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My family is just NOT motivated to memorize commands like I was. Both Alexa and Google Assistant devices feature microphones that are always listening for a “wake word,” like “Alexa” or “Hey, Google” . Smart speakers streamline the way you control smart-home devices, letting you use voice commands instead of fiddling with an app. Frankly, there's very little difference between the two right now. They're both very capable smart assistants that respond to voice commands and work well with many smart home devices. Read our full head-to-head below to get a better idea of the specifics.
Voice quality is excellent on both the Google Home and Google Home Mini, easily beating the best hands-free option on any smartphone. Calls can be made to any contact in your address book, or to phone numbers found in local search results, such as a takeaway restaurant. Smartly, Google Home can pull in different contacts based on the user it recognises, so each person in your house can make their own calls to people they know. The Echo also lets you set reminders and make to-do lists, and the Google Home still falls short at a few of those sorts of basic tasks. It doesn't, for instance, let you change anything on your calendar yet. Google showed off better integration with its apps at I/O, including the ability to pull up search results on your TV with Chromecast.
Is the Google Home the Voice-Controlled Speaker for You?
I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. That pair will then appear as a single speaker in the Alexa app when directing audio in a routine or creating an even bigger set of speakers . If you're like me and have multiple Echo devices in the same area, then you already know how annoying it can be to yell, "Alexa!" and have every device compete for your attention.
At CES this January, the Echo continued to build on its lead with a slew of new integrations. Both voice assistants are neck and neck, though we give Google Assistant a slight edge thanks to its better natural language recognition. It doesn't have the number of third-party skills Alexa does, but it's still robust, and easier to talk to. For the midrange models, the Echo and Nest Audio sound similar, with generally good audio quality that can easily fill a room.
Amazon Echo VS. Google Hub: Which one is right for you?
When trying to compare these two leading smart speakers, you might wonder whether you can use the gadgets to control your smart thermostat or intelligent light bulbs. What are the qualities that make up a good smart speaker? What should you look out for when searching for the perfect one? When making your choice, the most important element is high sound quality, a powerful voice technique, and appealing design.
It also has the voice recognition but then it has another step where it tries to actually understand what you want. So in some cases better than a human and then in others not as good as a human. The GH does NOT have commands but you talk to it like you would to a human. Working in my daughters room on a DIY project and she is talking about Sheeran performance at the Grammys.
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Having said that, Alexa tends to be better when it comes to support for a wider range of devices, as well as better smart home integration. So if you have a lot of smart home devices already, Alexa might be your best bet. Both of these devices come with similar features and capabilities. They're essentially smart home hubs that can help you order groceries, turn on the television or lights, or listen to your favorite tunes at an acceptable volume, among other things. You can select multiple devices of the same kind if you want to, for example, have a whole set of lights turn on or off. Just tap the check boxes besides the gadgets you want to control, then tap next.
When she's not writing, she loves gaming, reading, and - when time allows - painting. Well, ahead of the holidays, if you're buying a new Echo Dot, Echo Dot with Clock, Echo Studio, or the Echo 4th Gen, you can get a free smart bulb! Smart bulbs can be quite expensive, so getting a free one to try things out a bit can be a great way to see if you want to invest in more of these. There are several Echo devices that come with a free smart bulb.
Amazon Echo vs Google Home: smart features
As both systems are powered in the cloud, it also means that the situation is rapidly changing, with new features coming online all of the time. We keep this article updated to help you make the right choice if you’re starting from scratch , although our opinions on which system is best can and will change over time. With Google Assistant, I nicknamed the desk lamp "Lampy," and assigned it to the office.
When she just says "hey google play sheeran grammy" and Ed Sheeran playing at the 2017 Grammys starts playing. But no command to memorize and when daughter received and plugged in was able to use instantly without any book or a single thing to memorize. So the GH in the kitchen and I ask for a song it uses my YouTube Red account but if my kid does it they get their Spotify account. Nothing manual to do and just like a human just knows one voice from another.
” Alexa was able to come up with the answer , while Google Home simply just named off a few movies that Hanks directed. "At night, I just say, 'Hey Google, turn off my bedroom lights,' and the room goes dark," she wrote. Alexa has an edge with third-party functionality, thanks to thousands of different skills that can do everything from order pizza to read a bedtime story. It tends to require very specific syntax, though, especially when activating and using most of those skills. It makes Alexa a bit hard to talk to unless you get used to phrasing requests how Alexa wants to receive them. The app will assign the right channel to one and the left channel to the other, but you can tap Swap Speakers to toggle the options, then tap Next.
However, the microphone mute button sits on the back of the device, which is a slightly awkward place for it. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
If you have two or more devices in the same vicinity, then it's best to give each one its own wake word. GH has Bluetooth streaming, it was added on the software update that just came out about 2 weeks ago. On the Philips Hue comment I've yet to have a single issue across my 20 connected lights. Cooks and frequent Google app users who want to access Google Assistant via a screen will love this display, which is well-integrated with Google Calendar and Photos. Now in its third generation, the Echo Dot doesn't have the best audio quality in the range, so it's best suited for rooms where music playback won’t be its primary function.
Google Home devices are powered by Google Assistant, a voice-activated assistant that can do various tasks, such as providing information about the weather or setting reminders. Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year. 10 smart home devices to match with your Google Assistant.
Using an on-screen virtual remote to interact with menus on a different part of the same screen takes some getting used to. It works reliably and is easy to navigate with, but my brain has to readjust each time. It’s like when you switch from using an iPad to a MacBook. There are also small differences to be noticed in the sound quality. If you want to play music directly with the devices rather than connecting to external speakers, Google Home offers a fuller, more rounded sound. However, Google’s AI voice sounds a bit more mechanical than the Echo’s AI voice, and Google Home’s volume capacity is a few decibels lower than Echo’s.
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