Best Home Assistant

Modern homes are turning into smart homes with the installation of smart gadgets. With the advancement of technology and home gadgets, human life is becoming more convenient and comfortable. With smart gadgets installed at your home, you do not have to run around to operate the respective gadgets in different rooms. You can control all smart gadgets with your smartphone.

However, operating them can become even more convenient when you purchase a smart home assistant to operate all these smart gadgets with your voice commands. There are various smart home assistants available such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri. In this article, we will compare these three popular smart home assistants in detail and help you understand which one is perfect for your home.

What is the Smart Home Assistant?

A smart home assistant is an electronic gadget that executes your voice commands. You can command the smart home assistant to operate the connected smart home gadgets as per requirements. You can also command the smart home assistant to play any desired music, check the current weather conditions, ask questions to get answers, send text messages, make phone calls, set reminders, take notes, do shopping, and much more. In short, a smart home assistant is your virtual assistant at home to take your voice commands and execute them within its capacity.

The Popular Smart Home Assistants –

1. Amazon Alexa – Best for Device Compatibility

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Amazon Alexa is a cloud-based voice assistant that is compatible with the widest range of smart products and gadgets.

Features

Home Automation – You can set triggers and timers for the smart gadgets to turn on and off as per your requirements. Besides, you can always give voice commands to control them at any moment.

Entertainment – You can listen to your favorite music, radio channel, podcast as well as audiobooks available. Moreover, you can operate smart TVs and watch your favorite videos and movies.

Home Theater – Alexa is generally integrated into Amazon smart speakers, and it lets you control the home theatres and audio systems at your home.

Productivity – You can set alarms and timers as per requirements, set reminders on the calendar, and use the email Alexa feature to receive reminder emails containing notes and details.

Communication – You can ask Alexa to make phone calls, send voice messages and set up voice calls.

Shopping – You can order Alexa to make a shopping list, order items on Amazon, reorder purchased items as well as track orders for you.

News and Information – You can ask Alexa to read out news for you from various sources and categories. You can also ask Alexa questions and get the answers. Alexa can also do language translation for you. Besides, you can check on weather conditions, recipes, and much more.

You can also enable parental controls on your kid’s smart devices. There are Alexa games available to play with friends and family members.

Pros 

• Wider compatibility.
• Easy to operate.
• Seamless home automation.
• Voice-based online shopping.
• Get answers to questions.
• Make phone calls easily.

Cons

• Always listening leads to less privacy.
• Frequent mishearing.
• Non-responsive issues.
• Need constant plug-in.

2. Google Assistant – Best at Responding

Google Assistant is a digital-based voice assistant that is best at responding to all your queries and executes your commands within its capacity.

Features

Control Devices – Google Assistant is compatible with a wide range of smart gadgets, and you can control them if you have them at your home.

Find Information – Google Assistant is the most advanced digital-based assistant which is why it is better at answering all your queries by searching on the web accurately. You can get information regarding weather and news, find out about restaurant and movie bookings as well as get directions for your destinations.

Real-Time Translation – Google Translation is so far the best translation, and therefore, Google Assistant can provide instant, real-time translation of any speech in your desired language.

Personal Arrangements – You can set timers, reminders, calendar dates, make appointments and even send messages and emails. You can also make hands-free calling from Google contacts.

Entertainment – Google Assistant is compatible with Chromecast, and you can stream any video and play any music from YouTube Music and Google Play as per your preference.

Besides, Google Assistant lets you play interesting games at ease and access certain compatible apps conveniently.

Pros

• Comes integrated into various Android devices.
• Very quick at responding to queries and orders.
• Provides accurate information and personalized results.
• Can talk in different languages and do real-time translation.
• Operate apps and find directions.
• Book hotels and movie tickets.

Cons

• Not as intelligent as Alexa.
• Cannot execute shopping orders.
• Scope for improvement in home automation.
• Must always be plugged-in.

 3. Apple Siri – Most Popular Mobile Voice Assistant

Siri is a voice-controlled virtual assistant for operating Apple products and Apple apps seamlessly.

Features

Make Calls and Send Messages – You can make phone calls as well FaceTime your contacts with Siri. You can also send messages on third-party apps. Besides, Siri reads your text messages as well.

Music – You can play music based on artists, genres, as well as from playlists. Moreover, Siri can identify songs and provide details of the songs.

Home Automation – Apple HomeKit controls all smart home devices. You can control all HomeKit-enabled devices with Siri.

Productivity – You can set timers, alarms, reminders, and calendar as per requirements. You can also open and interact with other compatible apps seamlessly.

Searching – You can search for nearby restaurants, movie timings, and local businesses. You can check the weather conditions. You can also search Twitter and other compatible apps.

Take Photos – You can ask Siri to open up your Apple device camera and take a photo. It can also surface photos based on different parameters like time, location, and person.

Fun and Entertainment – You can play TV shows and movies and ask any question and let it solve math problems. Moreover, you can ask Siri to tell you jokes to lighten up your mood.

Send Money – Siri lets you send money to anyone using Apple Pay.

Pros

• Intelligent and funny.
• Problem-solving ability.
• Calling and emailing.
• Operating other apps.
• Complete home automation.

Cons

• Less compatibility.
• Fewer translation options.
• Security issues.
• Listening problems.

Comparison Table Best Home Assistant

How to Choose the Best Voice Assistants?

For a first-time user, choosing a voice assistant can be tricky because what is best for someone may not be best for you. Therefore, we are listing down the parameters that will help you understand which of the three popular voice assistants is perfect for you.

1. Compatibility

Ideally, a voice assistant should be compatible with different devices so that you can control them seamlessly. Amazon Alexa has the widest compatibility in terms of devices. It is not only compatible with Amazon devices but also with millions of third-party devices. Google Assistant is mostly compatible with Android devices. On the contrary, Apple Siri is compatible with Apple devices. If you have Apple devices, Siri is going to be best for you. If your smart devices are mostly compatible with Alexa, you should opt for Amazon Alexa.

2. Correct Information

Voice assistants have the ability to answer general questions. They can respond to various categories of questions with accuracy. With voice-controlled technology, asking questions and getting answers provide maximum convenience. The top voice assistants with high accuracy and completeness are Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana. They are closely followed by Apple Siri.

3. Affiliated smart speakers

Most people prefer smart speakers and hubs for controlling all the smart devices in their homes with a single app. Whether it is Apple, Google, or Amazon, all of them have affiliations with different smart speakers. If you opt for an Amazon Echo device, you need to use Amazon Alexa. If you have Google Home, you need to use Google Assistant. If you have Apple HomeKit, you need to use Siri.

The Best Voice Assistants

1. Amazon Alexa – Why Choose It?

Intelligent

When it comes to intelligence, Amazon Alexa can answer general questions accurately. It can even perform various tasks like calendars, reminders and news briefings. Recently it has also come up with “Follow-up Mode” so that it can execute multiple commands. The skills of Alexa in handling commands are regularly increasing. All these factors make Alexa a revolutionary voice assistant technology. Alexa is quickly increasing the ability for natural language requests and is going ahead in the competition.

Smart Home Support

If we have to discuss compatibility, Amazon Alexa lets you use it with most types of smart home devices. The maximum compatibility of Alexa is with 7,400 brands. If we have to compare it with Siri, it is only 50, and Google Assistant has roughly about 1,000. Alexa is one item that will allow you to have a smart home with custom smart devices.

Convenient Shopping

What separates Amazon from other voice assistants is that it will let you have a seamless shopping experience. With Amazon Prime membership, you can place an order, track orders, and even cancel them. Alexa also has the ability to let you know if there are any exclusive deals. You can also prepare your shopping list conveniently.

Points To Ponder:

Inaccuracy

There is a slight tendency of giving wrong answers by Amazon Alexa. There could be times when one will also have to make many attempts to get the right answer. It should be noted that Alexa can now deliver a wide range of questions.

Mobile Integration

Google Assistant and Siri are pre-installed into mobile phones. However, Amazon Alexa still lacks this function. By downloading the Amazon Alexa app, you can have a voice assistant. However, compared to Siri or Google Assistant, it is not seamless.

2. Google Assistant – Why Choose It?

Competent

Google Assistant comes with consistent updates, which make it perform better. With a Google Home Speaker, Google Assistant allows you to make two commands simultaneously. This makes it a step ahead of the Follow-Up Mode of Amazon Alexa. With Amazon Alexa, you can know the indoor temperature and follow it by adjusting the thermostat. However, the newer technology of Google Assistant can adjust the thermostat and even switch on the television.

Expanding Capabilities

Google Assistant has come up with routine features that let you perform multiple actions with a single command. You will have to say “Hey Google, good morning” and it will turn lights, stream music, and give weather updates. Google Assistant lets you use it with different devices from third parties. It can even understand pairings of languages. Language advancement has made Google Assistant ideal for bilingual families.

Google Compatibility

When it comes to smart device compatibility, Google Assistant lags behind Alexa. However, it does not mean that it is not catching up. Google Assistant has maximum compatibility with Google products, including the Nest smart home. It is also compatible with most Android devices.

Points To Ponder:

Second Best in compatibility

Amazon Alexa is the leader in voice assistant integration. Google is on the move to restrict third-party compatibility for controlling ecosystem security. However, Google Assistant is soon increasing maximum compatibility. Amazon lets you use it with over 60,000 smart home devices. On the other hand, Google has just above 10,000. This makes Alexa a better option for having maximum compatibility.

3. Apple Siri – Why Choose It?

HomeKit Compatibility

Apple Siri has over 1.4 billion pre-downloaded active Apple devices. It lets you use it with the home automatic service HomeKit of Apple. This is limited when you compare it to Google or Amazon. However, the advantage of the regulation is that it lets you have an effective use. You will only have to make a regular command, and then the automation feature is activated. In contrast to this, Google Assistant on Alexa specializes in activation words.

Language Support

One of the greatest advantages of Siri is that it can understand multiple languages. Google Assistant can understand four, and for Amazon Alexa, it is three. However, Apple Siri can recognize 21 languages when you use it with an iPhone. However, it understands only English when you use it with HomePod.

Points To Ponder:

Limited Voice Applications

The limited voice application support makes Siri inferior to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Apple has a strict focus on the Apple ecosystem. You will not be able to access popular services, including Pandora and Spotify. This will not be an issue for you if you prefer iTunes. However, for people who love to have third-party services, it is important to go for a flexible voice assistant.

Limited Control

Siri will let you control some of the basic automation features with the HomeKit devices. However, the HomePod smart speaker will not let you add events or identify different voices. This makes it unsuitable for homes that are looking for versatile voice assistant devices.

Conclusion

A home assistant is becoming essential for modern homes as there are more smart devices used these days than the traditional devices. The three most popular home assistants are Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri. We have compared the three products in detail so that you can choose them based on defined parameters. However, if you already have smart devices in your home, you should buy the home assistant based on the compatibility with your smart devices.