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Apple's HomePod has been such a disappointment that I ended up going with Alexa to turn on and off my lights, fans, etc.

Hopefully this version allows for custom alarm tones rather than the MEH ones that it comes with.
When we moved I never hooked the Alexa devices back up, and have been relying on Siri on my home. Alexa really IS so much better for basic stuff like turning lights on and off, but i can't bring myself to plug it back in.
why is it better? if everything is setup in HomeKit you should be setting scenes that turn everything on to what you want instantly. You can use Siri and the name of the bulb you should rename to change whatever color and brightness to it quickly. How is amazon better its jumbled all into a single row of icons its horribly cluttered. Making scenes never work great with me on it either.
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You don’t need HomePod to control smart devices.
your phone or watch works much better anyway. or Siri remote. Dont have to yell over the volume to do something with a device close to you.
 
I hope they start improving their multiroom audio. They're lagging behind Google, Apple and especially Sonos in that department. There is no way to toggle speakers on or off without creating groups. It would be nice to toggle speakers on to create customer groups on the fly. If you have 5+ echos it becomes difficult to think of all the custom groups you may need. Also the spotify connection is flaky (starts in some rooms but not others or doesn't start at all)
 
why is it better? if everything is setup in HomeKit you should be setting scenes that turn everything on to what you want instantly. You can use Siri and the name of the bulb you should rename to change whatever color and brightness to it quickly. How is amazon better its jumbled all into a single row of icons its horribly cluttered. Making scenes never work great with me on it either.
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your phone or watch works much better anyway. or Siri remote. Dont have to yell over the volume to do something with a device close to you.
When it comes down to it, Alexa is better because it hears and understands better. (though for some that probably kind of makes it "worse"). With Siri, there are still WAY too many "EAT UP MARTHA" results.
I have all my bulbs etc set up in HomeKit so it wasn't any trouble switching between Alexa and Siri, but even when I speak directly and clearly into my phone to turn off the bulbs, Siri often doesn't understand.
 
Show me where I referred to anyone in this thread.

So were you arguing with the wall? Can you point to ANYONE even not in this thread who believes "they cannot be tracked by anyone or have information captured" simply using an Apple device? You seem to be arguing about something no one is claiming.
 
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So were you arguing with the wall? Can you point to ANYONE even not in this thread who believes "they cannot be tracked by anyone or have information captured" simply using an Apple device? You seem to be arguing about something no one is claiming.
The general implication in variety of commentary seems to be leaning in that direction (perhaps more in the sense of a generalization).
 
Watch out for the Alexa app because on an iPhone it grows in size every day and the only cure is to delete it and start again. On my iPhone it is over 1GB already. Alexa customer services blames iOS and offers no other cure than deletion telling me that Android phones can delete the documents and data file which is the faulty part of the app.
 
When it comes down to it, Alexa is better because it hears and understands better. (though for some that probably kind of makes it "worse"). With Siri, there are still WAY too many "EAT UP MARTHA" results.
I have all my bulbs etc set up in HomeKit so it wasn't any trouble switching between Alexa and Siri, but even when I speak directly and clearly into my phone to turn off the bulbs, Siri often doesn't understand.
how does a device across the room hear better than your phone right next to you? I have to yell over my tv to get Alexa to even hear me and it just doesn't work if the tv is on. With appletv and using Siri it drops the volume and it always works. Same with your phone or watch if you have it on you. Did you not try setting up scenes in HomeKit? Renaming all your bulbs and stuff so you can remember the names to change them individually.
Weird it doesn't work for you ive never had any issues with Siri understanding my scenes or device names.
 
how does a device across the room hear better than your phone right next to you? I have to yell over my tv to get Alexa to even hear me and it just doesn't work if the tv is on. With appletv and using Siri it drops the volume and it always works. Same with your phone or watch if you have it on you. Did you not try setting up scenes in HomeKit? Renaming all your bulbs and stuff so you can remember the names to change them individually.
Weird it doesn't work for you ive never had any issues with Siri understanding my scenes or device names.
I should've said it "understands" me better than "hears" me. Actually, that's the main reason my wife was dead-set against us hooking up the Alexa device. It hears and understands TOO well. But I'm a native English speaker and sometimes Siri just won't understand things like "front light."And then other times, the HomePod will just activate to my voice even though I said nothing close to "Siri..." Siri is good enough that I'm not running back to Alexa, but a year in and the difference for me is still pretty clear.
 
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