You’ve probably heard about all of the smart home technology that can make your life a little simpler. You might just want to be able to get simple weather updates and set timers, or you might be looking for more sophisticated capabilities like changing lighting or commanding your home security. But how can you get all of your gadgets to communicate with one another and listen to voice commands? That’s where smart home platforms like Alexa from Amazon and Google Home come.
What is a smart voice assistant?
Voice assistants are intelligent assistants who reply to your commands, provide information (such as facts or weather forecasts), and manage your home appliances as part of your smart home system. You can communicate with them using your phone or a dedicated smart speaker, and the main advantage is that you can operate your devices without having to physically touch them.
Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri are the three key assistants. We’ll focus on the first two because they’re supported by the majority of smart home devices.
Difference between Alexa and Google home
There aren’t many differences between Alexa and Google, but there are a few crucial differences to be aware of. Alexa can do a few things that Google can’t, such as track your Amazon orders, detect anger in your voice, and – if everyone is sleeping – whisper its responses when you’d prefer it to be silent. Meanwhile, Google’s natural language understanding has improved, allowing it to deal with many demands in a single sentence. For example, you can set an alarm and turn on a light without having to issue two distinct commands.
In general, Google is thought to be more educated (as you’d expect with all of the search engine’s smarts at its fingertips), although Amazon is the superior alternative due to its abundance of third-party smart home connections. Google claims to work with over 50,000 smart home gadgets, but Amazon claims to work with more than twice as many.
Amazon alexa : Pros and cons
Pros
As previously said, Alexa’s main selling point is its large number of smart home integrations. On the speaker front, Amazon has a wide selection of options that can connect to your other devices.
Alexa works with a variety of Amazon-owned products, including Ring and Blink doorbells, security cameras, and Fire TV sticks, as well as a variety of third-party products, such as TP-Link plugs, cameras, and mesh wifi systems, iRobot and Eufy robot vacuums, and Philips Hue lights.
Given the way Alexa is linked to your Amazon account, it’s the ideal option for purchasing and tracking packages. You can even programme specific talents into it so that it does exactly what you desire.
Amazon’s devices are easy to set up and provide excellent audio and connectivity. Interact with them by saying “Alexa” and then stating your request, such as setting an hourly timer, dimming the lights at 8 p.m., or shuffle your playlist.
Cons
The voice of Alexa isn’t very customizable; you can change the language to British English, modify the accent, and choose between feminine and male voices, but that’s about it. Siri, on the other hand, has six accents and different voices within those settings, including one that is gender-neutral, while Google has ten main assistant voices.
Alexa also can only respond to one command at a time. If you ask Alexa to “turn on the lights and tell me the weather prediction for tomorrow,” you’ll find that it only responds to one of your requests.
Google Home : Pros and Cons
Pros
Want an assistant that can handle a proper chat and can understand you like a normal human? The value of Google Assistant is its natural language recognition and that you can issue several commands without having to say the “Hey Google” wake phrase each time.
You could, for example, tie together a series of unconnected questions like: “Hey Google, when is Father’s Day? What year did the tsunami strike? “Also, could you turn on the lights?” Without having to restart the chat, the assistant can answer to each. Because the information comes from the world’s most popular search engine, it’s accurate and trustworthy.
Although Google does not support as many smart devices as Alexa, it is still compatible with thousands of third-party products, including many of our favourites such as Philips Hue lights, Arlo wifi security cameras, and Tado smart thermostats, as well as Google’s own Nest line of surveillance cameras, Chromecast streaming devices, and mesh wifi kits.
Cons
As previously stated, Google Home lags behind Alexa in terms of third-party smart device integration. Despite the fact that it is closing the gap, this is still a big issue that will influence which one you choose.
For its products, Google does not provide a means to change the “wake word.” You’re stuck with “Hey Google,” whereas Amazon’s speakers allow you to change the phrase to “Echo,” “Amazon,” or “Computer.” Aside from that, there aren’t many other drawbacks to this intelligent platform.
Alexa vs Google Home
Both Google Home and Amazon Alexa are fantastic smart home platforms, and whichever one you choose, you’ll find it in a variety of budget and premium speakers.
If you want the most home connections, Alexa is the way to go. It is the most capable platform for setting up your connected home, as it works with thousands of supported smart home devices. Looking for a voice-activated assistant that can respond in a human-like manner and handle the most common requests? Take Google’s advice. It is smarter overall since it is powered by the search engine’s web of information.
