In 2014, Amazon quietly launched the Echo, a 9-inch tall speaker controlled by a cloud-based voice assistant that goes by the name of Alexa. Following the popularity of the Amazon Echo, Alphabet launched Google Home in late 2015. In late December 2017, Apple will also join the fray with the Siri-powered HomePod.
In this article, you'll learn the differences between the three voice-activated speakers:Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod.
The Amazon Echo is one of five products that make up the best-selling line of Alexa-equipped home devices. This list now includes The Amazon Echo Look Gives You Fashion Advice The Amazon Echo Look Gives You Fashion Advice The Amazon Echo Look is a hands-free camera designed to dole out fashion advice to those who need it. Useful? Possibly. Niche? Probably. Narcissistic? Sure. Read more about Amazon Tap, Amazon Dot, Amazon Echo Look, and Amazon Echo Show.
We are mentioning these speakers only to illustrate the challenges facing the Google Home and Apple HomePod in the market. These speakers are not just competing against one device, but five, each available at different price points. Despite this, from here on out, we will limit our discussion to the Amazon Echo as it relates to the other two speakers.
The Echo features seven microphone sensors embedded below an LED ring at the top of the device. These sensors use what Amazon calls "beamforming technology," allowing you to listen from any direction.
As a long-time Echo user, I can confirm that it's a wonderful listener even when there's background noise. React to everything. 7 Creative Uses for Amazon Echo and Alexa. 7 Creative Uses for Amazon Echo and Alexa. You've seen the ads starring Alec Baldwin, but you're still not sure what the Amazon Echo does or if you need one in your home. We're about to find out. Read More You can also call the echo. “Amazon,” by changing a setting in the Alexa app.
Although the echo is largely controlled by the voice, the device also contains three input controls at the top. The first of these is the LED ring, which you can turn left and right to change the volume of the speaker. There is also an action button and a mute button. The former provides a way to disable a timer or alarm. The latter turns the Alexa capability on and off.
Inside, the Echo packs a 2-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer. This combination makes for a nice sound quality.
The Amazon Echo is currently available in black and white. If you want a speaker that blends in with the background, I'd suggest the black model. If you're feeling like a rebel, go white.
Alexa, like Google Assistant, processes the data in the cloud. Without an internet connection, the Echo becomes a very dumb device. But when you're connected to the internet, Alexa can do a lot.
Music
With Alexa voice service, you can ask Alexa to play music, give you information, and update you on news, sports scores, weather, and more. To get started, you need to download and install the free Alexa app. From there, you'll be prompted to connect the Echo to your local Wi-Fi network and verify your Amazon account.
Echo offers hands-free voice control for many of the most popular streaming music services, including Amazon Music, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Since the Echo doubles as a Bluetooth speaker, you can also stream from other services like iTunes from your phone or tablet.
It is very simple to use Echo as a musical speaker. Alexa does a great job of finding songs and playlists. You can give Alexa Music related commands, like, “Alexa ... ”
Having a speaker to listen to music is one of the main reasons to buy an Echo. However, thanks to Alexa, Echo is much more than a reasonably priced home speaker.
Amazon Apps
Alexa Skills 18 Amazing New Amazon Alexa Skills You Need To Try 18 Amazing New Amazon Alexa Skills You Need To Try The list of Amazon Echo skills is growing all the time. Let's take a look at the most useful and silliest abilities of the last few months. Read More To date, there are more than 3,000 Alexa skills and counts, courtesy of the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), which allows third parties to create these skill sets.
Alexa doesn't automatically have these skills. Instead, you must install them from the Alexa app.
For example, you can ask Alexa to order a pizza from Domino's or request an Uber. When you're bored, challenge Alexa to a game of Jeopardy! When you're looking for a fancy meal to make, ask Alexa to reread the Food Network recipe on your TV right now.
An API
An important aspect of Alexa Skills is the Smart Home Skill API. With this tool, manufacturers can make Alexa communicate with their smart devices. As a result, you can talk to control lights, door locks, thermostats, fans, and more. The biggest players in the smart home industry have products that work with Alexa, including Philips Hue, Ecobee, and Samsung SmartThings.
Amazon is so serious about the Alexa Skills program that it has started courting potential hardware partners with its $100 million Alexa Fund. With this fund, venture capital funding is provided to drive voice technology innovation. In other words, you should expect the number of Alexa skills to continue to increase in the years to come.
Amazon provides a few extras for Echo users who are also Prime subscribers. You can enjoy hands-free shopping with Alexa on millions of items on Amazon as an exclusive benefit of your Prime membership. You can also listen to unlimited Prime Music, which also includes original audio series and handcrafted playlists for every interest.
Amazon Echo costs $179.
Google Home first launched in May 2016 at Google I/O. Five months later, it was officially demo, with a public release date of November.
Google Home isn't going to win any design awards thanks to its cute exterior that looks like a two-tone air freshener. At the top, you'll find two far-field microphones along with four LED lights. This location also serves as a touch pad, where you can play or pause music, change the volume, or mute the system.
The base of the device is covered in gray fabric, although you can change this using one of the additional bases offered by Google. These come in fabric and metal varieties.
Inside, Google Home features a built-in "high excursion" speaker that delivers "Crystal clear highs and rich lows." It can pair multiple Google Home devices Google Home Review Google Home Review Google Home is a smart speaker personal assistant, and it comes from a company that literally knows everything. The $130 Google device answers questions, controls your smart home and plays music. Should you buy one? Read More
This feature is a great thing Alexa speakers don't communicate very well with each other. Also, you can't use two or more Amazon Echos to play stereo sound.
Google Home's killer feature is Google Assistant. Like Alexa, Google Assistant uses a cloud to answer your questions. Unlike Alexa, Google Assistant uses natural language processing, which improves reliability.
As a bonus, the device can also access your Google account to get information about your daily schedule, assuming you use Google Calendar.
Music
Google Home is compatible with a handful of music services, including Google Music, YouTube Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Pandora, and TuneIn. Please note that you need a YouTube Red subscription to listen to Google Music or YouTube Music on your device.
Smart home
Google Home also has a smart home component similar to what you'll find on the Echo. Google Home works with Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, TP-Link, IFTTT, and more. There is also compatibility with other Alphabet products, including Google Chromecast. Hack your Chromecast experience with these tricks. Hack your Chromecast experience with these tricks. Did you know that your Chromecast is capable of much more than just streaming video? In this article, we'll show you eight clever hacks that will make your Chromecast experience even better. Read more and Nest.
Chromecast integration allows Google Home to act as an audio receiver. For example, you can cast a song from your smartphone to a better speaker in your home, simply by tapping the Cast logo within a compatible app. This process works on any device connected to Chromecast, including TVs.
Welcome Developers
A specialized Google Developer Kit helps potential businesses integrate their products with both Google Assistant and Google Home. Action Kit comes in two flavors:direct and conversational.
Direct actions are for simple tasks, like turning on a light in the bedroom or playing a song on YouTube. More complicated conversational actions require some back and forth between you and Google Assistant. For example, you might want to set your Nest Thermostat to an absolute temperature for X minutes.
Google Home is $129.
First Featured at the Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC '17:HomePod, iOS 11, and Other Major Apple Announcements WWDC '17:HomePod, iOS 11, and Other Major Apple Announcements Overwhelmed by WWDC? You don't need to be. Here are all the major announcements from Apple's 2017 keynote. Read More However, there is one area where Apple seems to have gone in a different direction:sound.
The Apple HomePod comes equipped with some pretty impressive internals that will allow it to deliver 360-degree sound. Under the hood, you'll find a custom-amplified high-excursion woofer, seven tweeters, six microphones and more.
Better yet, the device is equipped to analyze the acoustics of a room to adjust the sound based on its location. By doing so, the device steers the music in an optimal direction.
Want more than one HomePod? Thanks to AirPlay 2, you can add HomePod devices to multiple rooms. And these speakers can talk to each other so you can play your music throughout your home.
With Apple's Siri, you can control the music on HomePod with your voice. The same goes for the HomePod integration with Apple HomeKit. This protocol allows software developers to create applications that work with home automation products. In other words, HomePod, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, will let you control your home appliances.
Music
Not surprisingly, Apple Music 6 reasons to listen to Beats 1 on Apple Music 6 reasons to listen to Beats 1 on Apple Music If you haven't listened to Beats 1 yet, we're here to tell you why you should. In this article, we'll explore six reasons why the Beats 1 is worth your time and attention. Read More and Siri play a big role in what makes HomePod tick. With Apple Music integration being one of the best HomePod features, 12 Apple HomePod features that will make you want one. We've rounded up the coolest Apple HomePod features that will make you want to own the smart speaker. Read More
Because of AirPlay 2, you'll almost certainly be able to listen to other music streaming services on HomePod. However, Siri will only work with Apple Music, at least initially.
What about Bluetooth? Apple hasn't said whether HomePod has support for this protocol, which would open up even more streaming music services to use on the speaker.
There is still a lot about HomePod that is unknown. However, it's already clear that Apple plans to position the device as a high-end speaker system for the home. This decision makes a lot of sense given the premium price of the device.
When it launches, the Apple HomePod will be available for $349.
The smart speaker market continues to evolve and will continue to do so in the coming months and years. At the time of this writing, the Amazon Echo offers more features than the Google Home, though that's starting to change thanks to Google Assistant.
The launch of HomePod will have a profound effect on the smart speaker market. Increased competition will surely lead to better products from all involved, which is beneficial for consumers.
If you're looking for a smart speaker right now, the Amazon Echo continues to be the product to beat. There is no way of knowing where the market will be in just a few months. Stay tuned.
And if you want a smaller speaker, check out our comparison of the Google Home Mini and Amazon Echo Dot. Google Home Mini vs. Amazon Echo Dot:The best small smart speaker Google Home Mini vs. Amazon Echo Dot:The Best Smart Smart Speaker Having trouble choosing between the Google Home Mini and the Amazon Echo Dot? Find out which is the best affordable smart speaker. Read more.
