In the gadget - world , it ’s cliché to compare something to The Jetsons . But when it comes to a loud little box seat that you lecture to and that answer your questions and that controls your entire home , the comparison is just too perfect . The $ 50 Amazon Echo Dotandthe $ 50 Google Home Miniare two such boxes . They ’re not perfect gadgets , but they offer a lot for the money .
Which one is more amazing ? Good motion , Elroy .
We go the Echo Dot and the Home Mini through a litany of tests in an attempt to find out which crummy vocalization - controlled smart speaker supply the best bright dwelling house experience . Not only did we learn more about how Amazon and Google require to take over your lives . We also learned more about how to work up a voice - controlled house without conk out the bank — and how to make love it up .
Test 1: Turn on the lights
So you want to release your dim home into a smart abode . The first think you ’ll probably buy is a smart ignition set . Philips Hueis a very good(and expensive ) option , and it ’s what I have in my plate . It also work with Amazon ’s Alexa as well as Google Assistant . That mean you could an Echo Dot or a Home Mini to control your lights .
The theme behind this test was to determine how faithfully both smart talker performed canonic task like turning on the brightness level or correct their luminosity . For the Home Mini , it was a air . After linking my Philips Hue system with Assistant in the app , only saying , “ Hey Google , twist on the brightness ” made the lights turn on . I was also able to dim them , light up them , and turn them off without a glitch .
thing did n’t go as smoothly for the Echo Dot . I had no trouble deploy the skill in the Alexa app , but the voice commands just did n’t work consistent . I even try on variation of “ turn on the lights ” like “ change by reversal on the Philips Hue lights . ” Somehow I got it to work a couple times during initial examination , but when we shoot the video above , the Echo Dot just could not turn on the light . A flying Google searchshowsthat others have had similar problems with Alexa and Hue , though there ’s always a luck a fix is on the direction .
Winner : Home Mini
Test 2: Play some music
This is where thing get more complicated . Both of these smart speakers are technically capable of play euphony . However , unlike their larger siblings , the Echo and the Home , the tiny driver in each the Echo Dot and Home Mini is really designed to handle voice commands and responses . medicine sounds pretty crappy on both equipment .
The workaround for the Echo Dot is exceedingly easy . There ’s a 3.5 - mm headphone jack that lets you link up a turgid speaker for your music - smash enjoyment . you could say , “ Alexa act some Daft Punk on Spotify , ” and Alexa will do just that . The Echo Dot also offers more music options that do n’t use the headphone jack , such as compatibility with wireless talker systems . Sonos , for representative , rolled out Alexa capability in October mean you’re able to instal the new skill and then just ask Alexa to play any artist or song on Sonos . It works great and shows off the Echo family ’s transcendence over Google Home in footing of how many more skills and services figure out with Alexa .
The Home Mini position is less convenient . The gimmick lacks a headphone jack but features Chromecast documentation . That means you’re able to get the Home Mini to throw the audio over to a verbaliser with Chromecast Audio or a telecasting with a Chromecast and get that big sound . Of course , you ’ll have to bribe a Chromecast or Chromecast - enable gimmick to do it . Which is gimpy . On top of all that , Google Home also presently does n’t work out with Sonos . We expect Assistant to gain more acquirement in the months and long time to come , but for now , there are some restriction .
Winner : Echo Dot
Test 3: Fire up the TV
In my mind , a voice - controlled tv set is the work-shy man ’s living room dream . No remotes , no get off the couch , just pure stationary fun while you yell to change the channel or play a movie . Both the Echo Dot and Home Mini make this dream a realism — sort of .
Let ’s get the big asterix out of the elbow room : for control most TVs , you ’ll need a disjoined habitation hub . I have a Logitech Harmony Elite with accompanying hub , so this part was soft for me . If you do n’t have a hub , there ’s a opportunity you could benefit some telly ascendence through a Chromecast , but my efforts largely flunk so I would n’t get your Hope up .
Using the Harmony hub and app , I was capable to arrange up some basic “ have ’s watch telly ” routines that I could then activate with either the Echo Dot or the Home Mini . That said , the routines I tried largely amounted to flex on the television receiver and open an app , so I ’d have to use the remote control to piece a movie or show . Chromecast , however , offer yet another workaround . I could apply a routine to turn on the idiot box and then get hold the Chromecast . This worked nicely for both the Echo Dot and the Home Mini . From there , I could request something on YouTube , something like SNL or viral sensation “ spookin in the incorrect region . ” With the Home Mini , it do work like legerdemain . With the Echo Dot , not so much .
Which should you buy?
Truth is , the $ 50 Echo Dotandthe $ 50 Home Miniare more alike than they are dissimilar , which wee it tough to determine a clear victor . The extent to which you ’d grease one’s palms one over the other also depends on your current setup . If you already own and love an Amazon Echo , the Echo Dot is extra appealing . If you ’re a Google Home household , the Home Mini makes good sense . Still , there are upsides and downsides to both devices . And there is a winner .
Amazon Echo Dot vs Google Home Mini
well for Controlling the abode
Google Home Mini
well for Controlling the Music
Amazon Echo Dot
Best for Controlling the TV
Best Small Home Assistant
It ’s the Google Home Mini . The Home Mini does n’t just have better software and a better design . It ’s also well-fixed to use and customize . While there are drawback , like the lack of a headphone jack , the Home Mini is bound to keep getting better as Google expand its comportment in the voguish speaker arena .
If you ’re an Amazon - rabid , you ’ll likely neglect me and keep corrupt Echo product . Good destiny with that . The original Echo was the first and only big businessman of the fresh speaker universe , but now , there ’s finally some estimable competition . Jeff Bezos ca n’t pull ahead all the sentence .
Amazon EchoBattlemodoConsumer TechGoogleGoogle HomeReviewsSmart Home
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