Neither, unless you’re okay with having your data mined by those companies. Apple HomeKit is a better option for privacy. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best of the big three. Do your research before choosing.
Your ex was right about the privacy concerns. Neither Amazon nor Google is a good choice. Go for an open-source option like Home Assistant to keep control over your data.
Google seems to have abandoned their smart home tech. I’d switch everything to Alexa if I could afford to.
Chris said:
Google seems to have abandoned their smart home tech. I’d switch everything to Alexa if I could afford to.
I’m in the same boat with my Google Homes. They used to work great, but now they’re slow, don’t understand half my commands, and the sound system no longer syncs properly.
@Masitsa
Same. All I use them for now is kitchen timers and announcements.
If you go with Amazon, get at least one Echo that has a built-in Zigbee radio (like the 4th gen Echo or Echo Studio). That’ll give you room to expand into smart home controls later with lights, switches, or sensors.
Think about your budget and long-term plans. If this is just the start of your smart home journey, treat your initial purchases as experiments.
I tried both Google Assistant and Alexa in my home, and after a few months, I realized we only really used one system. As your smart home grows, you’ll figure out what works best for you.
Remember that cloud-connected devices raise privacy concerns, and if a cloud service goes down or the company changes their policies, your devices might stop working. That’s why I use Home Assistant, which keeps everything local and under my control.
You can explore other options, but Home Assistant really rules the game when it comes to smart homes!
If you’re tech-savvy, check out Home Assistant! It’s a powerful system that lets you control everything locally without relying on the cloud. I switched to it after getting fed up with SmartThings outages. Now all my devices work together, and I have full control over my smart home.
It all depends on how serious you are about smart home control. If you just want basic voice commands, either Google or Alexa will work. But if you want more control and automation, you’ll eventually want to move to something like Home Assistant.
Do you have an iPhone? If so, you might want to look into getting a HomePod, which doubles as a HomeKit hub.
Larry said:
Do you have an iPhone? If so, you might want to look into getting a HomePod, which doubles as a HomeKit hub.
Just a heads up, HomePods don’t play nice with Spotify. You’ll need to use AirPlay to stream Spotify from your phone.
We started with Google, but they’ve made the system worse over time. Now we use Home Assistant and only use Google for voice control.