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Are gadgets like Google Home and Amazon Alexa dead, or it's just the media?
- Thread starter Zirel
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Well, Apple's HomeKit looks like that, but many more gadgets are being added before the end of the year.
Now Amazon's? Google's? What's their HomeKit counterpart? How many devices there are with it?
Amazon just recently released a new version of its Dot.
Google has an event on October 4th and we'll probably see something about Google Home there.
Google has an event on October 4th and we'll probably see something about Google Home there.
I've got a pair of Echo Dots on pre-order. I've not been very happy with Siri for my Hue lights. Also, I'm not aware of any home automation devices (such as the new Hue motion sensor) that are HomeKit enabled and can also trigger other devices. For instance, does anyone know if the Eve door/window sensors can trigger turning lights on and off? I know in the past they couldn't. And Siri can't control my Harmony Elite remote and hub. Therefore I'm looking at other products that can integrate all of these devices together. If I can get devices that are both HomeKit and Echo compatible then that would help ensure that they would work with either system.
I think there is very little consumer interest. Home automation doesn't really do much of anything. You are just setting schedules to turn lights on and off, adjust the temperature and other trivial tasks. Unless you spend some serious money on wiring up everything. So it can do stuff like open, close, lock and unlike doors and windows for you. Open and close the blinds, &c. Mow the lawn.
When people think home automation. They want something that will do the laundry, clean the house (not a useless Roomba), prepare and cook dinner and all the other mundane chores which eat up your free time every week. They want Rosie from the Jetsons. Not something that will flip on a light and turn on some music.
When people think home automation. They want something that will do the laundry, clean the house (not a useless Roomba), prepare and cook dinner and all the other mundane chores which eat up your free time every week. They want Rosie from the Jetsons. Not something that will flip on a light and turn on some music.
Another factor for home automation is the personal nature of most installs. We are getting ready to sell our home of 14 years and it struck me that the next owners 1) will probably never understand the Insteon system I installed, and 2) they will be constantly stymied by little things like recharging batteries in remotes, power surges that require device resets, etc., etc.
I'm thinking about taking it all out to save the hassle of dealing with the inevitable questions.
I'm thinking about taking it all out to save the hassle of dealing with the inevitable questions.
With so much effort and risk going on with self driving cars, I don't know how they don't make a cooking robot (not a Bimby, a real cooking robot, that can take food out of the fridge, cut, temper, cook on the cooker, use kitchen utensils, etc). The technology is ready and cheap nowadays.
And if there's some task I wouldn't mind removing from my day is cooking and cleaning the kitchen, not driving, driving is easy and feels good.
I bought a Dot on impulse at £39 to try out. Very impressed with it. Alexa more accurate than Siri and controlling music via Alexa was a revelation for me. Even the family likes her. I even cancelled my Apple Music subscription which I hardly used and subscribed to Amazon music. Alexa can interface with my Smart devices and not being tethered to my iPhone is great. Really think Apple should bring out something similar.
Great device and just another way of interfacing. I still use my iPhone when away from home even Siri but Alexa is the other women in my life at home
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Great device and just another way of interfacing. I still use my iPhone when away from home even Siri but Alexa is the other women in my life at home
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Bit like you look for devices that are compatible for both. However now Alexa compatibility is priority.
Alexa is selling damn well. Amazon Prime is now subscribed to by half of US households. It the the sort of insane penetration and an increasingly cohesive ecosystem which means Amazon will likely be a major player long after most companies you've heard of have vanished.
It's the sort of wise thinking and R&D investment that gets you fewer massive profit headlines, but actual longterm prospects.
Ahem Apple.
It's the sort of wise thinking and R&D investment that gets you fewer massive profit headlines, but actual longterm prospects.
Ahem Apple.
From my reading and seeing, it seems that Alexa took the market by storm catching people like Google flatfooted. I think it has continued to sell well, so much so, that it caused Google, to scramble to roll out a competing product. Apple is just not in a position it seems to provide a competing product. Siri just can't hold a candle to the others. This is disappointing since Apple has the home automation thing, but it seems that like a red headed stepchild - Apple just doesn't seem all that hot to continue to innovate in that sector.
It's also just more... natural. If you're in your kitchen speaking to get a weight conversion, or add yoghurt to a shopping list, or a child asking for the capital of Iceland is normal.
For Microsoft, Apple, and until recently Google, you're usually holding your device anyway: voice gives little additional value. Alexa does things you already do, or want to do: it solves a problem.
These voice assistance meet a lot of people's needs for computing. Why go to a weather web site when you getting dressed can just say "What is the weather for today?" or "Is it going to rain today?". Why log into an app to add something to a list when you can say "Add milk to the shopping list" or "Remind me to get the kids at 3". And then for entertainment you can say "Play some soft jazz", "what games are on TV tonight?".
And it will get even better with Amazon delivery services. "Add milk to list" become bring me a "quart of milk today".
As far as the voice interface goes Alexa has a lead over Google and Apple, with Microsoft in between. But I suspect Google will close the gap with their new "AI first" company wide focus. The latest version of Google's products from the Brain team are way ahead of Amazon.
And it will get even better with Amazon delivery services. "Add milk to list" become bring me a "quart of milk today".
As far as the voice interface goes Alexa has a lead over Google and Apple, with Microsoft in between. But I suspect Google will close the gap with their new "AI first" company wide focus. The latest version of Google's products from the Brain team are way ahead of Amazon.
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