released this week by research firm IDC shows that the Korean tech giant has been knocked off its perch by archrival Apple thanks in part to robust sales of the iPhone.

Read more
TCL just announced an insane number of Android phones at CES
Close-up view of the TCL 50 Series of smartphones.

TCL has done the unthinkable at CES 2024. It has announced seven new smartphones to kick off the new year. The TCL 50 Series is the company’s fifth generation of smartphones and includes everything from cost-effective 5G devices to all-new TCL NxtPaper models. This isn't the first time TCL has created a NxtPaper smartphone, but it is the first time we're seeing them come to the U.S.

TCL says the TCL 50 Series represents its dedication to providing users with various options and a satisfying experience. The lineup features numerous advancements, including an e-reader mode for book lovers and speedy 5G connectivity for those often on the move. Every model in the series has been crafted to offer a smooth entertainment experience, effective productivity, and a comfortable user experience.

Read more
Your Android phone just got an update that could save your life
A person holding the OnePlus 11 and Google Pixel 8.

When you’re in an emergency, every second matters. And if you already have your health information on your phone, it’s going to be even easier than ever to get that critical information over to operators. Now, when you make an emergency call on your Android phone, your health information can be sent directly to emergency services when you call 911.

This new feature update is made possible due to Google partnering with RapidSOS to allow data from Android ELS (Emergency Location Service) to be given to emergency contacts and first responders. The type of data that we’re talking about is critical medical information that can save your life, such as blood type, emergency contacts, and severe allergies. This is all information that the user sets up and is stored locally on their Android device.

Read more