10 Reasons Google Home is Better Than Echo Dot

In the last few years, a number of smart home controllers and speakers have come on the market, and two of the most prominent are Google Home and the Amazon Echo Dot. These are products that have been more of a novelty than anything else until very recently. After all, a lot of people simply did not have smart home components to control via voice, and aside from playing music on command or giving the weather forecast in the morning, there wasn’t a whole lot that most people could do with them. However, sales of smart home components have increased dramatically in this past year, and the technology necessary to integrate various devices has improved by leaps and bounds. Sales of smart home controllers have been steady, but 2017 will probably be the year that they take off.

Many consumers really are ready to take the plunge and invest in a device like Google Home or the Echo Dot, but they’re confused: which one should they buy? They’re both quality products. The Echo Dot is powered by Amazon Cloud, while Google Home is powered by Google Assistant. They both have remarkably intuitive interfaces — you just speak to them! They both have a personal digital assistant that interacts with you. On the Echo Dot, her name is Alexa, and you can summon her just by speaking her name. On Google Home, the personal assistant doesn’t really have a name, but a spoken “OK Google” or even “Hey Google” before any request will get the job done. (It’s slightly less personal on Google’s end, since the Echo Dot and the personal assistants on both Apple products and Windows 10 have names — Siri and Cortana, respectively — but it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.)

It’s a tough choice, for sure, as both products are good, affordable, and have a solid fan base. However, if you ask us, we’re of the opinion that the Amazon Echo Dot is a quality product, but Google Home is a better choice. And we’re not just saying that — we can back it up! Here are ten reasons why Google Home is better than Echo Dot.

1. Google Home offers better audio quality. Maybe the original, larger Amazon Echo can stand up to the bass that Google Home puts out, but the smaller Echo Dot just can’t; the audio comes out as thin. Granted, the sound on Google Home isn’t perfect, especially if you like to turn up the music loud — it starts to sound distorted, like a cheap speaker. On the whole, though, we significantly prefer the sound of Google Home over that of Echo Dot.

2. Google Home can actually search Google for you. Alexa can do lots of cool things, like keep a shopping list, control some smart home components, and play music (more on that in a bit), but surprisingly, it can’t find simple answers on the web via Google search. If you want to ask your smart home controller important trivia questions, you’ll need a Google Home to do it.

3. Google Home responds better to voice controls. Or, to be more specific, you can have a more natural conversation with Google Home. Alexa is a little hard of hearing, you might say. While Google Home understands most requests on the first try, the Echo Dot’s Alexa requires clear, slow speaking to fully comprehend what you want. What’s more, Google Home can hear you better than Alexa if there’s noise in the background, such as a dishwasher or even a party crowd.

4. Google Home can give you a daily briefing. This is a really convenient feature to have if you’re super busy. All you have to do is say good morning to Google, and you’ll get a full run-down of weather and traffic in your area, a few select news stories based on your preferences, and anything else you’ve set for your daily briefing. With the Echo Dot, you have to ask for these things individually.

5. Google Home has a better app. Google’s had a lot of time to perfect the user interface, and they’re among the best at it. Amazon is primarily a shopping website; their user interface is good, but Google’s just feels more intuitive and customizable

6. Google Home can understand pronouns in context. In other words, commands to Google Home feel more like a conversation, whereas with Alexa, they’re just one-offs. Respected tech website CNET recently recorded and posted a conversation with Google Home that demonstrated just how good the device is in understanding context. The reviewer asked Google Home who plays Katniss Everdeen, without specifying the movie. Google Home responded, “Jennifer Lawrence.” The reviewer then asked what other movies she’s been in — not what other movies Jennifer Lawrence has been in, but what other movies she’s been in. Google Home responded appropriately, even though a specific name wasn’t mentioned in the second question. (You can see this for yourself here: https://www.cnet.com/news/google-home-vs-amazon-echo/.) Alexa can’t handle context-based pronouns yet.

7. Google Home works with Chromecast audio and video. If you’ve got a $35 Google Chromecast dongle plugged into your television, you can use Google Home to control what you play. It also works with Chromecast audio, basically allowing you to have full control, with just your voice, of a lot of entertainment options. The Echo Dot has no such Chromecast integration.

8. Google Home works with YouTube music. This is a huge advantage that Google Home has over Echo Dot. Sure, the Dot works with a few different music services, such as Pandora and especially Amazon Prime, and it can also play any songs in your music library. However, Google Home can play any audio on YouTube, which means it can play pretty much any song in the world on demand.

9. Google Home can sync audio playback on multiple speakers. Here’s another music feature that the Echo Dot simply doesn’t have. If you want the same music played through every connected speaker in your house, Google Home can facilitate that. It’s a specific function, to be sure, but if you’re a true audiophile with a spacious home, it’s a great one to have.

10. Google Home just looks better. Not only is it more aesthetically pleasing than the ordinary and utilitarian looking Echo Dot, but it has swappable bases in different colors. Sure, it’s a minor point, but if you want a smart home controller that blends in perfectly with your home decor, then Google Home is the better choice.