[We even left Apple's digital assistant out of the Alexa vs. Google Assistant showdown, as Siri is not only less skilled than its rivals, but often has trouble understanding its listeners and processing their requests. But help is on the way in the form of Apple's shiny new product.

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple has acquired Dublin-based AI startup Voysis, and while there is no word yet on when Voysis will be integrated into Siri, this secret weapon is sure to make the upcoming iPhone 12 and other iPhones stand out against the best Android phones. The next iPhone 12 and other iPhones will surely stand out against the best Android phones.

What could Siri help us do better? Shopping is definitely at the top of the list. The now-deleted Voysis web page included an example where users could narrow down their product search results by combining parameters. In other words, one could say, "I want a new LED TV" and "My budget is $1,000."

In a video on YouTube, Voysis describes itself, for now, as a "complete voice AI platform." It then shows an example of a furniture retailer using natural language while shopping online. The shopper first says, "I'm looking for a coffee table." Then follows, "Please show me something modern with a round glass top."

To further narrow the search, the shopper says, "Just show me something light." He also adds a price range, "My budget is $500." With each command, the search results are further narrowed.

It is easy for Apple to integrate Voysis into their apps. For example, one could search for a particular type of game in the App Store or find a show to watch on Apple TV Plus. But if Apple opens up this platform to developers, things could get a lot more interesting.

Since Voysis has already provided AI to other companies for integration into their apps and voice assistants, it is reasonable to assume that Apple will integrate this technology directly into Siri and make it available to iOS developers.

As Bloomberg reports, Voysis would take up little space. The company's co-founders said in 2018 that they have shrunk the system to the point where the software uses only 25 MB of memory. Perhaps this will allow Apple to put more of Siri's intelligence directly into the phone and reduce its reliance on the cloud.

Google Assistant already has a big lead in this regard: the latest version of Google Assistant is slim enough to run directly on Android phones and processes requests up to 10 times faster than before.

This newly acquired technology is unlikely to be ready for iOS 14, which will be unveiled for the first time at Apple's all-digital WWDC 2020 event. However, it is possible that Apple will provide at least some Voysis functionality to Apple devices via subsequent updates in time for the iPhone 12 launch this fall.