Amazon Alexa vs Google Assistant

Right now I have Android phones and Chromebook, but I am constantly battling Google’s efforts to force me to waste time or money. My Android devices, I only select ones I can unlock, then I can insert anti-Advertisement software so I can use the device as efficiently as possible. With my Chromebook I have plugins/extensions to do the same thing.

My battle with Amazon involves using 3rd part tracking services to inform me when the thing I want is discounted.

Right now I only have the EufyLife Smartplug to do basic remote on/off of appliances.

I see the battle looming however between “smart” systems which use voice to insert themselves into your decisions and make less-smart (more expensive) decisions for you so you are forced to buy products based on how much money they pay Amazon or pay Google to make the decision for you.

I see Anker via Zolo, Roav brands is inserting itself into this battle.

Are you concerned about this at all - it making “smarter” decisions (actually making you spend more money) at all? Are you ambivalent? Are you against?

Discuss.

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I will say that for me personally, all this “smart” stuff doesn’t interest me one bit. What happens when the internet goes down? Where are we then? Suddenly helpless and have forgotten how to order a pizza? Turn on a light? Flush the toilet?

Just my opinion…take it as you will.

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I’m unsure if I should invest so much money into smart home. Because I have no idea for how long the devices will work. It might be the same situation like it it with smartphones and I don’t want to spend so much money every 2-3 years.

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Smart home is just one aspect of this. With Roav Viva you’re making a choice of which ecosystem in your smart car, in that product’s case its Alexa so Amazon.

I got to be honest. I’m a sucker for some cool smart consumer gadge. I’d love nothing more than it all to work with Apple HomeKit and Siri but it doesn’t. For whatever reason(s), Apple just don’t allow access.

So (although I haven’t got any devices yet) if Anker go with Alexa, I will prob go there too. I will probably get samples and buy some bits too and start to increase the smartness of our home.

We’ve got a few things here (Hue, Nest, Guardzilla Cam) which I won on Facebook comps so cost me nothing and would like to add some Eufy bulbs too (make some coloured GU10’s please) but I need 35 :confused:

The kids love the smart tech and it’s where the world is going. We would all be sat looking at a tv with a small screen and grainy image if we didn’t move with the times so get involved :grin:

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I see now more and more companies are going to be including Alexa integration into laptops now, so for the time being it seems Alexa is winning out on the smart assistant/home front.
As for which will come out on top, I see both google and Alexa coexisting with one another as they both have their niche market and benefits.

Either way I don’t own a home and rent so either or works for me for now

Do you think that Alexa vs Google Home is similar to BluRay vs HDDVD, back in the day between Sony and Microsoft?

Missus has the Echo Dot and kids have the Google Home Mini. I toyed with the idea of of buying smart bulbs at Xmas just for living room but with the amount of down lights and lamps in that room alone would’ve cost a fortune. So I would hate to price bulbs for entire house.

Wonder if we will see an increase in the number of newly built houses offering these smart setups :thinking:

I do think the competition between the 2 will be important as it will drive innovation and hopefully prices down.

I read an article which said that Alexa is now the winner. But in probably 3-4 years will google assistants be bigger, because google has more resources to create a smarter assistant. I mean they get so many data so that they have an huge advantage

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Well for now Amazon has the lead but I soon see them being surpassed by Google in every way. For example navigating media on netflix & YouTube is already far superior with google. Google also provides much better information when you ask it questions

I ventured into the smart devices when I grabbed an Amazon Tap on special. I needed a new speaaker, had a coupon and the price was right. I’m hooked now - I own a Dot and an Echo, plus received a Google Home Mini when I bought my Pixel 2XL. Now I’m looking for the best smart home devices to add to the mix - lights, cameras, and smart plugs are all on my list. I love how Alexa can integrate with my Fire TV and pause or rewind a show I’m watching quickly. There are money other uses that have been become a part of my daily routine; for example, setting quick timers or alarms, checking the weather forcast, catching up on news while I get dinner ready, and even sending quick messages when my phone is not handy.

Do you think at some point the anticompetitiveness laws will chime in and act to make these ecosystems forced to interoperate?

If we extrapolate from past fines of Google

And then other earlier similar domination

I have two Google Home devices and two Alexa devices (both of my Alexa devices that are third party devices and not produced by Amazon; Zolo Halo and Eufy Genie).

From my experience, I GREATLY prefer Google assistant over Alexa. Using Amazon skills is really clunky compared to Google home and half the time Alexa doesn’t want to work with my stuff even though I have my stuff paired with both assistants.

Google assistant is smarter and more accessible to me since she is on my phone and my Android Wear Watch. The lack of Alexa on wearables and phones (except for a few fringe cases) will hurt Alexa integration into daily life enough for Google to surpass her in popularity and market share.

Also add to this, Google has ALL of our browsing history, trends, etc at their disposal and although Amazon has their platform and search history, it pales in comparison to the amount of data Google has to produce a smarter assistant.

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So do you think Android users will tend to go to Google Assistant and the others (Apple) will tend to go Alexa?

Apple has their own assistant coming out this year but I think they will fall behind and cannot surpass Alexa or Google

I love the idea of a “smart home” and being able to control so much so easily sounds great but I have yet to really test many of these devices, so I don’t have any personal experience to add to the conversation. However, the idea sounds interesting. My one beef is with the smart speakers, coming from a home with NSA workers I have always been security conscience and the idea of a speaker that can always listen to me makes me rather uncomfortable. Then there is the fact that is connected to the internet and is ripe for the picking of hackers. For me it just doesn’t seem worth the risk. I mean maybe I am just crazy and paranoid and I know very little about how these smart speakers work so maybe somebody could inform me of the security that they have but until I have no other option I don’t see myself getting one.

Anything can be hacked given the right amount of time. But, as long as you setup and secure your wifi network to the full extent of what it’s capable of you will make it even harder for someone to hack into it. Given these smart speakers are all interconnected you are only as secure as you make yourself

Eufy can be hacked so…

I have couple of google mini speakers and Anker Zolo Halo with Alexa.
I think google has a better implementation. I have some issues (like Alexa speaking randomly) with Zolo Halo. I guess with more time these smart speakers will learn to a point that there will be no operational differences.

Why is Alexa Halo lower cost than Google Assistant Mojo now? They do the same apart from which audio sensing tech is used?

My thoughts as they are: New homes that are being built will need to have all of the smart home infrastructure built-in, in order to really make this take off in the future. Retrofitting existing homes with speakers, light bulbs, thermostats,security systems is pricey and not necessarily something that I believe mainstream homeowners will do quickly.

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