Days have passed, and I am so happy with being able to get my Apple music on Alexa! All my playlists, specific stuff that I've marked...I love it. I did have to change the titles of a few playlists, cause Alexa only speaks English. 
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Apple Music Now Playable on Amazon Echo Speakers via Alexa in United States
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I'm an iPhone user, and tried the Watch but didn't like it (mediocre battery life, uncompelling use cases). I saw Spotify Family was running the Google Home Mini promo, and figured, why not get it, cancel, then get a free speaker (even though they're only $29 now). I've always ignored the Echos as gimmicky, but why not the cute Mini, at worst, it would be another music speaker.
At first, I was creeped out that to use the Home Mini, you have to enable Web & App Activity. Then I figure, everyone else is tracking me anyway, just delete My Activity in Google. Connected to Spotify, it smartly knows when I search for Christmas Pop, that's a playlist, or if I search for Shakira, I want the artist radio.
I also have Chromecasts connected to all my TVs, and I can turn on/off my TVs or raise/lower the volume with my Home Mini. Super convenient in my bedroom, and in the living room, I set up a routine to turn on/off the TV and Christmas tree together.
I got the $29 Echo Dot 3, just to see what the hype about Alexa was, and so far, not liking it that much. Fire TV Stick 4K is ok (promotes Prime Video any chance it can), and the only integration really is that the Dot can search for content, which is kind of gimmicky. The Dot can't even simply respond to "Alexa, turn the tv on/off".
Both do work with the $15 TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini HS105 and easily respond to "Alexa, turn on/off the Christmas tree" or "Hey Google, turn on/off the Christmas tree".
I did another test last night, I said Alexa/Hey Google, play Twerk by City Girls. Google understood immediately. Alexa said "Play Fart by City Groove"?! It never understood me and I gave up on it.
Another feature I like about these cheap smart speakers is making "broadcasts" (I can announce that dinner is ready and it will repeat on all speakers) or routines (to turn things on/off all at once, or create sequences of events when waking up, like reading my calendar or letting me know about the weather).
I think technically Alexa is connected to more things, but the biggest vendors support both Alexa and Google, and I can't think of a major vendor that supports HomeKit. My 2 Home Minis and 1 Echo 1 are still way cheaper than 1 HomePod.
I have all 3 (2 HomePods, 2 echos, 1 google home mini) and whilst the HomePods sound far better than the others and Siri is compentent in doing lots of simple but useful tasks I won’t deny that the echo and google home are far smarter and more capable. I think the echo is the most capable due to the extensive skill set but the google home is so knowledgable. You can ask it very obscure questions that Siri hasn’t a hope in hell of answering and it gets it correct.
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It depends on use case. You never mentioned how audio sounds coming out of the speakers in these devices and that is where the HomePod is a lot better. It is also a lot better at hearing your voice from across the room while music is playing.
If you don't care about that and don't have Airplay 2 devices, then there are cheaper options for just home assistant stuff if you don't care about being used as a commodity.
That being said, I use Alexa for my SimpleControl app and it can turn on and off the TV, switch all the inputs on my TV and receiver for any component (Tivo, AppleTV, Blueray player, etc.).
Personally, I haven't found a use case for the Google Mini that I care about. I have Youtube Red, so I was hoping to say play "MKBHD" and have it play his last video and then keep track of what I have seen and show me something I haven't seen the next time I use it. Nope, unless they have updated it (I rarely use the Mini), I still get the same last video over and over. Not useful. It can play music with Google Music (comes with YouTube Red), but since I use Apple Music with CarPlay and love to control what is playing from my Watch, I just prefer to use it over Google Music.
As was mentioned above, Google is most likely better with random queries. I don't have much need for that feature on a weekly basis.
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I agree with you that Echo has a much wider spectrum of skills. When you need one and it is the only device that works with XYZ product, it is great to have.
All of these products will depend on use case and how much privacy you want to give up and who you want to give that information to. I personally don't want Google listening in every room of my house. That is just how I feel about a company that wants to try to stay on this side of the line of creepiness. I prefer Amazon to Google since they know all my buying habits anyway, so it is just makes sense to have my information available on as few platforms as possible.
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They dont for me when i'm trying them through a routine. Seems you have to tell them to shuffle.
I don't know for sure, I'm in the UK, so it's not yet available here. But, it says you can set Apple Music as the default music source, so it must work, because this works now with Amazon Music. So I say, 'Alexa, play Don Henley' and she says 'Playing Don Henley from Amazon Music'. So if you change the default source to Apple Music it will work.
This is so true. I have been in the Apple ecosystem for almost 20 years. Every time that my home mini can answer something or do something that my HomePod won’t do, it’s frustrating to say the least. I mean I’m able to use the mini to control my Apple TV via my harmony remote, but without selecting the HomePod as an audio device I can’t even get my HomePod to pause my Apple TV. I still am blown away there is no multi-user support, and Siri shortcuts feels like a bandaid solution to a larger problem that is the limitations of Siri. There is no way the average consumer will even touch Siri shortcuts. Does Apple realize the writing is on the wall for HomePod? Sure the sound quality is great, but the majority market for smart speakers is people who want them to actually be smart speakers.
Funny, Apple Music is set as the default and I even added a five second silent song as the first song. I said "Alexa, shuffle my Favorites playlist" (Favorites is its name) and it played the first song which was five seconds of silence, and then it immediately played the next song in the playlist, with no shuffling.
I'm happy yours works. It doesn't on mine.
Nope. Alexa will not play Apple Music through Alexa on the Sonos. Echo exclusive at the current time anyway.
I have no problems in my bedroom with my Home Mini hearing me across the TV playing. The $29 Home Mini and $29 Dot in the living room does have issues hearing me due to the louder and bigger TV. So I would like to not yell at them, but not to spend $349 for the HomePod, which doesn't even support Spotify (I tried Apple Music, didn't like it at the time).
The HomePod also can't turn off my TV or work with the TP-Link Kasa smart plug. I know there are smart plugs that support HomeKit, but the Kasa one was highly related and supported Google Assistant and Alexa, not HomeKit. It's just strange big vendors aren't really fighting to add HomeKit like they are with HomeKit.
I don't agree with your point about Cook not understanding the ecosystem. The Apple Watch and Airpods do have major tie ins to the ecosystem.
I have had Dots long before the HomePod came out. Not once did I look for a FireTV or an Amazon phone. Unless people become much more static and spend more and more time at home, I just don't see these being the primary device that sways anyone to move from their current phone/tablet/watch/computer ecosystem to another.
This isn't to say that they couldn't come out with a cheaper version of the HomePod or improve it so that it ties into their ecosystem better, though. I think that is a different argument than saying it will be the deciding factor for anyone (at least any significant number).
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Like I said, it depends on the use case. People that want very good sound that feeds two or more spaces, thanks to the 360 audio, will be more inclined to get the HomePod. People that want something that will give them voice control over Apple Music on their AppleTVs or compatibe Airport Express device will want the HomePod. People that care more about privacy will want the HomePod. People that don't want to scream over semi-loud music or alarms will prefer the HomePod.
I think a lot of people will have a mix of devices. Personally, I have one HomePod and multiple Alexa devices. Where I want decent music and listen to my main system for audio is where I prefer the HomePod. Lesser system...like the Tivoli Pal radio in my bathroom.. get the Dot. It is a bit confusing using both at first, but it eventually gets easy to remember which one to use for which reason.
As I mentioned, I have a mini in my office, but I never use it anymore. It was practically free last Christmas, so it was worth trying for YouTube.
I'm very impressed with the Google Home Mini as well as some of the other things Google has come up with recently, like Night Sight on the Pixel camera. If it weren't for the fact that I just got an iPhone XS, I would try Android again.
I hope Apple regains some momentum soon for competition sake.
I hope Apple regains some momentum soon for competition sake.
I keep my google home mini in my bedroom and don’t use it much either. I occasionally ask for a weather update or play some music to get my 7 month old to sleep.
My HomePod stereo pair in my living room is my main music system and also have it connected to my Apple TV. I have a standard echo in my dinning room and a mini in my kitchen.
I’ve got two 3rd gen dots on order from the Black Friday sale as they are back ordered. I’m planing on switching the 2nd gen in the kitchen for a 3rd gen dot and putting a dot in my bedroom and then moving the home mini down to my living room as it can control my chromecast and I can get some more use out of it by asking it some obscure questions!
Pretty similar to me.
It is funny that we both have all three and the Google one is the one that isn't getting used. It says something about the niche they fill. They are great for trivia questions, but I don't have those pop up enough that I won't just instinctually grab my phone. They are fine for music with Casting, but there is so much overlap with the Echo Dot and the Dot has a lot more skills. It is why I don't see Apple going into this cheap-as-dirt device arena. There just isn't as much upside. They will never allow as many different skills as Alexa, because quite honestly, they aren't very elegant to use. As an example, it is pretty ugly to have to say "Alexa, tell XYZ to do something" in front of most third party commands. I use them sparingly because it has to be something I use daily to make it easy to remember the command. If I have to pick up my phone, open skills, and then see some examples, the experience is lost.
I do want Apple to come out with an AppleTV that has mics built in because I would like Siri control in rooms that don't have a HomePod without needing to pick up my phone or remote.
I have to agree whilst the google home is very capable I don’t have the urge to get another one anytime soon.
I would really like to be able to control the Apple TV with the HomePod in the same way as the google home controls the chromecast. For example to say hey Siri play game of thrones and for it to turn on my TV and start playing the show.
I’m not even sure what use I’ll get out of having the google home mini in the living room as I don’t use the chromecast anyway. I do all my viewing on the Apple TV. The chromecast and fire TV stick were Christmas gifts in different years but I’ve not really found a use for them.
I got my Chromecast as a gift, too. I do have a Chromecast Audio I got for testing purposes for my blog and my Nvidia Shield had it built in. I don't use casting much with any of them. I much prefer the AppleTV and I use Airplay much more often than Casting. The fact that Airplay works with any app makes it more useful for my purposes. Also, I don't want to get my phone out every time I want to watch/stream something on the TV, so it is just nicer to have both options (Airplay and direct play).I think Apple needs to put more resources into the AppleTV. My guess is they will roll out more features when they come out with a video service.
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A big reason I'm liking my Home Mini is the compatibility with so many quality smart devices. If you search for smart plug on Best Buy, the top result is the $16 TP-Link - Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini (4.7/5 stars, 3000 reviews). On Amazon, it gets 4.1/5 stars.
The top result for homekit plug is the $29 iHome - iSP6 SmartPlug (4.3/5 stars, 700 reviews). On Amazon, it only gets 3.2/5 stars. If Homekit compatibility is really important, according to other Amazoners, the choices that exist aren't that great.
I can definitely see how if the Apple TV is really important, the Home Mini would not be useful to you.
Oh right, the new ones with the bum keyboards or the old ones with the bum keyboards?
Our family has three with the bum keyboards. I'll let you know when these keyboards actually have an issue.
Amazon practically invented Internet stalking. I remember the days before turning it off how I'd search something on Amazon and get an e-mail a short time later begging me to come back and buy it. And lets not forget their super creepy cashier-less store...
Have not purchased from them in years and it is a great thing. I'd rather support local shops (even the big boxes as they employ lots of local folks) or smaller Internet shops. Screw Amazon.
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Give it a shot - I think you;ll be pleasantly surprised. The Google stuff is what Apple should be doing and sorely misses the mark. Google Assistant is light years ahead of Siri. I can ask GH "how long it will take to get to the store" and she will tell me and send directions to my phone. Siri would not do that and often times doesn't get it right for the wife.
And I say all this as an Apple die-hard who got fed up with Tim's Fleecing of us and migrated away from Apple. It's not as bad on the other side as it used to be.
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Not really much of an advantage for smart plugs. I have ihome and iDevice plugs that work with Alexa and HomeKit, so it is easy to find alternatives. If you use an iPhone it just makes more sense to get something that works with all of the services. I still prefer Hue Bulbs and they also work with everything.
From the original use of the word "company" as a collection of people (also used in e.g. the military). It helps a bit with de-personalisation.
Before I got a Home Mini for my living room, I was talking to Google Assistant on iOS, to command Roomba or turn on/off things.
https://thenextweb.com/apple/2018/1...-use-google-assistant-on-your-iphone-or-ipad/
I can say "Hey Siri, Ok Google, start vacuuming". Now that I have the speaker, I don't have to pull out my phone, or say all that verbosity.