Virtual digital assistants were an important part of smartphones and proved to be extremely helpful. They’re very useful when you cannot use your own hands to work your devices. Many leading companies use these digital assistants in many of their smartphone and desktop applications, with the aid of artificial intelligence and voice-activated commands. There has been a constant debate among Apple’s ‘Siri,’ Google’s ‘Google Now’, or Windows’ ‘Cortana’ about which digital assistant is the best. Digital mobile assistants have become an important part of our lives and the apps that we use. The discussion on who is today’s best available digital assistant has been going on for a long time. Below are numerous digital assistants and a couple of their features. Siri Sir developed by Apple Inc. Since iOS 5 was launched Siri has been a part of iOS. Originally Siri had no basic functionality and facilitated the distribution of information for events such as sports, weather, and messaging. Since that, Siri has evolved immensely and now has a wide array of functionality and even allows third-party integrations. Siri can now be instructed to send e-mails using its voice control technology, locate contacts, open applications, post updates to social networking websites, etc. This is also much easier for Siri to connect with other features such as the Apple Calendar or clock compared to other digital assistants. What can it do? Search the web Send SMS texts Make calls Open apps Make Face Time Calls Sent tweets Update Facebook statuses Suggest apps and contacts Setup/alter calendar events Look up calendar details Set alarms Change some phone settings Look up movie details Look up directions in Apple Maps Ask for public transport directions Locate nearby attractions/restaurants and so on Play music Identify music Readout text messages Readout unread emails Show photos according to date and location What can it not do? Send Facebook messages Interact with most third-party apps Pre-empt most of what you want Pull out info from your email Cortana It developed for Windows devices by Microsoft; Cortana is an extremely useful and supportive digital assistant. Cortana can be told to send an email, set up reminders, remember the music, find places to eat, keep a calendar log, etc. With the latest updates that came along with Windows 10, Cortana’s capabilities have hit new heights. Now Cortana will read your e-mails, scan files by context, and offer some useful information based on the data it gathers. When you don’t want to talk out loud as well, Cortana allows you to type your queries or questions, making it a bit more engaging than Siri. What can it do? Make calls Send text messages Search the web (using Bing) Show local events, restaurants, and the like Add/change calendar events Make notes Offer weather reports Tell you how long it’ll take to get to home/work Offer travel advice Identify music Check your flight status Set reminders when you next talk to a person Google Now Google Now varies quite a bit from other digital assistants like Siri and Cortana. It is planned to keep an eye on the general public. Google Now can be asked to find directions to the nearest eating joint, or to check the weather, send emails, messages, etc. If allowed to do so, Google Now will browse through your profile and search history to provide results that could match your needs. Its integration with the most popular search engine in the world makes it one of the most useful digital assistants currently available. What can it do? Tell you the weather Tell you how to get home by car Tell you how to get home on foot How to get home by bus/train Remind you about calendar events Notify you of emailed item dispatch notices, flight times, etc. Give you updates on your sports team Give you stock updates Offer info based on your web searches Let’s you search the web with your voice/typing Launch contextual assistance based on what’s on-screen (Android 6.0) Identify music Play music What can it not do? Let you search for anything within the Now interface Search for photos