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Amazon's Alexa App Climbed to #1 on the iOS App Store's Top Free Chart After Christmas
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Yes Siri is way behind Alexa , it’s pretty hopeless understanding accents where Alexa works first time 99.9% of the time where Siri is slow for a start , so much for Apple bigging it up its not improved at all over the years . Home pod would be good if it had Alexa built in lol I’ve got Apple TV and it’s a waste of time unless your a American for voice control Utterly useless iam afraid still folk will buy the HomePod when it comes out I guess
Google home can do all that as well. It integrates with lights (Wink, SmartThings, Zwave, about the only missing thing is Insteon), music is Spotify, Pandora, Google/YouTube Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Music on iOS. I can talk to my WiFi BBQ thermometer and have it tell me the meat and grill temps. It will add things to the OurGorceryList App, etc. https://store.google.com/us/product/google_home_partners?hl=en-US
Google Home has plenty of integrations and is better at natural language queries. Alexa was first but Google does it better, IMHO.
I trust Google not to drop the ball on this - they know the next big thing will be the smart home and the digital assistant. And they are at the forefront of it technologically.
Define Crappy sound. Streaming or Vinyl with solid state or vacuum tube. Convenience, ease of use and costs, wins every time for the masses.
Eh it depends. This is one of those things we’re if your not first, your last
People will buy devices that work with their Alexa and google devices, often these do not work with competitors products some do, many don’t. When apple does release their assistant not only will people have to re-buy into Apples hardware, but they’re likely going to have to buy a lot more accessories for their house, sometimes replacing ones they already have. I doubt many will want to do that.
Better than no sound. For background sound they are fine. I'll never pretend my Google Home Minis sound great but they sound good enough. And they can cast to the big stereo if needed.
The fact is this right now is a two horse race... Amazon Echo and Google Home. Millions of these things got sold in the last month. When people want to expand their system and buy a better sounding speaker they will add another larger Amazon or Google speaker. They also have the option to cast to a really nice stereo or home theater system. Right now if your a Spotify, Google or Amazon music customer the Home and Echo offer complete integration. The HomePod only offers Apple Music integration and everyone else has to go across Airplay.
When I purchased my Google Home the sales associate was actually a pretty bright young man. He said he asked customers what features mattered most to them and then directed them to either the Echo or the Home. I wanted the best search and voice assistant possible and in that case he recommended Google Home.
I can’t afford to have a HomePod in every room of my house, but I can afford an Echo Dot in every room.
I’m not an audiophile so the Alexa speaker is good enough for me - granted I do have two of them that I use most often hooked to a good quality inexpensive speaker to somewhat improve the music quality.
I’m sure 96% of the population is like me. Excited to see what the HomePod does but I won’t join the fun this round due to how late Apple is to the party and the price point. Plus, I have a HomePod in my pocket and wrist 16 HRs a day.
I’m not an audiophile so the Alexa speaker is good enough for me - granted I do have two of them that I use most often hooked to a good quality inexpensive speaker to somewhat improve the music quality.
I’m sure 96% of the population is like me. Excited to see what the HomePod does but I won’t join the fun this round due to how late Apple is to the party and the price point. Plus, I have a HomePod in my pocket and wrist 16 HRs a day.
I have a question for people who have used both Siri and Alexa. If you’ve got an echo with Alexa what kinds of things (other than ordering from Amazon) can you do with the echo and Alexa that you can’t with Siri.
I find myself using Siri less and less frequently. Maybe it’s because I’m a public beta tester but I feel like Siri is getting worse in some ways instead of better.
Case in point, I was driving in a heavy snow storm on Christmas Eve and visibility wasn’t great so I asked Siri for directions home and I had to issue the command 3 times before it worked like it should. Not fun when you’re driving in snow storm and don’t want to take your eyes off the road.
I find myself using Siri less and less frequently. Maybe it’s because I’m a public beta tester but I feel like Siri is getting worse in some ways instead of better.
Case in point, I was driving in a heavy snow storm on Christmas Eve and visibility wasn’t great so I asked Siri for directions home and I had to issue the command 3 times before it worked like it should. Not fun when you’re driving in snow storm and don’t want to take your eyes off the road.
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I think you totally nailed it here. The $349 price point is wrong for the market. This is about setting up ever present voice access in your customers homes...the model and price point is the Apple TV puck (3rd gen?) that was cheap and you could buy / place all over the house. The app store to go with it is correct (although way behind Amazon - they just built this out from under everyone else).
Apple will sell some at $349 but they'll miss the market - and Apple is the only ones not wanting to data mine your use to sell you more stuff (which could be a big sales booster - but you have to have the $99/$79 product to go with it). Apple may be at a disadvantage here - Amazon and Google could be selling at a loss and counting on future income to more than make up for it.
But at this point Apple doesn't even seem to recognize the market (or critically the importance of the market - this is human audio access for your house going forward - like in Star Trek, but not nearly as good).
Saw a very good shootout between the two products on Youtube the other day (I don't have either), but Google Home appears better / more capable for search and voice assistant.
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But you can ask Alexa to play what you want on the Fire TV, you can buy stuff off Amazon with it, and frankly I think that’s good enough considering they sell everything practically.
Not sure about the directions though? From what I’ve seen also more devices have integrated or support Alexa.
I got an echo for Christmas. They’re pretty good - but the speaker quality is ok. Speech (Alexa) sounds good, but almost muffled. Music sounds awful.
Alexa did have the head start so it's only natural that it has more support. But Google is getting support left and right too.
Our Vizio TV's and soundbar have Google Cast built in and I've got a Chromecast for the rest. It woeks awesome and integrates with a ton of apps (Netflix, etc) so there is no lock in to a specific store. Sony, JBL, Bose, Sonos, even Insignia all have Google Assistant speakers now.
Buying stuff from Amazon is actually a negative for me. I avoid them for purchases as often as possible as I think they are a plague. They treat their workers like crap, (Google it) have horrible shipping speed if you are not a Prime member, and are often not the cheapest.
Let's NOT forget the wonderful iOS Alexa app, REVERB, that puts Alexa functionality on any iOS device. Yes, it's made by Amazon and fully supported.
I'm chiming in on this without wading through the comments. I purposely signed on to MacRumors to share this, found this topic, and getting in and out to spend remaining holiday time with family.
I am a 100% diehard Apple loyalist since my childhood computer, a II GS. Many decades later, I'm a fortunate home owner whose house is wrapped in the Apple Eco System. This past month I purchased two Nest Thermostats, and each came with an Amazon Echo gateway product (I believe it is the Dot). In years past, I would have passed these on to a friend (after a full lecture about needing to come over to the Apple side of life), but this time I kept both with the thought of perhaps working them into my household.
Well, on Christmas Eve I unwrapped the boxes and set them up. And you know what the kicker was? It wasn't something that mattered, or could have changed my life for the (easier) better. It was this...
On Christmas Eve, I got a group text from my sister which was sent to both my mother and myself. She wrote, "Ask Alexa where Santa is right now!" I didn't have any Alexa devices hooked up at the time, so I naturally asked Siri. The answer I got...
"Everywhere."
I rolled my eyes, and asked again, phrasing it in a very specific manner this time.
"Santa is currently very busy."
During this time, I had to swipe up through many replied from my mom, who obviously got the answer (or a similarly pleasing one) that my sister got.
I then immediately responded with my typical, "F*** Y**, Siri - you're the worst." "Well, that's your opinion.", and went silent. Typical Siri, I thought.
But then, I suddenly realized I had Amazon devices ---> which totally pulled a Trojan Horse getting into my house, as I never even wanted them <--, upstairs waiting to be brought to life.
I am a 100% diehard Apple loyalist since my childhood computer, a II GS. Many decades later, I'm a fortunate home owner whose house is wrapped in the Apple Eco System. This past month I purchased two Nest Thermostats, and each came with an Amazon Echo gateway product (I believe it is the Dot). In years past, I would have passed these on to a friend (after a full lecture about needing to come over to the Apple side of life), but this time I kept both with the thought of perhaps working them into my household.
Well, on Christmas Eve I unwrapped the boxes and set them up. And you know what the kicker was? It wasn't something that mattered, or could have changed my life for the (easier) better. It was this...
On Christmas Eve, I got a group text from my sister which was sent to both my mother and myself. She wrote, "Ask Alexa where Santa is right now!" I didn't have any Alexa devices hooked up at the time, so I naturally asked Siri. The answer I got...
"Everywhere."
I rolled my eyes, and asked again, phrasing it in a very specific manner this time.
"Santa is currently very busy."
During this time, I had to swipe up through many replied from my mom, who obviously got the answer (or a similarly pleasing one) that my sister got.
I then immediately responded with my typical, "F*** Y**, Siri - you're the worst." "Well, that's your opinion.", and went silent. Typical Siri, I thought.
But then, I suddenly realized I had Amazon devices ---> which totally pulled a Trojan Horse getting into my house, as I never even wanted them <--, upstairs waiting to be brought to life.
And still not optimized for the iPhone X.
After presents were unwrapped across the world on Christmas morning, Amazon's Alexa app [Direct Link] earned the #1 spot on the iOS App Store's Top Free chart, suggesting Echo and other Alexa devices were very popular this holiday season (via TechCrunch).
This marks the first time the Alexa app gained a #1 spot on Apple's App Store, and it remained there for over a day. Currently, Alexa sits at #2 on the Top Free chart in the App Store, having lost the top spot today to YouTube.
Amazon yesterday said that the Echo Dot was the #1 selling Amazon Device this holiday season, as well as being "the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon," with millions of Echo Dots sold. With so many Echo products being purchased for Christmas and other holiday celebrations, users were led to download the Amazon Alexa app so they can set up their speaker, control it, integrate with other smart home products, and more.
Data gathered from Sensor Tower's App Store analytics shows the Alexa app climbing the Top Free United States iOS App Store charts in the days leading up to Christmas and then peaking at #1 on December 25 and December 26. On Christmas day, the Alexa app gained prominence on the Top Free App Store charts in other countries as well, including Great Britain (rising to #2), Germany (#5), and Austria (#5).
As Amazon's Alexa devices continue to dominate the smart speaker market, Apple has plans to release its own music-focused smart speaker device -- the HomePod -- in early 2018. HomePod will be controlled mainly through the user's voice using Siri, and include access to Apple Music and other expected smart speaker functionalities, like asking about the weather, traffic, setting reminders, timers, and more.
Article Link: Amazon's Alexa App Climbed to #1 on the iOS App Store's Top Free Chart After Christmas
Before the Home Pod was announced I had been hoping that apple would enter the smart digital assistant space, and that they could get more companies on board with home kit support. I already had an Echo Dot as a rather sceptical toe dip into voice control (mainly to simplify controlling the Hue lights in our main living area for my family).
After the Apple announcement I added a second Dot, an Echo 2, and recently 2 Echo Shows (which I got for a ridiculously low price due to an Amazon and Argos pricing error here in the UK). I’ve never been a big music listener in the home, so the main selling point of the Home Pod was a little redundant to me for the price over the Amazon offerings.
That being said, I have found I’m listening to more music since buying the Echos and find the sound quality sufficient for my needs (the Dots are connected to AV receivers so the poor on board speakers aren’t an issue).
I have since added a nest camera in the nursery, which, paired to the Echo Show has made a great baby monitor, and also a nest thermostat. I already had Logitech Harmony Ultimate remotes for the AV equipment and the ability to tie all of them in together with the Hue lights all via voice command is brilliant.
While I would dearly like Apple to succeed in the market, I have managed to kit out my entire home with Echos for £240, I wouldn’t even have been able to buy one Home Pod for that nor would I have the functionality that I do from the Amazon offerings so as good as the HomePod looks, it’s unfortunately an Apple product that I’m going to have to pass on.
After the Apple announcement I added a second Dot, an Echo 2, and recently 2 Echo Shows (which I got for a ridiculously low price due to an Amazon and Argos pricing error here in the UK). I’ve never been a big music listener in the home, so the main selling point of the Home Pod was a little redundant to me for the price over the Amazon offerings.
That being said, I have found I’m listening to more music since buying the Echos and find the sound quality sufficient for my needs (the Dots are connected to AV receivers so the poor on board speakers aren’t an issue).
I have since added a nest camera in the nursery, which, paired to the Echo Show has made a great baby monitor, and also a nest thermostat. I already had Logitech Harmony Ultimate remotes for the AV equipment and the ability to tie all of them in together with the Hue lights all via voice command is brilliant.
While I would dearly like Apple to succeed in the market, I have managed to kit out my entire home with Echos for £240, I wouldn’t even have been able to buy one Home Pod for that nor would I have the functionality that I do from the Amazon offerings so as good as the HomePod looks, it’s unfortunately an Apple product that I’m going to have to pass on.
Ok I’ve been all Apple eco system for a very long time but the last 18 months things have changed.
It all started with one Echo Dot and how well it functions. Since then any ‘smart’ devices I buy have Alexa functionality.
What Amazon have successfully done is made me buy into their services so consequently don’t buy iTunes media anymore.
Amazon eco system is really cheap and more flexible than Apple and that ultimately will dominate the home rather than Apple Home Kit. Competiton is healthy and hope Google and Apple will keep pushing.
It all started with one Echo Dot and how well it functions. Since then any ‘smart’ devices I buy have Alexa functionality.
What Amazon have successfully done is made me buy into their services so consequently don’t buy iTunes media anymore.
Amazon eco system is really cheap and more flexible than Apple and that ultimately will dominate the home rather than Apple Home Kit. Competiton is healthy and hope Google and Apple will keep pushing.
A Dot in every room that connects to Bluetooth receivers and standalone speakers from Harmon Kardon, JBL, Bose...is a better choice for me.
I have both and the Amazon Echo has much better support of non-Homekit third party devices. For example, I can ask Alexa to open/close my garage door, control my lawn sprinklers, turn the TV on/off... all with my voice. My iPhone can do all those things with the respective apps, but none of those things can be controlled with "Hey Siri".