The smart home is the latest technological revolution set to change the way that we live our lives forever. The days of doing things for ourselves are coming to an end, instead, we’ve got all sorts of smart home devices that we can control with a voice assistant. There are two major players on the market at the moment; the Amazon Echo or the Google Home. Apple do have their own version out but it isn’t anywhere near as popular as the other two. If you’re getting in on the smart home revolution and you aren’t sure which is best, check out this comparison of the two to find out which one is best for you.
Range Of Products
The first thing to look at is the range of products both companies offer. The Amazon Echo has been around for a little longer than the Google Home so, as expected, they have a slightly bigger range. You can get the original Echo which comes with a built in speaker that has pretty decent sound quality. If you want a cheaper option, you can get the Echo Dot. It does all of the same stuff but the speaker is a lot smaller and doesn’t sound that great. However, you can hook it up to a set of bluetooth speakers if you want to use it for music. The latest version of the Echo, the show, has a built in touch screen which you can use to control the device, display information or make video calls.
The Google Home range is pretty similar. They offer their original version with the built in speaker which matches up to the standard Echo. They also offer a smaller version but it differs from the Echo Dot because it doesn’t have an audio output. If connecting to a speaker is a priority and you want the screen, the Echo is the way to go. If you’re not bothered about either of those things, there’s no difference between the 2 ranges.
Features
Now we get down to the actual capabilities of the devices. The Amazon Echo has a lot of great features (check out this list of Amazon Echo tips to see some of the things it can do). You can control all of your smart home devices, check the weather or find out the latest sports results, all with the power of your voice.
The Google Home was released with pretty much all the same features but the voice activation wasn’t as good. However, they have recently released some updates that should fix that problem so when it comes to features, you really can’t separate the two.
Price
Price is the biggest factor for some people. When it comes to the basic ranges, they’re pretty much the same price for both but you can often get discounts on the Echo. However, the Amazon range does get more expensive if you want to include a touchscreen on there.
Overall, the Amazon Echo is probably your best bet because it’s got better functionality for speakers and they’ve been around a little longer so the features work a little smoother. However, Google looks set to catch up soon.
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