Amazon Echo vs. Google Home

Amazon Echo vs. Google Home

A new challenger to Amazon Echo has entered the ring, Google Home. So before we get started on the pros and cons of these two titans of smart home device management, we thought we should give them each a short introduction.

Google Home

Google Home is a recent entry into the smart home management arena, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a strong contender. Google Home has several features that are clear winners when it comes to smart home device management.  And it comes loaded with what is arguably the most used search engine around. The Google Home Controller has a far range which allows you to communicate with Google Home from most rooms in your home.

While Google is a well-known brand, it’s natural to wonder what it is doing in the Smart home automation realm. As it turns out, it’s doing a lot. Google Home can manage your entertainment, answer pretty much any question you have, keep you on time for appointments, provide you with driving directions and flight information, get you an Uber and manage most of the smart devices in your home.

It can also connect to streaming devices that include Vizio, Philips, Sony and more. This allows you to watch movies streamed from your iPhone or Andriod device, YouTube, and other streaming services. Google Home also has a silly side and on occasion may ask you random questions or even make a joke. It’s always listening, so be prepared for some unexpected interactions with your new controller.

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo has been enjoying some pretty solid press as of late, largely due to its hands-free speaker, Alexa, you can ask Alexa questions about the weather, your calendar or what movie you want to watch next. Alexa can provide you with news, weather, and music, all you have to do is ask. Amazon Echo also connects to a variety of entertainment options that include Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Spotify. It can also play music through your smartphone; Echo comes equipped with a downward firing speaker system that is designed to fill any room with sound.

The more you interact with Echo, the more it gets to know you. It adapts to your speech patterns and preferences which allow you to manage your smart home devices with simple voice commands. Echo can manage a variety of devices including SmartThings, Wemo, Hue, Insteon, tp-link, Nest, ecobee and Wink. Echo can turn your lights on or adjust the temperature in your home, and when you aren’t home you can manage Echo using iPhone and Andriod Apps.

What Can and Cannot be Done

Before we do a side by side comparison, let’s dive deeper into what Google Home and Amazon Echo can do, and what they cannot do, when it comes to smart home device management, entertainment, and calendar (and pretty much life) management.

Smart Home Device Control

When you take away the cool factor at the end of the day, what you have are two great companies with dueling smart home controllers. We will get into all the sexy stuff in a bit, but first, we need to know how they connect with the devices they control, and what exactly what providers can connect to each controller.

Google Home

Since they are the new kid on the block, we will start with Google Home.  Currently Google Home connects with Nest, SmartThings, Philips Hue and IFTTT, this gives the controller the ability to manage your lights, thermostats and other home switches. Google Home is still young, so you should look for a continuous stream of partners in the short term. While its current partners aren’t at the same depth as Echo, you can rest assured that Google is focused on bringing in new smart device companies.

There is good reason to have faith in Google Home, what they lack in partners, they more than make up for in functionality. The assistant feature can answer difficult questions, and its recognition software is superior to Echo. Google Home is a narration pro; it understands what you are trying to say even if it’s inarticulate. So even when you are speaking clearly, it will do its best to understand you. It also benefits from Chromecast, which allows connections to your smart television and speakers. These are some of the best smart devices that are compatible with Google Home:

• Chromecast Audio: belonging to Google this audio component is obviously compatible, but it is also pretty cool, it can turn almost every speaker in your house into a smart speaker. And while the streaming options are limited at the moment, as more music services are added Chromecast Audio will be the best way to get the party started.
• Ecobee: You may not know much about this smart thermostat, but you will soon. Similar to Nest Ecobee gets the win when it comes to energy efficiency and design. With an innovative touch screen, this thermostat is definitely worth checking out.
• LIFX: These easy to set-up light bulbs are becoming more and more popular among smart device owners. They require no hub, you just connect them to the network, and that’s it. If they have a downside, they are pricier than competitors like Philips. While Philips requires use to purchase a smart bridge, LIFX is pretty much plug and play.
• Wemo: If your smart devices aren’t quite as smart as they used to be, or maybe they aren’t smart at all, Wemo has a way to help. Their smart outlets allow you to connect your not so smart devices to the network, which allows you to turn them on or off with Google Home or a smartphone.

While Google Home is still relatively new, they are growing quickly. They have a lot going for them, and it is a guarantee that they will continue to build new relationships with smart device providers. While this version of Google Home may seem focused on entertainment more than home automation, it is important to remember that it is two years behind the Echo. And while some may see this as a repeat of Google TV, given time the home automation components will become more robust and perhaps even surpass Google Home’s entertainment value.

Amazon Echo

For the last few years, Echo has dominated the smart home automation scene; it hasn’t had any real competition until the release of Google Home. This by no means indicates that Echo is old technology, at two years old it still enjoys the benefits of its youth. There are some things that Echo excels at, and then there are some opportunities when it comes to its smart device management skills.

Echo has been the pioneer in far-field voice recognition; it is designed to work even when there is a lot of noise in the background, which makes it superior to computer voice recognition and even Siri. Since its inception, Amazon has kept the Echo focused on smart home devices and automation. Echo’s personal assistant Alexa can now be found in refrigerators, and soon she will be in several Ford models.

Unlike Google, Echo cannot manage smart devices on its own; it relies on a smart home hub to create a centralized command center. Samsung’s SmartThings Hub is a good place to start if you aren’t that familiar with smart home hubs around $75 its worth the investment if you have several smart home devices. Wink is another good option, it’s not as powerful as the SmartThings Hub, but it is compatible with almost every device.

Once you pair the Echo with a smart home hub, there are lots of compatible devices. Here are just a few (it’s a long list) of the smart devices you can connect:

• Philips Hue Starter Kit (lighting)
• LIFX Smart LED Bulbs (lighting)
• Haiku Home Smart Ceiling Fans
• GE Link Starter Kit (lighting)
• WeMo (outlets)
• TP-Link Smart Plug (outlets)
• Nest (thermostat)
• Lyric T5 (thermostat)
• Honeywell Smart Thermostat

These are just a small percentage of the smart home devices that you can connect. While Amazon has had more time to build relationships with smart home device providers, it has also made that its primary focus. As a smart home device manager Echo is currently outpacing Google Home, Amazon’s decision to prioritize the home automation leaves Google Home playing catch up.

Entertainment

While Echo has the edge on smart home device management, Google Home is a master at keeping you entertained. While both have in house music options, Amazon has Amazon Prime Music, and Google has Google Play Music, Google Home is better at searching for the songs you want. Even if you do not know the name of the song, Google can find it with just a few words in the lyrics.

Google Home can also access all of your playlists; which includes lists on both iPhones and Android devices; it also allows you to access music from a variety of both paid and free music services. Google Home also owns YouTube, which provides endless music and video options and it excels at finding music that you have never heard of.  The Allcast App for Andriod and iPhone will allow you to stream music, movies, and photos on your Chromecast.

Amazon has a more limited list of music services to choose from; these include Amazon Music, Prime Music, Spotify Premium, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Audible. While their list of streaming music options is larger than Google Home, its YouTube that makes Google Home the winner when it comes to music and video.

When it comes to TV it becomes a cage match between Chromecast Ultra and Amazon Fire Stick, while both are designed to stream content, they operate in very different ways. Amazon Fire Stick used to have a fatal flaw in that it didn’t respond to voice commands. But Alexa came to the rescue; now you can purchase a new voice remote that will allow you to speak the title of the show or movie you want to watch.

Chromecast Ultra has a unique design that works with the majority of smart TVs, but it lacks a controller. However, when connected to Google Home, you can use voice commands to play a variety of shows and movies.  Both Amazon Echo and Google Home now have the ability to stream shows and movies using voice commands, but Echo has a slight edge here as the commands to Alexa are easier to execute, Google Home requires a few extra steps to start your favorite show.

Personal Assistants

Google has been managing most of our lives for years now, so it is to be expected that their Personal Assistant would be superior to Amazon Echo. Google Home knows more about you than some of your closest friends. It knows where you need to be and when you need to be there, what roads to take to get there, and what weather and traffic you may encounter along your way.

Don’t have a car? No worries, Google Home will get an Uber to your house and provide instructions on where you are going. Google Home also remembers your preferences, so if you always stop at Starbucks, it can show you the closest one. Google Home is also smarter, it benefits from, well, being Google.

But Alexa is no slouch, with over 3500 skills it can manage your schedule, book your flight and tell you the weather. While Alexa has a lot at its disposal, Google Home knew you before you knew it, and the knowledge of your patterns and its ability to get to know you makes it the winner in this category.

	Amazon Echo	Google Home
Wake Commands	Alexa, Echo, Amazon	Hey Google, Ok, Google
Voice Activated	Yes	Yes
Current SmartHome Partners	SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Philips Hue, IFTTT, Nest, Wemo,LIFX	SmartThings, Philips Hue, IFTTTT, Nest, LIFX
Adjust Appearance	No	Yes
Music Options	Amazon Prime Music, Spotify Premium, iHeartRadio, Pandora, TuneIn	YouTube Music, Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn
Output to Stereo Speakers	Only available with Dot	Only available with Chromecast
Audio Synced on Multiple Devices	No	Only to Google Cast devices
Personal Assistant Features	Calendar Management, shopping and to-do lists, flight status, Uber, package tracking report, traffic, news and sports scores	Personalized daily briefings, calendar management, traffic report, flight status, package tracking, email reader, shopping lists
Price	$180	$130

In Conclusion

The truth is that either of these options is great, and both have the potential only to become greater. In this battle it really comes down to personal preference, while Amazon Echo is a master at smart home device management, Google Home excels at language interpretation and entertainment options.

In its first two years, Amazon Echo had no real challenges, which made it the clear front-runner in the home automation field. Without challenge you can start to become stagnant, now with a true competitor in Google Home, both Amazon Echo and Google Home have the drive to grow and change the way we use and manage our Smart home devices. Competition is not only good for Amazon and Google, but it’s also great for consumers. Which makes this an exciting time for all of us who love our smart devices.

Amazon has already made adjustments the way their Fire Stick works by adding voice controls, and Google Home has made some significant strides in the few months since its initial launch. So get your popcorn ready because smart home automation is about to get real.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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