Smart Assistants are popping up everywhere in our homes now, and if you are looking to create the Ultimate Smart Home, then a virtual assistant is a MUST when bringing your connected home together. Nothing screams the future like walking into your house and being greeted by a friendly voice who can turn on your TV to your favorite channel, turn on your lights, ensure your thermostats are set to the right levels and tell you a witty joke. There are many virtual assistants on the market and making the right choice can be difficult!
Josh.AI
There are a few major differences between Josh and any of the competitors, but in our opinion the biggest difference is PRIVACY. With Josh installed in your home, you do not have to worry about your information being sold to the highest bidder or your facebook feed being filled with advertisements from last nights dinner conversation. This privacy does come with a license fee, but it is one we would gladly pay for knowing we can feel comfortable in our own home, without big brother poking around.
Without going too deep into Josh, a few more benefits that bring this product into a level of its own are;
>There is actual tech support available should there be any issues.
>You can speak completely naturally, you do not have to remember exact phrases.
>Josh has a focus on design and architecture meaning devices can blend seamlessly in any home.
>Integrations work fully with other channels allowing you to have complete control of your devices.
>One of the best app interfaces available on the market of any smart devices. The Josh app is able to control any of its integration partners directly through its app allowing you to not have to cycle between 6 apps to control your home.
Amazon Alexa
Amazons Alexa assistant was first introduced in the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers. Amazon has now partnered with other manufacturers including Sonos and Lutron to have Alexa built into smart products you may already be considering for your home. Alexa and the Amazon app allow you to control lighting, music, shades and create personal “scenes” so Alexa is able to control multiple devices at once with a simple voice command. Our favorite scene is our ‘Welcome Home’. Alexa turns on our entrance lights, ensures the heat is set to the right temperature, plays my favorite song and responds to my request with a very heart warming and personalized greeting.
Currently, interaction with Alexa is only available in English for the Canadian market.
One downfall we have found with the Amazon Alexa is that she seems to turn on at random moments when you say anything even close to her name. Although this means she is ready to answer and you do not have to yell her name, it also seems like she is listening in a little too often. Add in the fact that a private conversation about your next holiday with a loved one will most likely lead to instagram and facebook adds appearing on your feeds leads us to believe they are most likely listening more then they should.
Apple’s Siri
Siri started her life as one of the earliest virtual assistants living in the Apple iPhone and iPads. She has recently moved into the Apple TV as well as her own Apple Speaker the HomePod. Siri was originally launched in the iPhone 4S in 2011 with mixed reviews, but like the iPhone has come a very long way since that day! Siri is now able to control any HomeKit enabled device, but compared to the Google Assistant and Amazons Alexa is still having trouble holding the same level of conversation. Siri’s capabilities are said to be a few steps behind of the competitors because of Apples priority to user privacy and lack of resources put towards 3rd party integrations.
Google Assistant
“Hey Google, Write your own review for me”… Unfortunately the Google Assistant is not quiet there yet, but give it a month and she most likely will be. Google Home is our second choice for smart home assistants. In our opinion she has one of the best voice recognition and response patterns, she has the least amount of false alarms or ‘wake ups’ and her ability to answer some of the strangest requests is astonishing. Besides being able to control most smart home features and functions, Google is able to tell you the weather, tell you a joke, make animal noises and even make phone calls for you using Google Duo! Our favorite function of the Google Home is when it is paired with the Google Nest Hello Doorbell. When someone rings your doorbell, Google will announce who is at your door, and allow you to respond directly to them or push the video feed onto your television, so you can see who is at your door in real time. The best part about this is your TV does not need to be left on all the time, simply having a Google Chromecast or Android TV box plugged into an HDMI input is enough to turn the TV on to perform this function.
The only downfall we experience with Google is with its limited ability to integrate fully with some integration partners, constant internet connection and one of the biggest downfalls with any of the free assistants is that your information is being sold for marketing purposes. Like Alexa, Google gets revenue from selling your information and keywords that it hears to marketing agencies and advertisers so they can cater their advertising directly to those that are interested. Give it a try yourself! Think of a topic that is not commonly talked about in your home and start having a few conversations around your home assistant. We would bet that within a few days your instagram feed will have a couple suspicious advertisements that are really close to what you were talking about.
The Google Assistant is available in Google Home, Nest Hub, Sonos Speakers and is our choice for integrating your ultimate smart home!
Microsoft Cortana
Microsoft is a late entrant into the Smart Assistant world with its introduction of Cortana. Many of you may remember Cortana as the virtual assistant to Master Chief from XBOX’s Halo games, well now she is also built into your Windows 10 systems. Cortana’s main focus is helping you organize and navigate your life on your computer. She can set time-based reminders, location-based reminders and over 1000 apps she is compatible with. The largest and most notable being Audible, Netflix, Spotify, Fitbit and TED.
If you are looking to outfit your home with a complete smart system, Check out our Guide To Building The Ultimate Smart Home!
