Google Home versus Amazon Echo

bk

So now that I have both a Google Home and Amazon Echo sitting side by side, I thought people would be interested in a comparison.

Note this is based on a few weeks with the Amazon Echo and about two hours with the Google Home!

Out of the box Google Home works really well in Ireland out of the box. Over all much better then the Amazon Echo does for the built in features.

Spotify:
Google Home works great, just have to say, "play music", "play U2", "play rock", etc. No need to add "on spotify" like you do on the Echo. Also in brief testing, it feels like it finds and plays playlists that you don't quite say the name correctly. For instance if I say "play UK top 50" it knows I meant the "Topsify Top 50 UK" playlist that I follow.

Tunein:
This is the major win for Google Home for those interested in Radio. It just works, where as Amazon Echos voice control is badly broken. On GH I just can say "play RTE 2fm" "play Newstalk" "play BBC Radio 1", etc. all work well and even no need to say "on tuneine". By comparison most of these don't work well or at all on Amazon Echo.

Weather:
You can just say "what is the weather like", "how hot is it", "do I need an umbrella" on GH. No need to specify "in Dublin" like you do on Amazon Echo. Not a massive difference, but slightly nicer.

Directions:
You can easily set your home and work address on GH and ask:
"what is my commute like" or "how long will it take to get to work" and it gives you exactly the same result Google Maps gives

Even better you can also say:
"what is my commute like by walking/cycling/public transport" and yes it gives the same result for each, great. I just wish they gave you a way to change the default from car to one of the others.

You can also ask it:
"how long will it take to get to O'Connel Street, Dublin [by walking/cycling/public transport]" and you get the expected google maps results.

You can even ask it:
"how long will it take to get to Patricks Street Cork from O'Connell Street, Dublin" and yes it gives the expected result.

Most of the above won't work on Amazon Echo as it uses the weak Microsoft Bing Maps service which is very poor in Ireland.

Home Automation:
Clear win from Amazon Echo here for the moment. GH currently only supports Nest, Philips Hue and Smarthings HA ecosystems. Amazon Echo supports all those, plus Belkin smat plugs, Netatmo/Hive/Tado Thermostats and many others.

Having said that, having played with Philips Hue on GH, it seems to work better and smother then Amazon Echo.

Also GH supports IFTTT out of the box, while it isn't currently working in UK and Ireland Echo's. On the other hand Amazon Echo works with the excellent Yonomi service, which GH currently doesn't support.

Cost and Dots:
One major difference is that while Google Home is equivalent to Amazon Echo, Google currently has no equivalent to the much cheaper Amazon Echo Dot. Google Home can play out of speakers using Chromecast Audio, but that involves extra cost and of course it doesn't give you voice control in other rooms.

So lets say you want to put smart voice control in three rooms, you would be looking at 140 x 3 GH's + 40 x 3 chromecast audio for a total cost of 540! Where as you would be looking at about 150 for 3 dots. Big difference there.

Google badly need a Dot equivalent, maybe just an updated Chromecast audio with mics to pick up voice commands and a small speaker. That seems quite possible as based on tear downs, it seems Goggle Home uses all the same parts as Chromecast, just with speakers and a DAC added.

Names:
GH's is activated by "OK Google" or "Hey Google", which is sort of harder to say and sounds impersonal. Echo is activated by "Alexa" or "echo" which are much easier to say and more personal IMO.

Interactivity:
With GH you an ask a stream of questions and it understands the context based on the last question. For instance you can ask: "who is the president of the US", "who is his wife" "what are his chidrens names".

Echo can't do that, you have to say "who is the president of the US" and then you would have to specify his name for further questions "who is Barack Obamas wife", etc.

It is a small thing, but it is nice and makes GH feel more natural.

Summary:
I think both are excellent devices with pros and cons. I'm glad to have both and use each side by side based on their strengths. However as it stands, I feel Google Home is probably better for Irish people as it's core functionality works better in Ireland out of the box, if you are looking for just one device in one room and in particular if you plan to listen to radio a lot on it.

If you are more interested in Home Automation and plan to get a couple for a couple of rooms, then the dots are way cheaper and support more HA ecosystems.

I suspect both will improve over time. However I have a hunch that Google Home might improve faster. GH's weakness is lack of support of apps and ecosystems. But GH just launched and I'm certain that developers and makers of HA tech will rush to add support to GH. The only question is will Google allow support for competing thermostats like Netatmo when they have their own Nest Thermostat. On the other hand Amazons weaknesses are largely related to bugs in Ireland and given how poor Amazons support for Ireland is in general, I'm less certain that they will be fixed soon. Specially due to their reliance on Microsoft Bing which is very poor in Ireland.

Google Home while supporting less apps and ecosystems and being more expensive, it also feels a lot more polished and works better in Ireland.

Stoner

bk wrote:

Google Home while supporting less apps and ecosystems and being more expensive, it also feels a lot more polished and works better in Ireland.

Great post BK thanks

jay0109

Leaving aside external speakers, what is the sound like from the devices themselves for the Home v's the Echo?
I know from reading the Echo thread the sound quality is highly praised

bk

jay0109 wrote: »

Leaving aside external speakers, what is the sound like from the devices themselves for the Home v's the Echo?
I know from reading the Echo thread the sound quality is highly praised

To my ears it sounds much the same, but then I'm no audiophile.

Most reviews say it is either the same or just slightly less good then the Amazon Echo.

Personally I think it is more then good enough to nicely fill a room and my whole family is happily using it every day. I'd think of it as equivalent to a good quality bluetooth speaker and much better then most internet radios. But obviously not up to high end gear like the high end Sonos speakers, AudioEngine, 5.1, etc. But then they all cost hundreds, if not thousands!

I've the GH and Echo side by side on the table and right now I'm happily using the GH for spotify due to its superior voice control.

Wheety

Can I ask where you bought the Google Home??

bk

Wheety wrote: »

Can I ask where you bought the Google Home??

Where I got it won't help most people!

I was in the US last week. I tried getting one in Best Buy, but they didn't have any in stock in the store near where I was staying. However co-incidentally I was been given a tour of Googles offices in New York on Monday by a friend and when she heard I was looking for one, she very kindly gave me hers that had arrived just that morning!

jay0109

ebay have some sellers in the USA willing to sell to Ireland for about €180 incl postage.
But I presume customs on top of that when it reaches here

d31b0y

I'd imagine competition laws will force them to allow automation using rival thermostats.
Coupled with the fact that they will almost definitely have some sort of open API, I'd be amazed if the GH didn't support other stats etc. in the very near future.

Shame it's not readily available over here yet though. I have my order with the wife in for an echo dot for Christmas. That might get relegated to another room once the GH is available here.

Stoner

bk wrote:

So now that I have both a Google Home and Amazon Echo sitting side by side, I thought people would be interested in a comparison.

If you had to give one away which would it be?
Bearing in mind that you are an iPhone user

Does it con down to what phone you have ?

Stoner

If you had to give one away which would it be?
Bearing in mind that you are an iPhone user

Does it come down to what phone you have ?

bk

Stoner wrote: »

If you had to give one away which would it be?
Bearing in mind that you are an iPhone user

Does it con down to what phone you have ?

Very interesting question.

I'd probably give the Echo away if forced at gun point.

It has only been two days so far, but I'm now using GH about 90% of the time for the room (living room) that they are both in. I'm now just using the Echo for the things that the GH don't yet support, basically just control of my Netatmo Thermostat and Logitech Harmony via Yonomi.

I'm now using GH for spotify, tunein, timers, weather, Philips Hue and general questions.

On the whole everything just works. And I expect they will add support for Netatmo, Logitech Harmony, etc. soon too.

Having said that I'm happily using the Dot in the bedroom and I think that GH is too expensive to replace it there. If they were to update chromecast audio with mics to compete with the Dot as a cheap alternative then I would consider it.

I don't think being an iPhone user has any bearing. Google has always had excellent support for their apps and services on iPhone. In fact until the recent release of the Google Pixel, many have argued that Google's products and services were actually better on iPhone, then Android!

I certainly use a lot of Google services and I'm largely extremely happy with them on the iPhone.

IMO Apple make the best and most stable hardware and operating system and Google makes the best apps and services. The two combined makes for an awesome, stable communication platform IMO.

Skerries

I have one hopefully on its way to me as someone is over there atm and if it is good I might get one for my visually impaired mother as well

few q's

how easy would it be to connect to another network if I was to bring it away on holidays?

can you use a bluetooth/wireless headphones with it?

What is it like for using with Tunein as in playing radio stations and how do audibooks work with it, can you pause and then continue play at a later date?

the 6 months free red youtube account sounds great and would be handy for playing music for her

how good are the commands say if you were to ask when the next bus/trains are?

sorry for all the questions

degsie

Does GH play music from your uploaded music library, or do you need to subscribe to the premium service?

Caillte

This is a very good review of the GH. Should answer most questions on this thread.

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/11/google-home-review/

seamus

Can anyone give any insight onto using this in a typical household with multiple people using it?

As much as I'd like to have one of these devices, it's only going to be of limited use if it's all about me and only looks at my calendar, my commute, etc etc.

bk

Skerries wrote: »

I have one hopefully on its way to me as someone is over there atm and if it is good I might get one for my visually impaired mother as well

few q's

how easy would it be to connect to another network if I was to bring it away on holidays?

I think very easy, you would just use the Google Home app to add the password of the new wifi point when you get there.

Skerries wrote: »

can you use a bluetooth/wireless headphones with it?

No, it doesn't have any support for Bluetooth.

Skerries wrote: »

What is it like for using with Tunein as in playing radio stations and how do audibooks work with it, can you pause and then continue play at a later date?

Tunein works excellent on it, much better then the Echo, it just works. You can say: "Play Newstalk" "Play RTE 2FM" "Play BBC Radio 1"

I don't think it supports direct playback of audiobooks yet, though I'm sure that will come in the next few months.

Indirectly, you could use any audiobook app on your phone that supports chromecast and cast the audio to Google Home. Once casting, you can then use voice to change the volume and play/pause.

Skerries wrote: »

how good are the commands say if you were to ask when the next bus/trains are?

It does a great job at picking up your voice and it does a very good job of interpreting what you are asking of it. It is much more natural then the Echo, which seems to have a list of specific commands you can ask it. GH seems to understand natural language much better and you can ask the same thing in multiple different ways.

Having said that it currently doesn't have a command to ask it the next bus/train time. I suspect that will come very soon once Google opens up their API in December. In fact I'm itching to write the app to do that myself if someone else doesn't first.

BTW What excites me the most about Home Automation tech and in particular Home and Echo is how they can make life so much easier for the elderly and people with various disabilities.

While the tech is new and still maturing, in time I believe it can make disabled peoples lives so much easier and more independent.

I think Home and Echo are brilliant for visually impaired people. The ability to play almost all the music of the world, radio stations from around the world and audiobooks with ease and little effort using voice control could be incredible for blind people.

Hopefully in time you will also be able to use them as a speaker phone. Imagine your mother just being able to go "Hey Google, call Skerries" and then being able to chat with you on it without picking up a phone. Or her saying "Hey Google, text Skerries that dinner will be ready at 6". Or Google Home saying "Text message from Skerries, I'm on the way".

Brilliant. It can't do these latter things yet, but it is a very obvious feature and I'm sure it is only a matter of time before it comes.

degsie wrote: »

Does GH play music from your uploaded music library, or do you need to subscribe to the premium service?

I believe, but haven't tried for myself, that you can upload music for free to Google Play Music (50,000 songs) and that you should then be able to play it on Google Home.

But warning, I'm just guessing this, no guarantee. I'll give it a try over the weekend.

bk

seamus wrote: »

Can anyone give any insight onto using this in a typical household with multiple people using it?

As much as I'd like to have one of these devices, it's only going to be of limited use if it's all about me and only looks at my calendar, my commute, etc etc.

For the moment, this is largely the biggest limitation of it. It doesn't support multiple accounts.

It only looks at your calendar, commute, etc.

Seemingly Google are working on this very obvious feature.

However it isn't all bad, it still currently works in a multiuser house, just some what limited for other people. Really the only thing other users lose is their own calendar and their own playlists on spotify.

However they can still play any other playlist on spotify, any radio station in the world, do searches, set times, set alarms, add to a shared shopping list, control home automation tech like Hue lights, ask about the weather, etc.

They can even ask about their commute, they just have to specify the address:
"How long will it take to get to O'Connell Street Dublin"

So while I agree it isn't perfect, it is perfectly fine for 90% of the functionality.

jay0109

For someone who would use this mainly for internet radio, it sounds perfect. I'm not into messing with lights etc!

I just can't find anyone heading to the US anytime soon and paying double the price for it through ebay is not exactly appealing

bk

jay0109 wrote: »

I just can't find anyone heading to the US anytime soon and paying double the price for it through ebay is not exactly appealing

Given how well it works in Ireland out of the box, I suspect it won't take them long before they bring it to the UK at least. Maybe a few months.

There really isn't any extra work for them to do other then change the plug for a UK one and allow the Google Home app to use the UK region.

jay0109

I want mine for xmas day...to dazzle the inlaws when they come over for dinner!

OldMrBrennan83

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Skerries

bk wrote: »

I think very easy, you would just use the Google Home app to add the password of the new wifi point when you get there.

thanks for the answers, very insightful
I suspect I'll have to find a way to smuggle another one into the country now

Stoner

bk wrote:

I believe, but haven't tried for myself, that you can upload music for free to Google Play Music (50,000 songs) and that you should then be able to play it on Google Home.

Yes your library is online, I say a clip of it using it.

Stoner

bk wrote:

I believe, but haven't tried for myself, that you can upload music for free to Google Play Music (50,000 songs) and that you should then be able to play it on Google Home.

Yes your library is online, I say a clip of it using it.

Stoner

https://youtu.be/oh2amw_Gtmg


Got this list of things Google home can do that Alexa can't on a feed today

jimmycrackcorm

bk wrote:

Directions: You can easily set your home and work address on GH and ask: "what is my commute like" or "how long will it take to get to work" and it gives you exactly the same result Google Maps gives

I'd get it just be able to go downstairs in the morning and ask out aloud when is the next bus to go to work.

OldMrBrennan83

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Caillte

Patww79 wrote: »

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Hey Google, When is the next public service strike?

nls2013

Hi,

I have someone in the US that could probably bring me back a Google Home for Christmas. Just wondering if someone can confirm that there's no issue using a "US version" in Ireland?

Thanx

bk

nls2013 wrote: »

I have someone in the US that could probably bring me back a Google Home for Christmas. Just wondering if someone can confirm that there's no issue using a "US version" in Ireland?

In summary, no, it works great. But see the FAQ I wrote about it here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057668554

In particular the "How do I get the Google Home app working properly in Ireland?"

I have since discovered one issue, with streaming to multiple Chomecast Audios, but I'm not sure if that is an Irish specific issue, I'd guess it is a generic issue.

OldMrBrennan83

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bk

degsie wrote: »

Does GH play music from your uploaded music library, or do you need to subscribe to the premium service?

Hi, sorry it took me a while to get back to you on this question.

Turns out the answer is sort of.

It can't play uploaded music by name or album, however if you add them to a playlist, you can then play that playlist including the uploaded music.

It doesn't matter if you are using just the free account or subscribe to the premium service.

Not a perfect solution, but at least something. I'm not sure if this limitation is just a bug (and thus likely to be fixed sooner or later) or if it is due to licensing issues.

bk

Patww79 wrote: »

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Turns out this is the one issue with using an imported Google Home in the UK/Ireland.

The Chromecast Audios require a firmware upgrade to version 1.2.1 in order to work with Google Home, but currently UK/Irish Chromecast Audios are stuck on firmware 1.2.

There is a work around, if you can connect your Chromecast Audio to a US VPN and reboot them, then they should get the 1.2.1 firmware update and will then work with Google Home (note I haven't actually tried this yet, just what I've read elsewhere).

I'll add all this info to the FAQ

OldMrBrennan83

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bk

Patww79 wrote: »

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I haven't tried yet, but I assume you will need to setup the VPN on your router, so that even as the phone connects and disconnects, it keeps connecting out via the VPN.

I'll try later this evening if I get a chance and let you know how it goes.

OldMrBrennan83

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bk

Patww79 wrote: »

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Eckk, the Horizon box is terrible, I doubt you will be able to set a VPN on that, it is very locked down. Sorry.

OldMrBrennan83

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bk

Patww79 wrote: »

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You can request Virgin's new router that has WAY better wifi performance then the Horizon box for free here:

https://www.virginmedia.ie/besthub

Now this on it's own might not get you VPN ability, but then you can opt to put this router into modem only mode and connect your own router to it, which would normally have VPN ability.

At the least, I would say it is well worth it getting the new Virgin router for improved wifi.

OldMrBrennan83

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bk

Patww79 wrote: »

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It works alongside the Horizon box.

OldMrBrennan83

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Irish Gunner

Ok collecting the Echo and Dot in a few weeks from the UK but in the States in the New Year and thinking of getting Google home. So just need US adapter for this ?Any other issues re location set up etc I can see has been posted here.
Realistically when is this expected to be released in Europe, was hoping before Christmas but that seems highly unlikely and cannot find any information on when it maybe released?

degsie

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Ok collecting the Echo and Dot in a few weeks from the UK but in the States in the New Year and thinking of getting Google home. So just need US adapter for this ?Any other issues re location set up etc I can see has been posted here.
Realistically when is this expected to be released in Europe, was hoping before Christmas but that seems highly unlikely and cannot find any information on when it maybe released?

Even if it is released outside the US, some features will be missing such as YouTube Red.

bk

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Ok collecting the Echo and Dot in a few weeks from the UK but in the States in the New Year and thinking of getting Google home. So just need US adapter for this ?Any other issues re location set up etc I can see has been posted here.
Realistically when is this expected to be released in Europe, was hoping before Christmas but that seems highly unlikely and cannot find any information on when it maybe released?

The only issues I've come across so far:

1) Have to set your phones location to US Region to allow the Google Home app to work properly during setup.

2) You will need a US to Irish travel plug adaptor

3) Youtube Red isn't available in Europe yet.

4) Streaming to Chromecast Audio's isn't working unless you can update them to the latest firmware. If you are in the US and have some CCA, I'd recommend bringing them with you and setting them in the US to get the latest firmware.

I'm not sure we will officially see it here for a while, seemingly they are even sold out in the US. People over there are even finding hard to get them.

yrrag1974

Hi,

I got a Home back from US and I have to say after only 1 day that it's great. It has a huge wow factor. I'm using it mainly as an internet radio and it works brilliantly with TuneIn. I have a spotify premium account and its cool to be able to play any tune on request. The google assistant is great - all queries (even from the kids) are understood perfectly. Handy to have it in the kitchen for voice activated timers etc etc.

One thing though if you could check it on yours - are you able to get it to play RTE Radio 1? It plays all other Irish stations immediately but for some reason has problems with this?

It'll be even better when it gets Irish support in terms of Irish news etc but until then I can't fault it. Next generation of technology!!

Cheers

bk

yrrag1974 wrote: »

One thing though if you could check it on yours - are you able to get it to play RTE Radio 1? It plays all other Irish stations immediately but for some reason has problems with this?

Yes, I just tried, it isn't working! Every other station I try does work including RTE 2FM!

Caillte

yrrag1974 wrote: »

Hi,

I got a Home back from US and I have to say after only 1 day that it's great. It has a huge wow factor. I'm using it mainly as an internet radio and it works brilliantly with TuneIn. I have a spotify premium account and its cool to be able to play any tune on request. The google assistant is great - all queries (even from the kids) are understood perfectly. Handy to have it in the kitchen for voice activated timers etc etc.

One thing though if you could check it on yours - are you able to get it to play RTE Radio 1? It plays all other Irish stations immediately but for some reason has problems with this?

It'll be even better when it gets Irish support in terms of Irish news etc but until then I can't fault it. Next generation of technology!!

Cheers

Does the GH have an American accent or a UK accent, Just curious.

bk

Caillte wrote: »

Does the GH have an American accent or a UK accent, Just curious.

American

OldMrBrennan83

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yrrag1974

Patww79 wrote: »

And my phone does now too after having to change the language

Also, as mentioned above, I tried RTE R1 also and had no joy.

There's no need to keep your phone on English US. You can change it back once you've done the initial set up.