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Grant Clauser is the senior editor for the smart-home and audio/video categories. He has been reporting on technology since 1999 and has been an invited speaker at events including CES and CEDIA. He has completed certification classes from THX, ISF, and Control4.
As music-listening devices, voice-controlled speakers are convenient for people who like to always have music or podcasts around them but don’t want to fuss with a smartphone to select their channels or playlists. Simply say a trigger word and tell it what you want to listen to, and it starts playing. But they’re also digital assistants that can be used to control smart devices, order products online, and much more. Both Alexa and Google Assistant are pretty good at these tasks, but Alexa can do more things, especially when it comes to controlling smart-home gear.
Amazon Echo vs. Google Nest: Which Smart Speaker Is Best?
In addition, the Google Assistant is specifically programmed to understand variations on questions - meaning it is better at being able to interpret what you are asking even if you ask it in different ways . The Google Home is a fairly small cylinder-shaped device that comes with fabric on the bottom and LED lights on the top to indicate when the Google Home is turned on or listening to commands. Google Home, by contrast, is for those who live and die by Google.
For the Echo, Alexa’s voice can be changed to different accents or languages. Alexa is able to control connected smart devices, tell you the weather, play games, set reminders, and much more. However, Google Home does win out on its ability to better understand the questions you have and answer them more appropriately . Additionally, Google Home’s audio quality and ease of use for Android users make it an attractive choice – not to mention its inherent compatibility with Google services like Google Maps, Calendar, Gmail and more.
The original budget smart speaker
You can ask Google just about anything and get a detailed answer that will most likely be exactly what you’re looking for. The Google Hub is especially great for this—displaying full text answers including step-by-step instructions and recipes. Frankly, there's very little difference between the two right now. They're both very capable smart assistants that respond to voice commands and work well with many smart home devices. Read our full head-to-head below to get a better idea of the specifics. Generally speaking, Google Assistant seems a little better at recognizing what you're looking for, even if you don't specifically say it.
Like the Echo Dot, the speaker is puck shaped, if a little more pebble-like with softer edges, and has a top side covered in a fabric speaker mesh. You can pick up the Google Home Mini in a range of colors, with four flashing LED lights illustrating when it's listening to your commands and showing the volume level. However, lots of users who have put the two devices head-to-head believe Google Assistant could be the smarter of the two. Learning experience, and wider variety of voices than Alexa, it has the biggest potential for the future. Ultimately, the better smart assistant really just depends on the rest of your digital life. If you own an Android phone, then it's probably better to stick with Google Assistant.
Amazon Echo vs Google Home: audio
And while it has some smart-home integrations and third-party Actions comparable to Alexa’s Skills, it has fewer of either than Alexa does, though it continues to improve. We recommend a few other Google Assistant devices below and have a guide to the best smart displays and the best Google Assistant devices. The speakers themselves don't make that choice any easier, because both are quite good; the Echo has been our Editors' Choice winner for a long time, but the Nest Audio is a close runner-up. The Echo's bass is a bit better and Alexa can use multiple wake words, but the Nest Audio sounds quite clear and Google Assistant is easier to talk to thanks to more flexible natural language recognition. In the sub-$50 price range, the Echo Dot has a clear edge over the Nest Mini in audio quality, but even those two smaller speakers work well for what they are and offer the same choice between voice assistants.
Amount of detail compared to other more audio-focused smart speakers, like the Sonos One. Smart speakers aren’t just good for controlling your smart home – they’re also great at interacting with the rest of your digital life. For example, you can get information about your upcoming calendar events, order an Uber or a pizza, and so on.
The good news is that both devices will offer similar services and are within the same price range. Additionally, Google Home's audio quality and ease of use for Android users make it an attractive choice - not to mention its inherent compatibility with Google services like Google Maps, Calendar, Gmail and more. Google Home’s greatest benefit is having its incredible predictive intelligence, Google Assistant, running the show.
The Dot and Mini are fine for background-listening when you’re sitting at your desk, but neither small speaker can fill a room with sound or rock even a small party. They have big screens for video chat, TV, or recipes, and great speakers, too. Google's $50, second-gen smart speaker is a great buy, especially when it's on sale (often as low as $29 or free with another Google product purchase). The smallest speaker Google makes, the Nest Mini boasts better sound quality than both the Echo Dot and the first Google Home Mini. Alexa, on the other hand, relies on the installation of skills – individual, app-like sets of related voice commands focussing on certain topics or abilities.
Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. The new Google Nest Mini is set to sound even better too, withy the inclusion of an extra speaker. With Google Assistant, your Google Home can control your Philips Hue lightbulbs, Honeywell thermostat, Nest security camera, and smart TV (as long as it's compatible). Check out our roundup of things Google Assistant can do for more info, or head to the Google Assistant partners page for all the brands Google Home can work with. Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
The Google Home -- Google's $130 original smart speaker also strikes a solid balance of size and sound quality. You can swap out different bases for an extra splash of color. Brooke is a tech and consumer products writer covering the latest in digital trends, product reviews, security and privacy, and other news and features for RD.com.
Turn off Philips Hue in the living room.” You can even do this after you left the house using the Echo Dot app. That's not to say the Google Home Mini sounds terrible — while a little midsy and devoid of a ton of detail, it'll do the job for most who don't plan on using the device primarily for listening to music anyway. Neither of the two speakers can get super loud, but they will be loud enough for most basic use. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.
You’ll need an Android or iOS smartphone and a strong WiFi network with an internet speed between at least 30 to 50 Mbps . If you’re not sure how strong your WiFi network is, you can use a bandwidth calculator or a WiFi speed test to find out. 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. Alina Bradford is a technology and internet safety and security expert for SafeWise.com and has contributed her insights to dozens of national publications, both in print and online. Her goal is to make safety and security gadgets less mystifying, one article at a time.
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