Voice assistants and home automation systems are becoming more accessible to homeowners and businesses. A voice assistant can control various devices and listen to voice commands to play music in the house and turn on the lights, but it’s learning to do a lot more than that.
Voice-controlled assistants are giving users nearly seamless control of their homes and various devices. Besides dimming the living room lights, it can also work with security systems and control electronics connected to smart plugs. It acts as a smart speaker and answers questions.
Purchasing a voice assistant can make using your other smart home devices faster and easier. Our guide compares the top voice assistants and their benefits and potential downsides.
What Are Voice Assistants?
A voice assistant is a form of technology that uses voice recognition to complete a variety of tasks. Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant have the best smart speakers that carry out the voice command of a user, but what they do can vary. A voice assistant can make a smart home function better by controlling and connecting to its various smart devices.
You speak aloud and give commands to your assistant, while it uses smart technology to create a grocery list, play your favorite music, or lock your doors.
Comparing Popular Voice Assistants That Work With Smart Home Devices
It’s hard to imagine a smart home without a voice assistant or turning on the lights without voice control. Read on to compare some of the most popular voice assistants. We’ll explore how voice assistants and home automation work together to create a better environment.
Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa is an affordable smart home voice assistant. While it’s good at setting timers, finding recipes, and playing audiobooks, you may not know about its more advanced features. It works with smart doorbells, security systems, thermostats, lighting, and more. It learns from your behaviors and uses “Hunches” to decide what to do next to improve your day.
Advantages of Amazon Alexa
- Out of all the voice assistants, it is compatible with the largest number of smart devices (over 7000) and offers plenty of device flexibility. Other assistants are 2000 or less.
- If you’re an Amazon Prime member, it will create shopping lists and order items.
- It can play music from non-Amazon programs, like Apple Music, Spotify, and more.
- You have more “wake word” options to turn your Alexa on.
Disadvantages of Amazon Alexa
- It’s unable to work with your mobile phone unless you have the Amazon Alexa app. It doesn’t have a mobile experience yet, but we expect this to change.
- This device may have trouble completing your voice command tasks if your environment is noisy or has competitive voices. If you live in a loud home, this could be an issue.
Google Assistant
Although it is the second-best voice assistant, Google Assistant is definitely catching up to Amazon Alexa in many ways. It uses Google when answering user questions, compared to Alexa’s Bing searches and Siri’s Safari, giving the most accurate and relevant responses.
The number of compatible devices Google Assistant can work with is only growing in the thousands and it supports four languages. You can also customize the voice of your Google Assistant to sound like your favorite celebrity (like Elvis, for example) or change accents.
Google Assistant is changing how we think about voice assistants and home automation.
Advantages of Google Assistant
- It is continuing to add more features, customization options, and commands.
- It will complete multiple simple tasks in a single command. For example, if you say, “Good morning,” it may brighten the room, play your favorite sounds, and tell you the weather.
- It’s increasing power and adding more compatible devices to its roster.
- It can integrate smoothly with a Google smart speaker.
Disadvantages of Google Assistant
- It can’t integrate with as many smart home devices as Alexa, but the list is growing.
- It can’t conveniently shop on Amazon as Alexa can.
Apple Siri
You’re likely familiar with this voice assistant if you use your iPhone, or other Apple products, daily. It has a limited ability to control other devices that are not Apple brand. It’s an excellent voice recognition tool if you and your family use plenty of Apple devices, rely on your phones the most, or have an Apple HomeKit.
Many people use voice commands on their phones to control their volume, respond to text messages, and switch between apps, for example. Consider the pros and cons of this assistant.
Advantages of Apple Siri
- It works great with other Apple technology, like iPhones, iPads, Apple watches, and Macs.
- It will create many scenes if you have Apple HomeKit.
- It has excellent voice command capabilities out of all mobile phones.
Disadvantages of Apple Siri
- It’s mainly for Apple users and has limited access to third-party devices.
- It still has issues recognizing and carrying out commands from non-English voices.
- For this voice assistant, map commands will only translate to English.
Other Voice Assistants
While the world sees the three above voice assistant programs as the best, there are others. Big tech companies are creating more smart home assistant options to compete. Features and device compatibility varies, and you can connect electronics to your assistant via smart plugs.
Other voice assistant options to connect to your devices to are:
- Samsung Bixby
- Microsoft Cortana
Controlling your home has never been easier with the help of a voice assistant, but choosing the right one depends on your needs. Full Spectrum Technology can help you compare options in greater detail.
Get The Best Voice Assistant For Your Home With Full Spectrum Technology Group
Technology developers are producing more smart devices that make the way we go about our days or carry out our business operations easier. Whether you have smart speakers for ambiance music or use a smart doorbell for safety, having a voice assistant takes these products to the next level. At Full Spectrum Technology Group, we can help with that.
Contact us at 925-815-8324 to learn more about voice assistants and home automation and see how they can benefit your residential or commercial property.