It is increasingly strange to see a house that does not have a smart speaker. These cover a lot of functions, while their usage is quite generic among all of them. But all virtual assistants are not the same in terms of their quality in their different sections: audio quality, range, design and other features, is what defines these devices. Today we are going to talk about which are the best virtual assistants that exist today, both for their characteristics and compatibility with other devices.
Best known virtual assistants
In the market we can find several brands that have fully entered the world of smart speakers. But despite everything, there are only three brands that are the most famous and the ones that are currently used the most in our homes. When choosing the right one, we can take many things into account, but it is best to always choose the one that best suits our needs, since even in such similar devices, peculiarities can be found. We are going to talk about Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri.
As we have mentioned, they all have their little quirks. Therefore, this means that we have to make a list of the key points when it comes to finding the most suitable one. These are:
- Audio quality and sound specifications.
- voice assistant.
- Portable or with plug.
- Privacy.
- available ecosystem
Amazon Alexa
Amazon is a company that has made a very strong commitment to its Alexa ecosystem. And it is the one that can offer us the most compatibilities in terms of the devices that we can connect. It is one of the best options when creating a home automation ecosystem in our home.
Advantages of Amazon Alexa
The advantages that we find with Alexa and Amazon Echo devices in general are numerous. Obviously, all of them are aimed at giving users a better experience, but not all of them have to be important or decisive for everyone.
- Audio: if we opt for the Echo Studio device, we will have high-fidelity audio. For which it is appreciated for music lovers.
- Screen: The Echo Show have different screens, ranging from 5 to 15.6 inches.
- Compatibility: It is compatible with more than 25,000 devices from more than 4,000 different manufacturers.
- Privacy: It has options to block the microphone, and some with a cover that slides over the camera so that it cannot record.
- Services: it is compatible with most music services, even those of the competition.
- Price: We can find them from about 30 euros. But it is common for them to be on offer for less.
Google Assistant
In this case we are facing one of the most experienced in the sector. It was the first to appear, and it integrates into all mobile devices that have Android installed. This includes mobiles, smart TVs, tablets and Chromebooks. On the other hand, it can solve very complex questions, even with certain abstract touches.
Strengths
The Google devices we could say that at first glance it is the most discreet, especially when we compare it with the versions that incorporate Amazon Echo screens.
- Screen: the Nest Hub device has a 7-inch screen, and a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.
- Sensors: It has three different sensors. Motion Sense, brightness and temperature.
- Microphones: mounts three long-range microphones.
- Connectivity: It allows you to use Wi-Fi 802.11ac, has Bluetooth 5.0 and Chromecast as standard.
- Privacy: It incorporates a button to block the microphone.
siri
According to Apple, with Siri we get the virtual assistant that best protects us in terms of privacy. It is integrated into all Apple devices, and little by little we can find it in more and more cars with Apple Car. With this we are probably facing the assistant that best combines all the Apple sections.
What to keep in mind
- Simplicity: We are facing a very simple system, which we can enable with a voice command. It is not differentiating, but it works very well.
- Functions: It is fully integrated with all Apple features. A Homepod with Siri, integrates seamlessly with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
- Language: It has the option to enable different languages.
- Privacy: Siri uses a random identifier to track data as it is processed. This means that they are not linked to any identity of a user. On the other hand, every 6 months, this data that is not linked to any Apple ID, is unlinked even from the random identifier.
- Ecosystem: it is fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
As you can see, virtual assistants offer us different features. Although in the end it is the decision of each user to choose the one to buy, it is good to review all these aspects in order to make the best possible investment.
In short, these virtual assistants give us many similar facilities and services. But we could say that they offer us great features which can make a difference. If we are looking for compatibility with third-party devices, Alexa is the best choice. If, on the other hand, we prefer fast responses and processing power, then Google Assistant is unrivaled. Just as Siri does not have it in terms of privacy.
