THE STORY

Ever wanted an Artificially Intelligent virtual assistant akin to Iron Man Tony Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S to help you through the day? That was a rhetorical question, we already know the answer; we asked Evi…

THE EXPERIENCE

We here at the heart of the Android universe have run the whole gamut of voice-controlled virtual assistants from the slick and smart to the dumb and even dumber, from vocally actuated apps that react instantly and precisely to even the most complex questions, to those that are akin to attempting to ask a particularly stroppy teenager to tidy their room. However, already referred to as the Android equivalent of Siri, now we have Evi…

Having already garnered widespread acclaim within the media, the brain-child of a British entrepreneur, Evi really does take a different approach. Capable of accepting commands and questions via either voice or text input, Evi has a built-in browser and a database of nearly a billion facts to fall back on in a bid to respond to requests as rapidly as possible.

With a straightforward interface, tap-to-speak microphone and text-box, Evi also replies in both speech and text format, allowing you to rate the response and help her AI to advance. And she is quick too; lightning quick in comparison with many of her contemporaries. Then there’s the question of accuracy – which is no question at all, as Evi has an enviable hit-rate no matter how ‘wacky’ you get with your queries and requests. Impressive.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Easily the best of the AI virtual assistants I’ve tested, Evi is responsive, accurate, doesn’t constantly stumble over the slightest hint of an accent and, as she’s always learning, will continue to get better and better – something which was probably more than a little instrumental in Apple deciding to ban her from the App Store. So: “Evi, remind me, who was Siri again…”

Additional information

Current version: 1.1.02.2 and up

Requires Android

Download the Evi app from Google Play

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