Amazon Echo Show vs Google Nest Hub: Which Smart Display Should Be in Your Home?

Table of Content

• First things first … What's a HomePod?
• Five green home technologies for your smart home
• Smart Doorbells That You Need to Consider Installing in the New Normal
• Both Have Great Tastes In Music
• How Much Should You Spend on a Smart Display?
• Amazon Echo vs Google Home: which is the smart speaker for you?
• Difference Between Echo vs Google Home

If you're big on music listening and want an Apple-made, Wi-Fi-connected smart speaker, Apple's HomePod is probably going to be perfect for you. Sonos' comparable-in-sound-but-smart-assistant-less wireless speakers range from $199 - $499, so HomePod hits a sweet-spot there. The Nest Hub lacks a camera, but you can still accept video calls and use voice chat. The Nest Hub Max is the only first-party Google smart display capable of making full video calls, both sending and receiving video. You can make Google Duo calls to other Google users with either smart display, and join both Google Meet and Zoom conference calls with the Nest Hub Max.

That white area has a sloped top that also comes with LED lights to let you know the device is on, listening to what you say, and more. If you can only afford the entry-level devices, and music remains a top priority for you, go for the Google Home Mini, which sounds a lot better than the Echo Dot. Unless you hook up a Dot to another speaker over Bluetooth or the 3.5mm jack, it's just too thin and harsh to fully enjoy. Recently Google launched a follow up to its smallest smart speaker; the Google Nest Mini comes with three speakers (that's one more than the original), and is made from recycled materials. Like the Echo Dot, the speaker is puck shaped, if a little more pebble-like with softer edges, and has a top side covered in a fabric speaker mesh. You can pick up the Google Home Mini in a range of colors, with four flashing LED lights illustrating when it's listening to your commands and showing the volume level.

First things first … What's a HomePod?

Its small size and price puts it between the Echo Show 5 and the Echo Show 8, which is why Google released the larger, louderNest Hub Max to compete with the Echo Show 10. Resolution is an essential indicator of a screen's image quality, representing the maximum amount of pixels that can be shown on the screen. The resolution is given as a compound value, comprised of horizontal and vertical pixels. There is a control panel on the device body, so you can easily access the volume control or remote without having to interact with a cable or another device it's connected to. An auxiliary input allows you to play other audio sources by connecting them through a simple audio connection like a 3.5mm jack, i.e for MP3 or portable DVD/CD player.

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Five green home technologies for your smart home

When considering Google Home vs Echo Show, note that both have hubs have touch-screens, smart speakers and microphones. Both have voice assistants and can stream music, play video and control your smart home. If it’s audio you’re after, both devices are speakers and can play music, podcasts, audiobooks, and any other audio you throw at them.

You may stream computer screen, video and music from iOS devices, play games like on consoles or present your slideshows easily on your TV. “Google Home is the better choice for me personally because I want my to give me answers to questions, and I don’t have a huge amount of smart devices I need to control,” Hernandez said. The Echo can beam video content to a Fire TV device just like the Google Home can with a Chromecast.

Smart Doorbells That You Need to Consider Installing in the New Normal

Every editorial product is independently selected, though we may be compensated or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links. Ratings and prices are accurate and items are in stock as of time of publication. Speak commands to Google from across the room with improved voice recognition. Granted, both devices can call a phone number directly from the device itself, which is pretty cool. But the Echo can also call another Echo device, whether it’d be one of your other Echos in your house , or a friend’s Echo who lives across the country. The Google Home can connect to external speakers, but a separateChromecast Audio device is required, and that’s the only way to do it, unfortunately.

The higher the high-frequency response, the clearer and crispier the treble. Browse hundreds of Alexa’s skills from the library on the Alexa app. Craig Lloyd is a smarthome expert with nearly ten years of professional writing experience.

As for the Google Home and Nest models, its virtual assistant is, well, the Google Assistant. Its capabilities are very similar to Alexa, from voice-searching the internet with a “Hey Google” to playing games or scheduling events. Searching the internet feels a bit more accurate with Google Assistant, but unless you are constantly asking questions, you may not notice a lot of difference. Like Alexa, you can also choose different voices and profiles for Google Assistant. The first thing you’ll notice when you open the Google Home is its somewhat interesting design. The device has fabric at the bottom that comes in gray and a white area at the top.

Besides the defaults, though, both the Echo and Home can link to your Spotify or Pandora accounts, so if you’re committed to one of those music providers instead, it’s no problem. However, Alexa was able to do a better job in some areas, like when I asked both devices, “How many movies has Tom Hanks been in? ” Alexa was able to come up with the answer , while Google Home simply just named off a few movies that Hanks directed. Occasionally, these speakers will be available at discount, although from what we’ve seen, it’s a bit more likely to see deals for the Echo.

Third-Party Support

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Google Assistant in particular is an accurate and handy voice assistant for scheduling your life. Sometimes it comes down to which brand you prefer — and neither of these is a bad choice. Then there's the Echo Show 15, currently the largest first-party smart display out there. It has the biggest screen (15 inches with a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution), and unlike the other smart displays it isn't designed to sit on a desk, counter, or nightstand.

How Much Should You Spend on a Smart Display?

However, if you have an Echo Dot or any of the newer Echos, you can connect external speakers to them as long as the stereo system you’re plugging in has an auxiliary jack. Both the Echo and Google Home come with a small handful of controls on the device itself that allow you turn the volume up and down and mute the microphone. However, the Google Home’s control interface allows you to do slightly more.

They can even both be used as digital picture frames to show photos from phones and cloud storage. Their similarities matter less when it comes to which one is best for you or someone on your gift list. Mainly, it comes down to how these devices interact with other smart devices in your home. Alexa, on the other hand, relies on the installation of skills – individual, app-like sets of related voice commands focussing on certain topics or abilities. Handled and activated through the Alexa app on smartphones, these can range from getting information on local transport times, or to activating voice-controlled games.

Amazon Echo vs Google Home: which is the smart speaker for you?

It’s not quite as seamless as native integration would be, but it makes Google Home feel less crippled in the smarthome arena. One of the biggest differences between the two is that Google Assistant does not have searchable “Skills” like Alexa and offers a different selection of “Actions” that you can see here. There’s no guarantee the same skills will be available on both voice assistants, but Google Assistant is currently a bit limited compared to what Alexa offers. The other difference is with smart home compatibility, so let’s take a closer look. Google Home doesn’t have the same level of third-party support as Alexa, but for the vast majority of users it’ll do everything that you need it to. Google Assistant also better ties into Google’s own apps and services -- so if you’re an Android user and use Google Assistant on other devices, the Home is the way to go.

The Echo Show 5 and Nest Hub are both much smaller, respectively featuring 5.5-inch, 960-by-480 and 7-inch, 1,024-by-600 screens. The Echo Show 8 sits between the two extremes, with an 8-inch screen that has the same 1,280-by-800 resolution as the Echo Show and Nest Hub Max, for the sharpest picture. Echo Show devices use Alexa, while Google Nest products use Google Assistant. Both have seen some major upgrades over the years, but they're also still works in progress. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data transfers between devices placed in close proximity, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.