Difference Between Apple Home Pod Google Home and Amazon Echo

The three devices, Apple Home Pod, Google Home and Amazon Echo, are smart speakers that respond voice assistance. The key difference between Apple Home Pod Google Home and Amazon Echo is that Apple home pod has the best sound quality while Google Home is the best in integrating with Google services and Chromecast devices, and Amazon Echo is the best at integrating Amazon services, third party apps, and smart home devices.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. Apple Home Pod – Review
3. Google Home – Review
4. Amazon Echo – Review
5. Side by Side Comparison – Apple Home Pod vs Google Home vs Amazon Echo in Tabular Form
6. Summary

Apple Home Pod – Review

Apple Home pod is one of Apple’s major products, and it is unlike anything that has been produced by Apple before. It is a speaker powered by a home assistant, Siri. It is Apple’s equivalent to Google Home and Amazon Echo. Apple Home pod has borrowed some concepts from Sonos Home speakers.

According to Apple’s CEO, Home pod has been introduced to reinvent home music.  Apple’s Home pod is a combination of speakers and a microphone that plays music as well as responds to voice commands. Apple’s Home Pod is powered by Apple’s own Siri. Siri is capable of telling you about the weather, play music and even control the power of the device in your home. If you are an Apple Music subscriber, Home pod will be perfect for you. Apple’s music subscriber service does not work with Google Home or Amazon Echo.

You have an option of connecting to Echo or Home through Bluetooth device, but this does not seem to be as effective as asking the speaker to request the music you want to play. If you can speak to your device directly, Apple Home pod is your real choice.

The home pad also supports other music services. It functions through Apple’s Airplay 2 functionality. You can play music that supports Airplay 2 on your phone. But voice control will only be available with Apple services.

Apple uses speakers as its forefront for marketing. The audio quality produced by the device is top-notch. The speakers are able to deliver the cleanest and deepest bass possible accompanied with low distortion. The seven tweeters produce high quality as well. All combine to produce a well-balanced, smooth timbre. The home pod is equipped to handle the entire spectrum of sound in high quality and in a highly effective manner.

Figure 01: Apple Home Pod

You can place the speaker anywhere in your home. A home pod will analyze where it is placed to deliver an immersing music experience. It does not push the produced sound waves to nearby walls. It will focus on sending the sound to the parts of the room occupied by people. It is a neat trick that some people may take for granted.

The home pad can also tell you your appointments and pull out information from your Apple calendar upon request. However, Apple has not said whether the Home Pad will support third party apps or not.

The Apple Home pad will be more expensive than its alternative because of being a premium brand.

Apple home pad consists of

  • One 4- inch woofer in the middle
  • Ring of seven tweeters in its base
  • It is powered by an A8 chip, the same chip that powers your iPhone.

Google Home – Review

Google Home works to make your life easier. There are a plenty of things that can be accomplished by this device. You can listen to music, stream videos via Chromecast and perform many other tasks via this device. You can also use default apps to check the news or listen to your favorite news. Basically, Google Home helps in keeping track of your busy life and help you enjoy some relaxing music.

Google Home helps you control all your connected devices at home. You can also use multiple Google Home devices if multiple people occupy the home; this can also provide increased benefits. You can use voice purchasing and even record items that you have purchased previously. It will only take a few minutes to set up this feature. Google Home works by recognizing your voice. It can support multi users and support up to six different accounts. Every individual account can receive personalized responses and help users throughout the day.

Figure 02: Google Home

You can also add and remove linked Google accounts, and it will only take a few minutes. Google Home is capable of filling the entire room with its powerful speakers. Once you link up your music account with Google Home and you are good to go. You only need to ask Google home for the music you are craving to listen to. Google Home can even play music that will make it easy for you to fall asleep.

Amazon Echo – Review

Amazon Echo may be the first glimpse of an intelligent home. You can play any song by virtually asking for it. The Echo is a speaker that is capable of playing music. But it accomplishes this in wonderful ways. You can ask for songs from Amazon’s Library, which is a large collection of songs. You can even request a song from a playlist or by an artist. The Echo can get you songs for a specific holiday or offer you a playlist for your mood. It can work with a variety of integration hubs. You can also hook up other devices like Sensi and Ecobee. Echo can convert your home into a voice controlled smart home. With Echo, you can easily control the temperature of your home, control lights and turn on your video recording with a simple voice command.

You can easily ask for information like the time and the weather and even the way you should commute. You can listen to audio books with Echo.  You can also set up a sleep timer where you can listen to a book and fall asleep. Alexa will help you read Wikipedia articles as well. Amazon Echo can also work as a kitchen assistant since it can convert timers, and set timers. Amazon Echo is integrated with another Amazon company known as Audible

Echo can also connect with IFTTT. You can automate your task with this connection. You can easily trigger recipes with voice commands.

Figure 03: Amazon Echo

What is the Difference Between Apple Home Pod Google Home and Amazon Echo?

Apple Home Pod vs Google Home vs Amazon Echo

Price
Apple Home Pod 349 Dollars
Google Home 180 Dollars
Amazon Echo 180 Dollars
Voice Assistant
Apple Home Pod Siri
Google Home Google Assistant
Amazon Echo Alexa
Weight
 Apple Home Pod 5.5 pounds
Google Home 1.05 pounds
 Amazon Echo  2.34 pounds
Dimensions
 Apple Home Pod 6.8 X 5.6 X 5.6 in  
Google Home   5.62 X 3.79 X 3.79 in  
Amazon Echo  9.25 X 3.3 X 3.3 in
Connections
Apple Home Pod AirPlay, Wifi 802.11 ac
Google Home Bluetooth, Wifi 802.11 ac
Amazon Echo  Bluetooth, 802.11 ac
Third Party Support
Apple Home Pod Not available
Google Home Actions for Google assistant
Amazon Echo  Skills for Alexa
Multiple User Support
 Apple Home Pod Not specified
Google Home Yes, Up to 6 users
Amazon Echo Yes
OS Support
 Apple Home Pod iOS
Google Home iOS, Android
 Amazon Echo  iOS, Android
Music Services
Apple Home Pod Apple Music
 Google Home Google Play Music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube music
 Amazon Echo  Amazon Music apps, Audible, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn

Summary – Apple Home Pod vs Google Home vs Amazon Echo

Cons

Apple home pod is weak when it comes to third party support and smart home device support. When compared with Echo and Home Pad, Google Home exhibits the weakest sound. It is also weaker compared with Echo when it comes to third party app support and smart home device support. Amazon Echo exhibits weaker sound quality when compared with Apple’s Home pod. It is not as smart as Google Assistant when it comes to general knowledge.

Pros

Apple Home pod provides the best sound quality and strong privacy protection. Google Home is better equipped to integrate with Google services and chrome cast devices. Google assistant is the smartest when it comes to general knowledge. It is also customizable and affordable.  Amazon Echo is the best when it comes to third party app support and smart home device integrations. It also can easily integrate with Amazon services. It is affordable and can connect to the existing audio setup.

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Image Courtesy:

Official sites of Google, Apple and Amazon