Time passes, and technology is more and more advanced, and it becomes more and more part of our daily life- isn’t this the meaning of Home Automation? That branch of technology developed to make our home smarter and always connected with us and our habits. But now there is one more step- what is called the Smart Home Voice Assistant, and in this guide, we will show you the best ones to buy!
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With Home Automation, for example, we have seen how it is possible to manage home outlets, your garden, floor cleaning, room temperature, kitchen, and much more independently, smart, and connected. Each of these solutions, however, needs its own app with which to interface, making everything a little complicated. A Smart Home is able to centralize all smart devices so that they can be controlled directly and with a simple voice command! But in reality, these voice assistants are also much more- let’s see them more closely!
What is a Voice Assistant
In the introduction we have tried to explain in a few words what are the potentials of a Smart Home voice assistant, focusing on their ability to interconnect with other smart home devices (compatible) so that they can be controlled even faster – with a simple voice command – and in an incredibly intuitive way.
In short, a Smart Home can be seen as the “central brain” of a smart home, capable of managing the Home Automation component of your home. But in reality, the voice assistants are also much more than that! Before seeing the best ones to buy, therefore, let’s analyze some main features:
- The “World” within reach: the first and crucial functionality of a Smart Home voice assistant is the Internet connection, which – in practice – puts it in contact with the outside world, with you and with the various services to offer. With a simple voice command, you can ask questions, book a taxi or buy a pizza, listen to the radio or a song on Spotify, buy movie tickets, know the weather forecast, set a destination on the navigator, set and manage a commitment on the agenda, call someone, reply to a message, get traffic information, set the alarm and much more! Incredible, isn’t it?
- Manage home automation- in addition to everything we have just said, your Smart Home can interconnect with other smart devices in your home and – always through a quick and straightforward voice command – you will be able (for example) to turn off the lights in one specific room, turn on the heaters in another, make you prepare a coffee, turn on / off an appliance, change the channel of the smart TV, turn on the audio system and much more. In short, the only limit is the imagination! If you have some practice with the IFTTT application, then a world will open up!
These devices are generally quite cheap and are often sold in different formats, depending on whether you are looking for better performance or better technical characteristics. However, as regards the Domotic speech, each Smart Home voice assistant is compatible with certain brands/devices, so your choice will necessarily have to fall on the one “most compatible” with the smart ecosystem of your home. Here are the best:
Which Smart Speaker to buy
Online, especially in recent times, many intelligent homes are spreading, often very cheap. In reality, it is difficult to verify how reliable they are and, above all, if they are able to perform at least most of the functions we mentioned in the previous paragraph. But above all, it is difficult to identify their compatibility with smart devices for home automation. So below, we will list the best Smart Home to buy:
Google Home
Directly from Big G, these two smart speakers can help you in any operation by connecting to the Internet and other smart devices in your home. Their “voice” is that of Google Assistant and just say “OK Google!” to access their infinite features! Both are available in various colors and, depending on the technical specifications, you can decide whether to take the Mini version (cheaper) or the standard version.
The compatibility is vast and not only includes music services (like Spotify or Play Music) and entertainment apps (like Netflix or YouTube) but are also very provided on the industry Home automation where you can control smart Philips home devices, Nest and Netatmo (for smart thermostats), TP-Link, D-Link, Sony, Xiaomi or Nvidia and of course all the devices of the Google ecosystem such as the Chromecast or surveillance systems.
Google Home Mini supports Bluetooth and WiFi connections, has an integrated speaker with 360 ° audio, and can be configured with Android and iOS operating systems. It costs 59 euros and can only be purchased from the Google Store. The same thing goes for Google Home, bigger and with the top touch, dual-band WiFi (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), and dual speaker. For it, the expense rises to 149 euros. Here are the purchase links:
Google Home Mini / Nest Mini
Google Home
Amazon Echo
Finally available in many countries, the Smart Home of the most famous online store in the world has already reached its third edition and offers four versions (for all budgets in short) of its voice assistant- Amazon Dot, Amazon Spot, Amazon Echo, and Amazon Echo Plus.
The speaking voice of these smart speakers is called Alexa and has nothing to envy to the two previous competitors. These Smart Homes can practically answer all your questions, plan your day and help you manage your home’s smart appliances just like we told you in the first paragraph. Depending on how much you want to spend then, you can get more microphones inside, better quality audio, and better performing technical characteristics.
Amazon Echo Input
Amazon Echo Dot with clock
Amazon Echo Flex
Even the Amazon voice assistant is compatible with many music and entertainment services, and obviously with the proprietary ones such as Prime Video or Amazon Music as well as with famous brands such as Philips. In our opinion – when Italian is available – the best buy among the three is Amazon Echo, which provides good hardware at a better price than the previous ones and with a very minimal and elegant style. Prices start from 40 euros for the Dot up to a maximum of 150 for the Echo Plus, but often they are discounted and are also sold in bundles with other smart accessories!
The newcomer is Amazon Echo Input, which allows you to save compared to the previous ones because it does not integrate a speaker, but only the sensors and the software (Amazon Alexa). It can, therefore, be connected to any of your systems or speakers (via Bluetooth or a traditional AUX cable) and even in your car!
Apple HomePod
The bitten apple could not be less, and Apple HomePod is a concrete and robust response to Google Home aimed especially at those who already own or intend to create an ecosystem of Apple devices. This Smart Home voice assistant has a simple and minimal design, and in the upper part, it includes a touch screen from which to control it (as well as with voice commands) by making simple taps.
Needless to say, h the possibilities are endless, and the only limit is imagination! We know her voice well – Siri – and to speak with her, just say, “Hey Siri!” to activate it and ask for everything that passes through your mind. Being essentially a smart speaker, it is able to play music with excellent quality, and if you buy two Apple HomePods, they will connect to offer an even better musical experience. Here too, we have integrated WiFi and Bluetooth technology, but this Smart Home is only compatible with iOS devices.
Here too, there is a wide compatibility in terms of apps and services, but above all of accessories, with which you can also create here a real ecosystem ( Apple HomeKit ) made of cameras, smart sockets, lights, sensors and much more. There are also important partners such as Philips, Nest, and Netatmo. To bring it home you will have to go to an Apple Store or to the main website and – in white or black color – you will have to spend 349 euros– here is the link to purchase!
