I believe from iPhone 6S and above, there's an option to just say "Hey, Siri" to activate Siri without having to touch the phone, so you can basically do the same thing with iPhones.
There is, but my phone is either in my pocket or not right next to me. Google Home works fine across the room, and ties directly into Google Music. I can also tell it to cast to my better speakers if that's what I want it to do. Siri also has a weird way of doing multiple timers: http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2014/01/timers-and-reminder...
But then he's listening to Christmas music via crappy phone speakers. I think people in this discussion are ignoring the advantage of having half-way decent speakers in Echo and Google Home.
Also, your phone may be deep in a pocket, in a coat, or in your purse in the other room. Echo/Home is right there in the kitchen waiting for you.
Lastly, you have no battery worries. Want 12+ hours of music in the kitchen? No problem.