Smart Speaker Utility
Discussions center on the everyday usefulness of Amazon Echo, Google Home, and similar voice assistants for tasks like timers, weather checks, music playback, and smart home control, alongside debates on privacy concerns and comparisons to phone-based alternatives.
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Get a Google Home or Amazon Echo instead.
I can just get an amazon echo if I want that.
What was a terrible experience compared to Amazon Echo ? Can you name a few examples ?
I don't think so.I'm using our echos every day for time keeping, weather, music and lights.My tablet (Nexus) I played with it way shorter.Also I miss Alexa when I'm in a hotel.What? No music? No timer? No quick weather report? No alarm clock and for the lights I have to use a switch?...It's not just a gadget it is a very convenient input method.And it is already super useful but still basically the first generation of devices.
You don't think devices such as the Amazon Echo could do such a thing?
Your iPhone is not listening to you right now, but your Echo is. That's a big difference.
We use Alexa every day for lights, weather, and timers for cooking. It understands us correctly 98% of the time. The compelling thing about it is that it works purely by voice. I don't have to push any buttons. We have 4 Echos in different rooms so I don't have to have my phone on me all the time.
all my Alexa echo etc were collecting dusts for the last few years,I got all I needed from my phone,there is no need for Amazon devices at all for me
Same: I just used my Alexa for timers, some music, and rarely to ask about temperature outside.I don’t need an internet connected spying device for this though. So ended up switching to a HomePod mini.It sets timers without internet, and plays music from my phone which is somewhere around the house. It can ask my phone for weather info as well.
Does anyone really find these home assistants to be all that useful? Echo, home, etc. All of them really seem to be designed to get you to buy them and then to sell you more stuff, not to actually be useful. It barely works for even simple queries. The music integration doesn't work well with Spotify on the home, and can't even add reminders. The echo has to ask "am or pm" when I tell it to 'wake me up tomorrow at 8'. It's really good at understanding the words