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Over the last five years, Alexa and Google Assistant have honed their features, plugged the gaps, and improvised the function of their products. Feature and performance-wise both of these products have matching capabilities and still, there are subtle differences between them and in this article, we will try to bring them out. The newest addition to the Google Home range, the Google Nest Audio was released in October. With the ability to be connected up into a multi-room system, you have the ability to move your music with you as you travel around the house. The cheapest Google smart speaker is the Google Nest Mini at just £29.
Simply say, "Alexa, change your wake word." Alexa will prompt you to pick from the list of offered wake words. Sure, it’s a step up from your phone’s speakers, but not a match for a decent, dedicated Bluetooth speaker. For the Nest Mini, Google Nest doubled the bass and made it possible for the speaker to adjust its volume based on the level of background noise in the room. Although the Nest Mini only has three mics, it does a superior job at picking up voice commands, even from a distance. When it comes to aesthetics, the two smart speakers differ in size, but are both covered with fabric and use LED lights to visually communicate. Set next to one another, it’s apparent that the new spherical shape of the Echo Dot makes it look larger than the Nest Mini — nearly double its height.
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Alexa also still beats Google Assistant when it comes to compatibility, so there’s a greater chance of your smart devices actually working with the Dot. In contrast, the Google Nest Mini has three far-field microphones for voice detection, as well as a 1.57-inch speaker driver. There’s Bluetooth support, but the device lacks an audio port.
If you're interested, we have a lot more to say about these companies. Check out our related articles below to explore what they can do and see our favorite devices for each. Want to make reservations at a restaurant or order food for pickup?
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Alexa's flexibility with routines is akin to what you find in a smart home system like Samsung SmartThings, making it much more effective and easier to use. Beaming content to your TV - in the form of Netflix, YouTube or Google Photos - with a quick command is very handy. The problem, though, is that asking for recipes often ends with a flurry of words. You can ask Home to slow down and repeat, but it’s not useful if you’re actually cooking. The benefit of this is huge, because you can ask what ingredients go into a particular dish whilst you rustle around your fridge.
Once you’ve peppered a few smart speakers around the house so you can talk to them wherever you are, you’ll feel like you’re living in a sci-fi movie. Alexa tends to have a broader range of third-party speakers to choose from, even if you can still find a decent number with Assistant or the option to flip between the two, as with Sonos gear. Third-party smart displays are rare, but Facebook’s Portal devices do support Alexa, and Lenovo makes Assistant displays like the Smart Clock 2.
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The second generation model was released in October 2019 and has 40 per cent stronger base than the original Mini. 3.Tap the name of the device with the wake word you want to change. We line up the hardware, software and privacy of each smart speaker for comparison.
Keep in mind that, with both Alexa and Google Assistant, third-party speaker manufacturers are increasingly choosing to integrate the voice helpers into their own products. That's a tough question because they're both similar and we find it difficult to pick between the two. Which one you decide to go with may well depend on which you personally prefer and what kind of products you're using than which is technically 'better'. Activity on on both platforms will influence the kinds of ads you’re targeted with elsewhere. Questions to Assistant are treated as if you’d entered them on Google Search, so if you ask about engagement rings, don’t be surprised to see wedding-themed ads the next time you open a web browser. If you’re talking entirely about first-party hardware, the answer is Alexa.
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We tried each assistant in our daily life and got them running our lights and plugs, and we sifted through the prices, specs and capabilities of each option and its range of speakers too. It has a larger number of compatible accessories and speakers, not to mention its skill library and a superior mobile app. The Google Home app is functional but not well organized — accessories are in a long vertical list, and it’s not always obvious how to create automation routines.
He's reviewed everything from vacuum cleaners to beer brewing robots in pursuit of the perfect smart home. He wants the smart home to make him feel powerful, and it's getting there. PCMag supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownerships. Google Assistant doesn't have nearly as many third-party plug-ins, but it's much easier to talk to. It can understand different requests more easily than Alexa, and that's very appealing. Despite Google’s fine performance in this arena, the integration of the popular Skype service and intercom feature put Alexa slightly over the top.
Over and above Alexa allows the development of new apps by the internal developer and it provides the necessary templates and integrations. Product design is surprisingly important for home assistant speakers. When you think about it, these pieces of technology need to be able to blend in with the environment around them. Whether your speaker is in your kitchen, your bedroom, or your living room, you don’t want it to feel out of place.
It doesn't have the number of third-party skills Alexa does, but it's still robust, and easier to talk to. The discontinued Google Home Max was easily the loudest first-party smart speaker out there, but it's no longer available. Now, the Echo Studio is by far the strongest in terms of sound quality, with powerful audio and the ability to fill a room with directional sound thanks to its angled drivers. Both assistants obviously integrate with their company's respective music services, and in some cases offer the ability to link to third-party offerings as well. Google Home comes with the company’s own virtual personal assistant Google Assistant. The service is generally powerful, allowing you to perform a variety of tasks, including turning on your lights and accessing your music.
Alternate dialects may be available, and sometimes, multiple languages can be used simultaneously. In the US you can choose not just English or Spanish, but a combination of the two if you’re in a multilingual household. Alexa quickly answers common questions, like the distance to the sun or the name of Canada’s Prime Minister. When that’s not enough, it can fall back on services like IMDb or Wikipedia, although there are some gaps in its wisdom. Alexa and Google Home each support up to six user accounts, though Google handles its accounts much better than Alexa. For Google, you can add anyone to your home for free as long as they have a Google account.
And when I asked about traffic conditions on the local interstate, its estimates were a lot rosier than Google’s—and I know which one I’d trust. A new feature is supposed to allow you to send traffic conditions to your phone, but it never worked for me—Alexa just kept telling me she couldn’t find that device. Not only does it give solid time estimates in most cases, but it was also the only one that could handle public transit at all . Google Assistant's results were pretty close to those from Alexa. It generally gave solid, fast answers with context, though sometimes with too much or too technical information.
But Google was certainly no slouch, and the fact remains that both are still strong choices, depending on which capabilities you prioritize. While both do pretty well in the case of general knowledge and extendability, for example, if you want the broadest possible support for music and podcast services, Alexa is probably the one to pick. If, on the other hand, you have a household with multiple people in it, each of whom want to get their own personal information via a smart speaker, Google Assistant might be a better choice. However, you can do a lot more with those devices when connected to Alexa than you can when they’re linked with Google Assistant.
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