Amazon vs Google: Home Automation War

Table of Content

• Awesome Office Automation
• CES 2020: All of the new smart home products, from smart locks to the Alexa shower head
• The Best Smart Home System
• So, What ARE the Differences Between the Two?
• Is Alexa better than Google?
• Don’t Trust The Big Box Stores When It Comes To Home Automation
• Google Banished From Alexa’s Brain; Amazon Leapfrogs Apple
• How much does it cost to install a home automation system?

One of the best examples of Alexa's superiority with routines is the simple option to have it play a sound or message whenever a sensor triggers on the front door. One recent Alexa feature, Hunches, even allows it to automatically turn off lights when it thinks everyone's asleep or out of the house. Hunches can also change Alexa Guard to Away mode for added security when you leave for an evening run.

So I have them paired with Alexa, and created virtual contact sensors in Hubitat. Then I setup a rule so daily, when no one is home the vacuums run. And, if everyone leaves, and it is after my daily check, then they will run. These are really the only wifi devices I have that don't integrate nicely with Hubitat direct.

Awesome Office Automation

This is a bit clunkier than Google Home, since you need to select a category first before controlling an individual device. For faster access, you can group devices or add them to your favorites, which places them in an easily accessible spot on the devices tab of the Alexa app. The first Echo device with Alexa voice services hit the market in 2014—two full years before the Google Home speaker landed. Because of this head start, Alexa supports more smart home devices than Google. Still, most major smart home device makers like Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings support both.

Home automation is the wireless, keyboardless computerization of your home. Each one has a voice assistant that carries out the tasks of the smart speaker reacting to the sound of your voice. With IoT and AI being the tech to empower voice assistants, home automation will save time and money.

CES 2020: All of the new smart home products, from smart locks to the Alexa shower head

Its additionally crucial to be conscious that America does have pretty strict privateness regulation shielding children, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act . It has even been advised that the voice assistant era itself is in essential violation of COPPA. The graph above shows the data breaches and the records exposed due to theft.

These days it's easy to buy a smart version of nearly any tech product or appliance you can imagine, from thermostats and light bulbs to security cameras and sensors. With smart connectivity, you can control all of these varied devices from a mobile app or even through voice commands. Google, on the other hand,boasts just 5,000 different smart devicesfrom a little over 400 brands.

The Best Smart Home System

The efficiency and productivity of the workplace will increase by manifolds with the integration of devices like Google Home and Alexa. You have the flexibility to turn on/off the appliances at the tap of your phone. The table above addresses all the FAQs and gives you facts and figures that’ll assist you in making a better decision.

For example, a new startup, Notion, provides a wireless home monitoring system, even if you’re only renting your place. Alexa can play any song you want, control the temperature and room lighting to your liking, and answer any questions you may have, such as what the weather outside is like. Maxwell is a loyal Android fan who writes primarily for MakeUseOf's Android section. He also covers the Tech Explained, Work & Career, Security, and Social Media sections from time to time. When he's not neck-deep in exploring the latest tech innovations, he's probably seeing a TV show.

So, What ARE the Differences Between the Two?

Still, we suppose emotional sensitivity is better than the hasty confidence behind Google Assistant's voice. Alexa recently gained the ability to adopt different vocal tones to match the emotions in news articles and user interactions. You can add as many locations as you like by using the settings menu in the Alexa app. This is great for helping Alexa know where to jump into action when you want to do something. You can view all of your Google Assistant lists and notes at assistant.google.com/lists/mainview.

In reality, hubs are kind of a ‘middle man’ between your various devices and the ‘brain’ of the platform itself. Everything you install in your smart home will have a controller of its very own. If you buy Philips Hue smart lights, for example, you’ll need to attach the Philips Hue Hub to your router. That’s what allows you to use your voice to activate things, among other means of interaction. When it comes to embracing the wonderful world of home automation, one of the most important things you need to keep in mind is that not all smart home hubs are created equal. A lot of people make the mistake of buying a hub from a particular smart home ecosystem and then assuming that they’re going to be able to enjoy voice automation throughout the entire house.

Now in its third generation, the Echo Dot doesn't have the best audio quality in the range, so it's best suited for rooms where music playback won’t be its primary function. That said, you can pair it up with a Bluetooth speaker or another audio device using an AUX jack connection, making it a cost-effective upgrade you can make to any aging Hi-Fi system. Simply doing some research to choose what the right home automation system is for your home and needs is all you need to make your home smart.

It keeps track of the people that are coming and going along with if you left any lights on or doors open. Now, if you don’t remember if you turned off the lights, the Notion sensors will be able to tell you straight from your phone. The device can recognize more than one voice thereby giving flexibility to other users to give commands.

A Statista report shows that Alexa is compatible with around 100,000 smart home devices. No discussion of the virtues of home automation would be complete without mentioning what is maybe the most important element of all – security. Keep in mind that literally any device connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network is a potential vulnerability just waiting to be exploited by someone who knows what they’re doing.