Smart speakers - what one?

Associate
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Hi people,

I've been looking at buying an alexa echo dot 3rd generation, however I keep missing the good deals so I would have to spend around £45 at the moment.

However I've seen that the Google home mini is a lot cheeper.

So I just want advice on if I should spend more and get Alexa or is the Google home mini a good buy?

I'm planing on buying smart bulbs and useing it mainly for questions and controling the bulbs, smart plugs etc so not to bothered about the sound quality has I'll link it to Bluetooth speaker.

Thank you.
 
Soldato
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It all depends which voice assistant you want.
I had Alexa but swapped to Google because it tied in much better with the apps I use.

The Nest mini and Alexa dot are fairly comparable

Google Home mini is the 1st generation and can often be found for 20 quid. Nest mini is the 2nd generation which has noticeably better audio.

For questions etc, I'd go for the Google products.
 
Soldato
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Not much more to add to what Tres has said already.

There's not massive amounts of difference between the two ecosystems. The last comparison reviews i read i think said Alexa had slightly more functionality, but Google took the lead with better responses etc.

If you're new to smart devices then it's pretty much a flip of a coin, or go with what you think looks better. Personally i think the aesthetics of google/nest devices look much better than Alexa devices.
 

Pho

Pho

Soldato
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I'm not sure how current it is but I read a couple of years ago that if you primarily want smart device integration buy an Alexa, if you primarily want to ask it questions buy a Google.

Assuming you have an Android and you enable the "hey google" feature you can pretty much get the same thing to try it out though I think. You just have to have your phone on you but the voice commands and integration are all linked as far as I'm aware.
 
Soldato
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I'm not sure how current it is but I read a couple of years ago that if you primarily want smart device integration buy an Alexa, if you primarily want to ask it questions buy a Google.

Assuming you have an Android and you enable the "hey google" feature you can pretty much get the same thing to try it out though I think. You just have to have your phone on you but the voice commands and integration are all linked as far as I'm aware.

I'd agree this is still true. I have both as I still can't decide which way to go. Google is definitely better at voice recognition, answering more complex queries and keeps the responses relevent. Alexa has slicker smart home integration and has some nice features like being able to turn lights on/off based on sunrise/sunset as opposed to just a time of day. On the downside it's voice recognition isn't smart and it loves to ram Amazon down your throat. As an example I'll go into my sons room at night to turn on some white noise and it'll spend 30 second talking at me loudly about how I can get a premium version with better sound quality.
 
Soldato
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I love my Alexa, have one in each bedroom (2 dots and a show 5 in the primary bedroom), then a dot in the living room which is used for music by bluetoothing to the amp and a Show 8 in the kitchen. I like the shows because they are bluetooth speakers as well, so I can pair my phone to it as a decent speaker.

I can show my blink camera on the shows as well, which whilst is a nice gimmick is not something I have used properly.

My main use of Alexa is for alarms, music playback, timers and of course turning on lights and turning on/off my TV setup.
 
Soldato
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Got a Echo Dot with clock for the bedroom (along with 2 Philips bulbs) for £53 to replace my bedside clock, love it so now seriously contemplating replacing the Bose Sounddock I have in the kitchen (it has the old iPhone 50 pin connection so have to use an adapter to change it to lightning) with the Echo Plus as it's half price at the moment.
 
Caporegime
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You can get the google mini 2nd gen for £25 new - HUKD

as fdor what is better. it all depends on what else you have. i have a google nest hello so I needed the hub to see the camera from my kitchen. so I have now converted all to google.

both are as good as each other apart from integration into specific eco systems. i also have nest thermostat, etc so it made sense to go google.

i also have several lifx bulbs now.
 
Associate
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You can get the google mini 2nd gen for £25 new - HUKD

as fdor what is better. it all depends on what else you have. i have a google nest hello so I needed the hub to see the camera from my kitchen. so I have now converted all to google.

both are as good as each other apart from integration into specific eco systems. i also have nest thermostat, etc so it made sense to go google.

i also have several lifx bulbs now.

Thank you.

That's what I did in the end, used £5 code so got it for £20. Came the other day and so happy with it
 
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I have 4 Alexas in the house got them all at different times when on sale at half price.
The last are echo dots with clock, got the first about a month ago to replace my alarm clock and love it, then I heard that with 2 you can pair them up for sterio sound so the other came just a few days ago when they were on sale again.
Both are on bedside cabinets either side of the bed and linked together the sound is so much better.
I am buying a new Tv for the bedroom next so alexa will control that too.
 
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