Siri vs. Google Now: Which is the best iPhone assistant?

Google Now voice search vs Siri : Battle of the personal assistants

 

As big players in the mobile phone industry look to outperform each other on certain features, voice has become one of the biggest go-tos as they hope to garner customers in recent years.
Apple kicked things off on the iOS side with the introduction of Siri in October 2011 - the personal voice assistant the company hopes lives up to the Norwegian Siri name, meaning "beautiful woman who leads you to victory".
Google's Android incorporated Google Now in 2012, which won Popular Science's "Innovation of the Year". It was launched a little later than the iOS Siri, but nonetheless was called a solid competitor at the time. There's also Microsoft's voice-enabled search features in Windows Phone, but they aren't as wide-reaching as Siri and Google Now so we've held off comparing it here for the moment. Both companies peg themselves as having the best "intelligent personal assistants", but who really has the upper hand on features?

What is Siri?

"Siri. Your wish its command," says the Apple marketing blurb.
Siri is a personal assistant developed by Apple and is hard-coded into the company's iOS software. It was a standalone app available on the App Store in 2010, but has been part of iOS since 2011. It first appeared with the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 after Apple acquired the company behind it.
"Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk," Apple says. "Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. Siri is so easy to use and does so much, you’ll keep finding more and more ways to use it."
Siri prides itself on using natural language to have the answer to about anything you need. It can answer questions in a witty way, make recommendations for restaurants, perform tasks like calling or texting, and load information through supported web services. Apple says Siri can even learn your personal preferences over time and become more accurate the more it's used.
Unlike Google Now, Siri isn't available cross-platform. You'll only find it on iOS.

How does it work?


Siri is loaded by holding down the home button on an iPhone 4S or later. You'll then be prompted to speak a command to Siri for interaction with applications, including Reminders, Weather, Stocks, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Music, Clocks, Safari, Wolfram Alpha and Maps within iOS.
Using natural language, Apple wants you to speak to Siri like you would a normal person. “Tell my wife I’m running late” or “remind me to call the vet” are legitimate requests with Apple's personal assistant. It will launch an application that makes sense with your response. For example, if you ask Siri to remind you of something, a Reminders panel will pop-up within the Siri window asking you to confirm it for later.

Siri sets the stage

Apart from accessing apps quickly through voice, Siri can also give you information. You can ask for a sports score, movie showtimes that will then prompt you to buy tickets from Fandango, restaurant reviews, track your stocks, and even ask Siri about Siri. Ask “what can you do?” and Siri tells you exactly that.

Dictation

Also baked into Siri is dictation through iOS, something Apple really prides itself on. This is a feature Google actually incorporated into Android first. Instead of typing, users can tap the microphone icon on the keyboard to say what they want to say and the iPhone listens. Once you've spoken everything a "Done" option is available and iOS converts your words into text. "Use dictation to write messages, take notes, search the web, and more. Dictation also works with third-party apps, so you can update your Facebook status, tweet, or write and send Instagrams," Apple says.

Eyes free

Apple is working to incorporate Siri in a large way into automobiles. The company is working with manufacturers to bring Siri to vehicles through "eyes free" functionality. Users will be able to click a button within the car and not take their eyes off the road. They'll be able to perform normal Siri tasks like sending a text message, selecting music, performing a call, and using Maps to receive directions.

Siri Eyes free is available on several 2014 models from Chevy, Honda and Accura - with plenty of other partners lined up including BMW, GM, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota and Chrysler.

What is Google Now?

Google Now is a personal assistant developed by Google. It first debuted in July 2012 as part of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It's now available in the Google Search mobile apps for Android and iOS. Google Now is widely available across platforms, unlike Siri which is locked to just iOS.
Among of the core features in Google Now is its ability to help you manage your day with reminders and traffic alerts. It can also help you stay connected with news and weather reports. It will even provide local information such as nearby attractions and currency. Instead of requiring you to ask for information like Siri, Google Now will instead provide it to you automatically.

Google Now catches up

But now that Google now supports reminders and notifications

What are Google Now cards?

Google Now recognises your repeated actions. These repeated actions can be related to things like restaurants you frequently visit, annual calendar appointments, recurring search queries and more. Google Now subsequently serves up relevant information to you based on your repeated habits. This information appears in the form of cards.
There is a range of specialised cards, including ones for active summaries (walking, biking), birthdays, concerts, events, movies, news, appointments, places, public alerts, public transit, reminders, saved offers, stocks, sports, traffic, nearby attractions and events, translations, weather, etc.
Google Now also serves up information by leveraging Google's Knowledge Graph, a system that provides more detailed search results by analysing meaning and connections of keywords entered for search.

How does Google Now work?

Cards

If you really want to see what Google Now can do, then you should use it for a while, because it needs to understand your repeated actions like movements and the kind of information you are interested in or usually search. Just give it time to learn about you, quietly, in the background on your device, and you’ll soon reap the benefits.
The more Google Now learns, the better it can get you to appointments via real-time traffic conditions or reminders, for instance. Google Now cards will simply pop up with information related to you, and you can either swipe the cards away or tap them to get more detailed information. You can also scroll down on cards to request more cards.

Voice search


Google Now supports a range of voice commands and functions. You could always type searches into the search box, or you could unlock Google Now's true power and convenience by utilising voice search. All you have to do to activate voice search in the Google Search app is say “OK, Google Now," and it will anticipate follow-up questions and provide useful related information.
Here’s an example list of questions and commands:

• Who is the Queen of England?
• Show me the stocks for Twitter.
• Go to Pocket-lint.com.
• Play The Beatles.
• Wake me up in a half hour.
• Remind me to order dinner when I get home.
• Launch Google Plus.

How is Google Now's voice search improving?

Conversational search

Google's Amit Singhal gave a keynote on the future of search at Google I/O 2013. He explained that forward-thinking search engines will need to evolve in order to answer, converse, and anticipate. Specifically, Singhal focused on conversational search and hot-wording, the ability to search without requiring an interface.
An example of conversational search includes being able to load the Google search engine by simply stating, "OK Google." The search engine could then answer queries in conversation as well as presenting results for the query. In the demonstration at I/O, Google's Johanna Wright showed how conversational search worked with Google's Knowledge Graph.
"Show me things to do in Santa Cruz," she told the search engine. The search engine responded, "Here are popular attractions in Santa Cruz," along with presenting results for the query. "The Knowledge Graph knows that Santa Cruz is a place, and that this list of places are related to Santa Cruz," Wright added.

Google Now conversational search

Google is clearly trying to make searching with Google as easy as possible. And it thinks conversational search is the best way - because it's the future, whether it be on a laptop or mobile device.
In the Google Search app for Android and iOS, you can say "OK Google" to launch voice search. You can also set reminders by saying things like “Remind me to check out the fair this weekend."
With Android 4.4 on the Nexus 5, you can also launch voice search by saying "OK Google" directly from the home screen. This technically indicates a step away from Google Now, but it's still part of the overall message: Google search is trying to go hands-free via voice.
At this very moment, asking Google Now about a certain topic might not garner the most accurate or snappy response, but at Google's current innovation pace, Google Now will one day be able to give you helpful responses dredged up from discussions you had with it in a previous conversation. That's the ultimate goal for Google, anyway.
Google Now is all about the Knowledge graph, voice search and specialised cards, just like conversational search is about the Knowledge graph, voice recognition and serving up information. It's inevitable that the two technologies will fully converge, or rather, evolve into a single search product from Google that can answer, converse and anticipate.

Google Now-like conversational search in Chrome

One week after Singhal's keynote on conversational search, Google updated Google Search for Chrome and Chrome OS with what it called the "no-interface" approach.
The update gave desktop users the ability to launch Google Search by saying "OK Google." They could then ask a question, and Google's Knowledge would provide a voice response with results. Users could even ask things like "Send an email to Jake" or "Show me my photos from London last year."
One of the most useful features of conversational search is the Knowledge Graph's ability to parse together what you're saying. For instance, just ask “How old is Queen Elizabeth II?”. Chrome will speak the answer. You could then ask a series of follow-up questions like “How tall is she?” or “Who is she married to?”. Google will know who you are referring to in each question and can interpret pronouns appropriately.
No typing, clarification or button-presses required.
Note: Although Chrome enables conversational search with voice recognition and natural language understanding similar to the way Google Now works on mobile devices, it does not have the full Google Now card user experience.

Conclusion 

So which one is better? Well as always with these things, there isn't an easy answer and it depends what you are looking for to suit your needs.
Google's voice conversational search is very impressive, when it works. And if you are looking for multiple queries, just not at once, then it's certainly worth giving it a try.
The system will get better and the ability either through the Google Search app on iPhone or the home screen on the Nexus 5 to just start barking commands is very clever, but with that ambition comes failure sometimes and that can be frustrating. Still, in many cases using your voice to search is quicker than typing, certainly if you are on the go; just make sure you are in a quiet environment.
As for the Cards, they too can be very useful when right, giving you weather information where you are and where you are heading, telling you about travel times to your next meeting, or reminders so you don't forget stuff. It's a much more complete service compared to Apple's Siri, which to deliver the same information needs to access a number of apps; calendar, reminders, weather, etc. But your searches can have a rogue affect and at times that can be confusing.
Siri's approach, again when it works, is to try and focus more on pretending to be your friend, and be a true personal assistant to getting more out of your phone. Phrases like "Tell my wife I am running late", flummox Google Now, but return a text message ready to send in Siri.
Likewise, you can use your voice to open apps and if you get it wrong rather than providing you with what it thinks you might need, you get a snarky answer. "What's my favourite colour?" brings back phrases like, "I can do many things but reading your mind isn't one of them." Google just gives you results for favourite colour tests. But it won't tell you you've got stuff on your to-do list, or what the weather is like on the business trip or holiday you are about to go on.
Of course, in a strange twist of fate, Apple users get to have their cake and eat it as they can run both.

 

SG Round vs. LG Flex

LG G Flex vs Samsung Galaxy Round

Both Samsung and LG are pioneers of what could become a very popular trend very soon, with their respective curved display smartphones. But how do the two compare to each other? Does this increasing focus on form factor lead us to this natural evolution? Are curved displays a good thing? Are they even necessary? Let’s take a quick look at a comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Round and the LG G Flex!

Size

With its larger 6-inch display (compared to the 5.7-inch display of the Galaxy Round), the LG G Flex is definitely the bigger of the two smartphones. This difference in size may be the deciding factor for a lot of consumers, either for or against the G Flex, especially if you’re not used to handling devices of this size.

But, if you’ve caught our unboxing and first impressions videos of the Galaxy Round and the G Flex, you’ll know that the “problem” associated with large display device is mitigated, albeit slightly, because of the curved displays of both these smartphones. Because of the left to right curve of the Galaxy Round, access across the device is somewhat easier because of the curve. Similarly, because of the top to bottom curve of the G Flex, access to the top of the smartphone, whether at the front to open the notification center, or at the back to access the button layout, is also easier. Overall, the curves do allow for easier handling, and if the upward trend in display sizes is to continue, curved displays could play a big role in making life simpler.

Display

As far as the display of both these smartphones are concerned, the difference between the Samsung Galaxy Round and the LG G Flex is obvious. The Galaxy Round features a 5.7-inch AMOLED display with 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 386 ppi, while the G Flex features a 6-inch Plastic OLED display with 720p resolution, and a pixel density of 245 ppi.

LG’s G Flex design is curved from top to bottom.

Before jumping to pick a winner based on specs, it’s important to note that the display of the G Flex is still quite impressive, and definitely works with the curve. For example, if you’re scrolling up and down a website, you do get the sense that the elements on the screen are bending to the curve, which is really nice. While the curved display of the Galaxy Round is also equally noticeable, the natural feeling is missing, with Samsung relying on the software, such as the side ways scrolling transitions on the homescreens, to provide that illusion.

The Samsung Galaxy Round’s curvature is from side to side

Granted, at the end of the day, if you’re looking for a high resolution display, the Samsung Galaxy Round is the definite choice, but the the 720p display of the G Flex is no slouch either, and should also provide a pleasurable viewing experience.

Software

When it comes to the software, you’re getting familiar versions of the Samsung TouchWiz UI and the LG Optimus UI with their respective smartphones.
TouchWiz remains the same as what we’ve become used to seeing recently, but the Galaxy Round includes some new features that are designed to take advantage of the curve, such as Quick Glance. Tilting the phone opens a small notifications window, which is very cool. Unfortunately, in its current version, there is on occasion a little bit of delay, and you may be better off using some of Samsung’s other staple features, such as Air Gestures, for quick access to what you need.
While limited, the Galaxy Round does take advantage of the curve on the software front, and the LG G Flex is found wanting in this regard. In our first look, there don’t seem to be that many features or functions that make use of the curved form factor of the device. In the case of the LG G Flex, the stand out feature is more on the physical side, with it being possible to flatten the smartphone with some amount of force.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Review

Anyone who has played even 10 minutes of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise before Black Flag will feel completely at home with the new game. The series, which took players to the American Revolution in the last installment, now gets you to sail the Caribbean in the year 1715 as a swashbuckling pirate, Edward Kenway.

Before looking at the game, we can’t help but compare the new installment with the earlier one, Assassin’s Creed III. While the earlier one was tortuously slow, the best part was undoubtedly the naval combat. Unfortunately, we did not get much time in AC III to explore the high seas, and were instead relegated to traverse level after level of tutorial-like missions that sometimes tested our patience.

Black Flag, though, ensures that we get our fill and more of sailing. Ubisoft, this time around, has managed to hit naval warfare and seafaring right on the nail. Controlling a ship, sailing the sea, firing broadside cannons was, well, an absolute blast. The new installment focuses a lot on that space, and has done wonders with it.

Shiver me timbers!

Black Flag comes packed to the gills with pirates, looting, shooting, sailing and a whole lot more. You can traverse desert islands, explore ramshackle towns, sail through calm waters or battle against stormy weather. As a pirate captain, you can find buried treasure, locate maps on corpses and attack other ships for their loot. As a side mission, players can even jump across rooftops to literally catch songs to teach their crew.

Unlike Brotherhood, we see a completely new protagonist calling the shots. Players now see through the eyes of Kenway, the grandfather of Conner from the Assassin’s Creed III. While earlier characters like Altair, Ezio and even Conner came across as serious, ‘must save the world’ individuals, Kenway’s character plays out as a cheerful one who is only out to make as much gold as he can get his hands on. From the moment you start playing, one thing is clear: Edward is no saint, and his personality stands in direct contrast from earlier AC protagonists.

Murder all the fishes!

Unlike AC III, which had a slow start, Black Flag doesn’t waste time with build up, instead tossing you straight into the thick of things. In the first few minutes of the game, the player finds himself in the midst of a heated battle on board a ship, with cannons and explosives tossing you all over the seven seas. Kenway, a normal crewman right in the beginning, finds himself washed onto an island. What surprised us was the fact that Black Flag did not let the pace slacken, with the plot movement holding from the first scene through pretty much all the game. Yes there were times when the plot slowed down, but we welcomed the breathing space. The world itself opens up for the player surprisingly quickly. In fact, once you get your hands on a ship, you can pretty much travel where you like.

The game, however, does warn you when you head into “dangerous territories”, but unlike earlier installments, much of the game is accessible. A major plus point is the characters you deal with, many of whom play an interesting role in your gameplay. Some of the auxiliary characters do come and go a bit quickly, but the urge to explore the game keeps you hooked, so we aren’t complaining too much. The pace extends to the modern part of the game as well, although we could have done without the flash forwards altogether, as it takes time away from looting and pillaging. Apart from highly customisable ships, Black Flag gives the player the option of tricking out their very own secret pirate coves, a welcome change from Monteriggioni in our books.

Ahoy, Matey!

Gameplay-wise, Black Flag comes with most of the mechanics that you are used to from AC III, but does them a bit better. Controls are almost identical; you can still free run, shoot, use your hidden blades, climb and fight in almost the same way as before. The developer, however, has managed to fine tune the combat system quite a bit in this installment. While Kenway still has the ability to take out soldiers and bandits with ease, the fights flow much better and has also become a bit more challenging, making it a lot more fun to fight your way out of a scrap.

While enemies still do stand around waiting their turn, getting ganged up on by multiple opponents at the same time has increased a bit more than before. The varied use of muskets as the preferred long range weapon also increases the difficulty with which you can tackle each situation. Sword fights, on the whole, feel a whole lot better, and the combat mechanics fit in well with the overall theme of Black Flag. Hunting, trading and crafting have all seen some improvements, and this time around, you can get add quite a few sea creatures to your list of species to drive to extinction. An interesting addition this time around is dual-wielding. Players can now dual wield swords in a satisfying manner while mixing things up with smoke bombs and flintlock pistols.

Blow the man down!

Being an Assassin Creed game, it would be remiss for us not to talk about stealth. Black Flag, surprisingly, brings a healthy dose of that for players. Despite being a game focusing on piracy, there are a lot more options and missions for players to sneak around in. The added use of bushes and overhanging branches also add a lot more options to carry out a mission. Overall, stealth missions feel seamless and make the gameplay a lot more fun. Players can now surreptitiously weave their way through entire assassination contracts if they want to, and the resultant gameplay is a lot more rewarding. And there are additional stealth mechanics integrated into swimming and sailing as well, making naval combat an interesting if somewhat frustrating affair.

Overall, Black Flag is easily the most enjoyable Assassin’s Creed title so far. While the game is still far from being perfect, it brings a delightfully refreshing look at a franchise that has in the past been offering almost the same kind of gaming experience. Apart from the slightly repetitive combat, there doesn’t seem to be much you can fault in the game. Stealth has improved, the side-missions have become more fun, the serious overtones have been dampened and the back drop of the Caribbean is gorgeous to look at. If you’re in the mood for a good game from a solid franchise, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is definitely a recommendation we can give.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (tested), PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

PS 4 Review

PLAY STATION 4 : Review

The Console

Jet black with sharp, angular edges and a blend of matte and high-gloss plastic, the PS4 distances itself from the curved lines found on the PS3, and instead follows the design language found on Sony’s broader range of smartphones, tablets, and home entertainment products. The result is a distinctly more mature, high-end look and feel. The thin LED illuminated strip that pierces through the topmost panel offers a burst of color and light, but also serves a practical purpose by indicating the various states of the system’s operation — orange while on standby, pulsing blue when powering up or shutting down, and a steady white while in use. On the front, two thin, semi-metallic capacitive buttons align with the light strip — one for toggling the system power, the other for ejecting discs from the slot-loading drive.

Better, Faster, Stronger. 

Video game consoles have always struggled to keep up with rapid pace of innovation set forth by PCs, and more recently, mobile devices. In the last generation, the PlayStation 3 in particular was bound by proprietary processing technology and a rigid operating system that made software and new features arduous and costly to produce.

The PlayStation 4 is the antithesis of the PS3.

With powerful yet familiar processing architecture, a more open approach to software, and an impressive set of day-one features, the PS4 not only brings the PlayStation platform into a more

Scott Lowe Says

Scott's Must-Have PS4 Games

modern era, but establishes a strong foundation for long-term evolution.

 

It’s the most elegant console design in PlayStation history and one of the best looking products Sony has ever produced. But the PS4’s form is sometimes at odds with its function.

A cutaway wraps around the front and sides of the system, which breaks up the top and bottom panels and prevents the design from taking on too much of a nondescript brick-like trapezoid appearance. The gap houses the front-facing USB ports and slot-loading disc drive, with air intakes on the sides, which draws cool air through the system. Though a clever way to mask the ports and vents, the gap can create issues with certain types of USB storage. While average-sized USB cables or thin thumbdrives fit the slots, thicker devices may not work without an extension cable. What’s more, the thin touch-enabled buttons on the front are extremely narrow and tough to identify, and the choice to put the sole thermal exhaust at the back of the system will centralize heat where ventilation will be most limited in entertainment centers.

Ultimately, each decision is in service of the PS4’s unbelievably compact form factor. Measuring at roughly 2” thick, 10.8” wide, and 12” deep, the PS4 is 35% thinner and takes up considerably less surface area than the Xbox One. It’s even slightly thinner than the PS3 Super Slim. In other words, the PS4 is entering the new generation with a form factor smaller than what had previously taken six years to reach with the PS3.

Even more impressive is how quiet and relatively cool the PS4 remains throughout hours of use. Although by no means silent, the PS4’s noise profile never seems to exceed a gentle hum, even when running the most GPU-taxing titles. When placed on the entertainment center eight feet from my couch, it was hard to even notice.

Under the hood, there’s the much touted AMD-based APU and 8GBs of GDDR5 memory, which is evidenced by the fast, fluid performance of the OS and various apps, and of course, the substantial leap in graphics. Sony has severed all ties with non-digital I/O, offering only HDMI video/audio output, optical digital for surround sound audio, a ethernet port, and an AUX jack for the new PlayStation Camera. There are also two USB 3.0 ports on the front, though as of launch, the PS4 lacks support for external storage devices that would take advantage of the increased data transfer speeds. However, each system ships with 500GBs of storage that’s upgradable using off-the-shelf parts — a notable edge over the Xbox One.

In face of the PS4’s other performance-focused features, it’s unusual that Sony has outfitted the PS4 with a 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi chip instead of the latest standard, 802.11ac, which offers significant gains in range and signal strength. It would have added to the cost of the system and market penetration for 802.11ac products is still burgeoning, but Sony’s aspirations for Gaikai cloud streaming and remote play would have reaped the benefits in the long-term.

Still, the PS4 remains an achievement in console design.

The camera also listens for certain voice commands, which can be used to launch a game or app, power down the system, take screenshots, or swap users. For the most part, the system detects vocal cues rapidly and accurately, but environments with louder ambient noise can throw it off. What’s worse, the camera can take commands from anyone within range of its microphones, making it easy for unscrupulous housemates to disrupt the experience. The camera is inherently useful for motion-based games like Just Dance 2014, and in that use case it performs well, but the number of games that make use of or require it is still a small fraction of those available.

The camera’s lone killer app, however, is providing a picture-in-picture video feed while streaming gameplay to Twitch TV or Ustream. With the camera connected, you can add a personal spin to your livestream by offering a windowed view of yourself as you play. That alone may not be enough to warrant the $60 price of admission, though.

The PlayStation Camera could become a larger part of the software ecosystem and PS4 experience, but at the moment, a Kinect killer it is not.

The OS: XMB Reborn

The PS4’s operating system is gorgeous, straightforward, and fast, improving and expanding upon the PS3’s XMB interface with a greater focus on social interaction and content. All of the core functions, such as the PSN Store, your profile, and Trophies, are all presented in a linear horizontal row using much of the same iconography found on the PS3 and PS Vita. Rather than burying content under categories, Sony has crafted a new subsection of shortcuts to all of your installed apps and games, organized by most recently launched. Although far more visually appealing with its high-resolution thumbnails, the view can become unwieldy as your collection grows. At launch, there’s no way to group or pin your favorite content, which seems like an odd, obvious oversight.

The opportunity to interact with PSN friends permeates every corner of the OS, which stands in stark contrast to the sterile, isolated social experience of the PS3. There’s a new consolidated activity feed called What’s New, which lists out all of your friends’ recent activity, ranging from what games they’re playing to Trophies they’ve earned, friends they’ve added, screenshots they’ve posted, or videos they’ve captured. In concept, it’s a great method for getting a comprehensive look at what’s happening within your network, but finding new shared content or learning what new games your friends are playing can often be buried amidst the minutiae of recently added friends or new Trophies. For a more targeted view, you can hover over a game and see all activity pertaining to that particular title.

The widespread surfacing of trophies, as well as new Trophy rarity metric, not only gives the system more value, but encourages greater competition amongst your friends. In addition to the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum valuations, each Trophy earned is assigned a rarity value based on what percentage of the community has earned it. It may seem like a small feature addition, but it inspired me to care and value the Trophies I’ve earned, and to seek out some of the more prestigious ones I’ve yet to obtain.

While PSN still won’t allow us to change our usernames, you can now choose to make your real name visible to certain friends via a separate authorization request. If approved, both players will be presented to each other by their real name, and if the system is synced with Facebook, can use their default photo as their avatar.

It’s small additions like these that make the PS4 feel far more like a living, breathing community.

The PS4 also heralds the arrival of long-absent features like cross-game party chat and unified, multi-user messaging. Parties offer the ability to have voice and text communication with up to seven other players. Within the party interface, you can choose to boost chat audio over in-game audio or even swap between talking to your party or chatting with your in-game team on the fly. Oddly, however, neither group is muted regardless of which you choose, which depending on how you look at it, can be an annoyance or a useful tool. On the one hand, it’s helpful for preserving awareness of strategic information provided by your in-game team, but on the other, it can conflict with your party members.

The messages function supports persistent peer-to-peer or multi-user communication across PS4, PS Vita, and mobile, and includes text, image, and 15-second voice messages. What the PS4 severely lacks at launch, however, is any form of video conferencing or messaging.

Although player communication leaves some things to be desired, sharing gameplay experiences both inside PSN and with third-party services like Twitter or Facebook is seamless. At any point during a game, you can tap the share button on the DualShock 4 to save a screenshot or video clip, or broadcast live over

The PlayStation Camera

Like the DualShock 4’s lightbar, the PlayStation Camera is clearly part of a long-term vision not yet fully realized. The optional $59.99 add-on can be used to log in to the system using visual recognition, issue voice commands, motion detection for select games, and video broadcasting, but at launch, software support and the effectiveness of each function is so limited that it’s hard to recommend the purchase.

Users can calibrate the camera to recognize them once the system boots up, but rather than just recognizing a player and logging in, the PS4 requires you to raise a DualShock 4 into view as an added authentication step. Although reasonably precise and responsive, the process is less intuitive and effective than just using the gamepad to begin with.

Twitch or Ustream.

With the previous generation of hardware, streaming gameplay requires additional hardware and software, but now you can get up and running within seconds. The ability to see comments on-screen in real time makes interaction with viewers simple and fun, and the aforementioned picture-in-picture view offered by the add-on camera brings a personal touch. There are a few disappointing limitations currently, however. For one, the software lacks the ability to dictate compression levels and resolutions outside of generic presets like  “good,” “great,” and “best.” There’s also no ability to archive broadcasts, which eliminates replay value for anyone who missed the initial stream. What’s worse, stored video clips or broadcasts can’t be exported to external media at present.

Most important of all, the PS4’s social and game-sharing tools are accessible at any time thanks to multitasking. Jumping in and out of games to view a message or check the status of a PSN download is almost instantaneous. The only time I’ve experienced any slowdown at all is when my connection quality dropped or I was disconnected entirely, at which point the OS struggles to retrieve social data.

The other unfortunate side effect of PSN outages or connection issues is the inability to access content purchased digitally. Without a connection to verify your license for a game at system boot-up, the app or game becomes locked — even if it’s an offline single-player game. Disc-based games, on the other hand, can be played at any time, so those considering going all-digital should weigh that into their decision.

Remote Play

On the PS3, Remote Play turned out to be an empty promise, but on the PS4, it could be a system seller. With a Wi-Fi connection, you can access your PS4 and play games remotely from your PS Vita. After a one-time pairing, your PS Vita can wake your PS4 from standby mode anywhere in your house. Though the Vita lacks the triggers and thumbstick buttons of the DualShock 4, most games will map those functions to sections of the rear touchpad. In cases like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, you can even navigate the in-game map using the touchscreen.

Remote Play performance will hinge entirely upon your wireless network. In my home, I was able to get stable performance across multiple rooms and up to 40 feet from my base station, though due to the makeup of my building, dead zones are common – you may experience greater or shorter range. Regardless of whether a connection is dropped or you activate Remote Play mid-session, you never have to restart a game or your system.

Remote Play is also accessible outside of a local Wi-Fi connection, though at present, I’ve yet to make a successful pairing.

The DualShock 4

The DualShock 4 resolves just about every common criticism of the DualShock 3, and in my view, ranks alongside the exceptional Xbox 360 gamepad. It’s bigger, more ergonomic, and at long last, has concave thumbsticks and triggers. Whereas the DualShock 3’s handles were small and its convex triggers were counterintuitive, the DualShock 4 feels substantial and conforms to your hands with ridged indented thumbsticks and flat triggers that wrap around the pads of your fingers.

The handles are approximately half an inch longer and have a wider, more rounded shape that rests comfortably in your palms. The thumbsticks are shorter with more resistance, creating a better sense of precision and responsiveness. The buttons of the D-pad are slightly larger and pivot inward for better tactile differentiation, while the X, square, triangle, and circle buttons are largely the same.

What’s most striking about the DualShock 4 is how everything from the D-pad to the action buttons — and even the center trackpad — are within effortless reach. I’ve never had to arch my thumbs or index fingers to reach the shoulders or home button, which now falls between the two analog sticks. Simply put, the DualShock 4 feels fantastic.

In addition to the significant ergonomic leap, the DualShock 4 also adds new functionality, most notably wireless game audio. Using the standard headphone jack built into the base of the controller, you can plug in any standard headset or earbuds and access in-game audio, as well as chat. While it lacks the surround-sound processing found on the mixamps of third-party gaming headsets, the audio quality is surprisingly good (even if the included single-earbud set is not). I’ve noticed odd feedback issues with certain headsets, like Apple’s earpods, while most work just fine. It’s by no means a replacement for high-end Astros or Turtle Beach headphones, but it’s more than sufficient for general use and cuts down on wire clutter considerably.

There’s also the new integrated speaker, but usage at launch is sparse. Of the games that do take advantage, very few make a compelling case for its inclusion. The controller speaker will most often just mimic an in-game effect, but in a diminished, tinny tone.

Support for the built-in trackpad is even rarer, and most of the time it’s simply used as just a large button to replace the Select button or, in the case of Killzone: Shadow Fall, as an additional D-pad. What’s worse, it’s not even used in applications where it would make the most sense, like the web browser. Instead of using the trackpad to control the cursor, the function is mapped to the left thumbstick.

But no feature is more underutilized and seemingly superfluous than the lightbar. The next-generation manifestation of the PS3’s PS Move controllers, the lightbar was clearly designed to work alongside the PlayStation Camera and help identify players for motion-based games. But with plans to bundle the sensor in with every system scrapped prior to launch, its utility is now largely aesthetic unless you buy the add-on. While the lightbar can be used to assign players to specific controllers or react to the beat in Sound Shapes, it’s good for little more than novelty. After all, it’s hard to notice small glowing effects when your focus is largely on your TV, let alone a light that’s not even facing you.

We’re likely to see greater adoption and subsequently more alluring uses for the DualShock 4’s unique features as the platform ages, but for now, there’s not much use for them.

In terms of battery life, the DualShock 4 can run for anywhere from eight to nine hours on a single charge, which is considerably less than the DualShock 3’s advertised 30-hour lifespan. Still, it’s more than ample charge time for even the most enthusiastic players, and now that the PS4 can recharge controllers while in standby mode, it’s fairly easy to keep your DualShock 4 juiced up.

The Verdict

Like any launch console, the PS4 isn’t perfect. The software is lacking some key functionality, the DualShock 4’s more distinctive features are underutilized, and remote play is still rough around the edges. But in spite of these issues, the PS4 is an exceptionally well-crafted console. It's impressively small and attractive design sets a new bar for the industry, and its powerful hardware offers not only stunning visuals, but higher player counts, constantly connected experiences, and larger, more detailed worlds.

And did I mention how great the DualShock 4 is? It’s pretty amazing.