USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham says Google Home is improved but is still a work in progress with some gaping holes. That's how it was pitched in its sneak peek demo at the Google I/O 2016 developer conference. But when it was released to the public in November, it didn't turn out that way. Many of the features didn't work as promised, and critics were mixed. The $129 speaker had potential, USA TODAY's Edward Baig and others said, though it was clearly playing catch up to Amazon's Alexa and the Echo speaker.

Move over, Siri: your iPhone might soon welcome another AI assistant into the iOS fold. Google could throw the smartphone world for a loop at this week's I/O developers conference and unveil new Google Assistant functionality for the iPhone, according to Bloomberg. The report, which cites "a person familiar with the matter," claims the Assistant-to-iOS news could be announced as early as the first day of the event. Assistant will come to the iPhone in the form of a free iOS app, the source said, and will depend on voice commands to work with other Google apps installed on users' phones. You'll presumably be able to ask Assistant to queue up videos on YouTube or even read off emails from Inbox, to name a few potential uses.

Artificial intelligence companies are sprouting all over the world. With rapid advancements ranging from virtual assistants to fraud detection, AI has come a long way recently. Almost every organization, whether it is fashion, banking or retail, is using AI in a way possible to innovate and make their services better. Technology giants like Apple, Google, Intel, Samsung and Salesforce are competing in the race to acquire private AI companies. More than 200 small companies using AI algorithms across different verticals have been acquired since 2012, with over 30 acquisitions taking place in the first quarter of 2017 alone.

If you've spent any time barking at your virtual assistant, you've no doubt had the conversation run aground a few times. "No, Siri, I said'Play Prince Purple Rain,' not'Belay price Urkle T-pain.'" But while Siri, Alexa, and Google may sometimes have a tough time understanding what you're asking even if you speak in a plain American accent, just imagine what it's like for somebody speaking English with a foreign accent. We put the three top assistants to the test. We asked friends of ours from Italy, Ireland, Scotland, England, Japan, Germany, and Australia to ask an iPhone with Siri, a Google Home, and an Amazon Echo various questions.

Amazon's Fire TV software is jumping out of set-top boxes and into its first 4K television set. The online retailer recently made available for pre-order the Element Amazon Fire TV Edition 4K TV. The set comes in 43-, 50-, 55-, and 65-inch screen sizes priced at $450, $550, $650, and $900 respectively. The televisions are expected to start shipping on Wednesday, June 14. Those are cheap prices for a 4K TV, especially one with smart features.

For the second year running, Google's massive I/O developer event will take place at the storied Shoreline Amphitheater, right around the corner from the company's Mountain View headquarters. Last year's conference had a host of major announcements worthy of such a high-profile venue -- it's where Google Home, the Google Assistant and the Daydream VR headset were all introduced. But this year, things seem like they'll be a little quieter, at least in terms of big consumer-facing hardware. It'll probably be a year of refinement, where big initiatives continue to be polished. We'll be there all three days this year, bringing you breaking news, analysis, interviews, videos and more.

While presenting own advanced Robo-Advisory Platform, Michał Różański, Managing Partner at EARP and CEO at Empirica, will illustrate the most important issues of building tailored FinTech software in his session at 20th Cloud Expo. He will share experiences we have gained for over 6 years of developing solutions for financial institutions and FinTech companies, including robo-advisors. We welcome all FinTech innovators interested in how properly implemented technology can move their businesses forward. Speaker Bio Michał Różański is Managing Partner at EARP and CEO at Empirica, the first european FinTech Software House, which delivers highly specialized software development services for financial industry. He is also the architect behind Empirica's flagship products like Empirica-Advisor, the robo-advisory software for wealth managers and Algorithmic Trading Platform, the cutting edge algorithmic tools for professional investors.

Facebook wants computers to better understand what people say. The social networking giant unveiled a research project on Monday that is aimed at jump starting the development of more powerful voice-recognition software used in things like Apple's (aapl) Siri, Amazon's (amzn) Alexa, and Google's (goog) Assistant. And the company is asking outsiders for help. Facebook's goal is for computers to eventually have meaningful conversations with humans. If successful, it would be a major step forward from current technology, which is still in its early stages. People can currently do some basics like using their voices to ask Amazon's Echo home speaker to play the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night or navigate automated phone trees when talking to your cable company.

Slated to hold its developer conference this week, Google is keeping up with the competition and bringing its artificial intelligence assistant to the iPhone, according to news reports. First reported by Android Police and confirmed by Bloomberg, Google is slated to bring its Assistant voice-powered assistant to the iPhone, as well as the company's existing Photos app and GE home appliances. Google I/O, where the company is expected to make the announcements, starts May 17. The Assistant is slated to be available in the App Store. Apple, which has its own virtual assistant, Siri, has been tight about allowing competing assistants on to its devices, but it has opened up the gates in recent months.

USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham says Google Home is improved but is still a work in progress with some gaping holes. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham says Google Home is improved but is still a work in progress with some gaping holes.