IVR systems operate under one simple truth: speaking, for most, is the simplest form of communication.

Now, smartphone developers are taking a page out of the IVR handbook and accepting this universal truth, and things couldn’t be more exciting.

Almost every major smartphone these days comes with speech-recognition software, and when every company is trying to differentiate itself, talking tech is a tipping point between brands.

And now, speech-rec tech is at the center of the biggest smartphone rivalry today: Apple vs. Google.

Apple and Google have really never gotten along, at least from what I’ve seen.

With the lengthy legal battles and biting commercials, it was beginning to seem like they stopped caring about their products and instead just wanted to beat up and accuse one another.

As of this summer, though, things look like they’re going to change.

According to Gizmodo, both companies held developers’ conferences this summer and have promised huge updates to their mobile operating systems when they release iOS6 and Jellybean (Apple’s and Google’s upgrade, respectively) this fall.

Although speech-recognition tech has been featured in both company’s products in the past, iOS6 and Jellybean promise massive upgrades to the tech, and the blogosphere is already ablaze with rumors and theories about whose program will be better.

The software won’t be out for public release for a little while yet (as late as this fall), but the writers over at Techno Buffalo have already snagged a copy of both iOS 6 and Jellybean and have run some initial speech-rec tests.

According to Techno Buffalo’s brief video (link to: http://youtu.be/kDsOtdRtG0Q), it looks like Android is going to be the winner in speed (not by much), but both seem to have near-perfect accuracy.

Regardless of who’s better, these are some of the most advanced speech-recognition programs I’ve seen on a consumer smartphone to date.

Although neither Apple nor Google’s speech-rec tech is as advanced as what we use in our IVR systems, both companies have made leaps and bounds in that direction, and I’m excited to see what they come up with.