Smart speakers have become increasingly popular in recent years. The Google Home devices, which are based on the Google Assistant, and the Amazon Echo speakers, which work with Amazon Alexa, have prevailed. Both still have strengths and weaknesses - which exactly these are and which of the two systems suits you better, you will find out in this article.
What is a smart speaker and what should it be able to do?
Google Home or Amazon Echo are smart speakers that have a voice assistant installed. Microphones are built into the devices, which means that they can be activated with a wake-up call. You can then ask the installed wizard questions or give commands that are first uploaded to a cloud and analyzed there. An artificial intelligence then generates a suitable answer, which is played by the loudspeaker and, if necessary, executed.
The basic goal of the devices is always to simplify your life. It is therefore particularly important that the devices can handle natural conversations, provide you with personal answers and can work with existing devices and services. The quality of the speakers, especially the microphones, is also crucial. Since there is now a large selection of Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, it cannot be said across the board that one of the two systems would be better in this context.
Because the assistants have been on the market for a long time, both are now technically very good. This means that there is no better voice assistant, but that both can score points in their own categories. In the following, we will introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages and then show you which smart loudspeaker is best for whom..
Natural conversations
In order for a conversation with the smart loudspeaker to be as natural as possible, it must first understand you. That depends on the quality of the built-in microphones and less on the installed voice assistants. However, there are also differences in the wizards themselves: Amazon's Alexa sounds a little more fluid and less “robot-like” overall. On the other hand, a Google Home speaker understands the context of questions better than Amazon Echoes, which makes it easier for you to ask questions.
Overall, Google Home devices can answer questions about knowledge better, while Amazon Echoes can answer questions about products more accurately. Alexa can also order products directly from Amazon, which is particularly useful for smaller consumables.
Reply personally
For many, when buying a smart speaker, it is also important that it is personal. This means that you can ask questions about your calendar, to-do lists or the like and the answers will be tailored to your usage. In principle, both assistants have mastered this so well that a difference in use is hardly noticeable. Thanks to the connection to Google Calendar, Gmail and Google Search, Google Home has a slight advantage here.
Ultimately, however, it depends on which productivity services you are already using. If you have a Gmail account and use Google Calendar, a Google Home device is recommended. Otherwise, you can also use an Amazon Echo with your existing calendar..
Integration with existing devices
It is also important to use it with other devices that you already own. Amazon Echo speakers work particularly well with other Amazon devices such as the Fire TV; You can easily use Google Home with the Google Chromecast. In both cases, you can use your smart speaker to play videos, films or the like on a television.
Amazon Echos offer an advantage when it comes to smart home products. Although Google Home speakers can also work with the most important smart home brands such as Phillips Hue, Samsung Smart Things or Ikea Tradfri, Echos offer a much larger selection. If you are already using smart home products, you should check beforehand whether the device in question is compatible with the smart speaker. When in doubt, an Amazon Echo is the safer choice as it is compatible with more smart home devices.
Overall, it depends on which devices you already own and want to use with the smart speaker, especially with regard to multimedia products. If you already have other Amazon devices, an Amazon Echo is an advantage, and vice versa for a large number of Google devices.
Integration with other services
The smart speakers should also be able to work with existing providers for music, film or series streaming. This is the case with both: Services such as Spotify, Deezer or TuneIn work directly on the loudspeaker and Netflix or Disney + can be controlled with Alexa or the Google Assistant and displayed on a television.
Amazon offers such as Amazon Prime Music or Prime Video only work on the Amazon Echo devices; You can only find Google Play Music on the Google Home devices. Again, before making a purchase, you should check which services you want to use with the device and whether these are supported.
Amazon Echo and Google Home also offer thousands of small programs with “Skills” and “Actions” that have been specially created for the loudspeakers. This allows you to access functions that would otherwise only be available with Alexa or the Google Assistant - for example other weather services, timetable information for Deutsche Bahn or radio stations.
You can see which skills are available here:
Conclusion
Overall, there is no better speaker. Instead, the Amazon Echo and Google Home both have many advantages and some disadvantages - and both can be highly recommended. You should primarily base your purchase decision on which devices and services you already own and use, and whether these are supported by the smart speakers.
In addition, thanks to the Google Assistant, a Google Home loudspeaker offers you more natural and personalized conversation flows with a connection to the Google knowledge database and services such as Gmail. Amazon Echo scores with Alexa, especially in terms of better pronunciation and the connection to many smart home products and the Amazon shop..