I'm literally married to Google Home/Assistant. I've made significant investments into it in terms of devices (multiple Homes/minis/hubs) and a stack of time. It feels like a marriage. But the same time I've been watching this new girl called Alexa and frankly have come to the conclusion that for my new second property (where I've only got a mini brought from the other place so far) I'm going to set up a mistress. I've seen that new echo dot, the one with the prettier face that will give me the time of day. I'm taken I've also heard that what she's been lacking in intelligence and conversation ability are also steadily improving.
So why? I'm so sick of Google not covering the basics on Home Automation. No ability to run geolocation based routines. No way to take input from sensors directly. No way to activate certain commands like music etc (without the relay and even then it's limited). And their range of devices seems not as strong as Amazon's (I mean, the whole Nest thing is a joke, while Amazon have pushed on with Blink, Wyze, Ring with some good integrations to their core system). I've read that maybe geolocation triggers are coming to GH sometime early 2020. I'm sick of waiting. Promises promises. I'm just not getting what I need from this relationship. What the heck are their reported 10,000 developers doing all day? Maybe too busy politicking?
What are the downsides of moving from GH to Alexa? What should I be aware of? The grass always looks greener fellas. But is a messy divorce ever worth it?
I would think that having one house in one ecosystem and one in the other would be the only logical way to do it, if you did want to use both. For me it came down to overall control. I'm an Android user and Google Assistant integrates with everything Android. I have Chromecasts connected to every TV. I have GH speakers through the house. I use Android Auto and while driving I can press a button and control my Hubitat connected devices hands free while driving. So, if i forgot to close the garage door, I don't have to reach for my phone, or hook up a separate device (Alexa car device) to get the control. It's just built in. I've totally drank the Koolaid...my whole life belongs to Alphabet. If they ever turn out to be as evil as some people suspect, I'm totally screwed.
I was certainly intending to keep the 2 systems separate, one for each property. I was thinking it will be fun (ha, probably not tho') to try both systems in parallel.
Ah, you've raised some points that do affect me. I also use Android Auto (but don't have it connected to Hubitat. How the heck did u achieve that?!?!?). I also use multiple Chromecasts. I was intending to just continue to use those "standalone".
The latest release of Android Auto (the new version with the much nicer app menu), integrated Google Assistant almost completely. The only thing you can't do is routines.
But you can control them from your GH speakers. So, you don't have to pick up the remote to pause/play etc.
I've drank the Koolaid for Alexa. Can link and start routines from Hubitat, Alexa and Ring alarm system. I do have a Google mini as the text to speech seems to work more reliably. (and I got it for $20)
I have two GH mini, one I got for $1 and two Insigna alarm clock like speakers that I got for $25 each (normally $90). If you are looking for cheap mini's they're going to be coming out again soon...they always do right before the new ones get launched. They were actually giving them away to YouTube Red subscribers randomly the other day.
Very good points. I had to side load it because it actually isn't released yet in Thailand. Works fine tho once installed. I was so pleased. GA works great as you say. I wasn't thinking that I could therefore run routines directly that way. Good point!
Yeah, I do also command Chromecast from GH. That would be missed.
Yeah, I bought the Pajero Sport which has Apple Carplay support here. I was a bit narked that Mitsubishi don't support AA. So I check on the official Mitsubishi site and they do support it. So then I checked on the official AA website and found its not released here yet. Like so many things. So backward here on many things. Electric cars just impossible as an example. Anyway was pleasantly surprised when I sideloaded it and it worked fine. But not having it didn't stop me buying the vehicle. Although now I see how great it is I woundn't want to lose it. Waze works great. Spotify too. It's excellent.
I think it really depends on your use case. We ditched Alexa for GH after comparing the features we needed the most. For example, we needed the ability to have a custom experience for each member of the family. Alexa cannot use the respective Spotify account based on which person asks for music. It cannot execute my son’s good night routine that’s different from my good night routine. Alexa’s intercom feature “drop in” is so hard to hear it’s practically unusable. GH “broadcast” feature is much better for us to use as an intercom. On top of that, GH routines seem more customizable and GH responses seem much “smarter”.
I do agree with you that GH seems to be much more stagnant as compared to Alexa in terms of development. Google seems to be ignoring feature requests and gripes from its user base. I cannot believe that you still cannot delete the “ready-built” routines or customize them to shut the hell up. I’m really not happy about hearing super loud “GOOD NIGHT” when I’m about to fall asleep.
Keep in mind, we are almost 100% on Apple ecosystem. If we were using Android phones/tablets, I think GH would have even MUCH more appeal to us.
Yeah, I see. But GH routines are definitely not more customisable than Alexa. They are restricted to kick off with only a voice command or time of day. That's really pathetic. You can also choose to soften command responses at night.
Yeah, I’m not really arguing for or against GH. I’m just saying it depends on what capabilities you want. We only use GH for its voice assistant capabilities. Hubitat (and previously Home Assistant) handles everything else.
The trigger and response are the issue, not the actual actions performed. as mentioned, if you want a routine triggered by "good night" or other phrase google has some pre-built responses for you will get a loud "GOOD NIGHT"
For some "lights" google won't be annoying, but for "switches" it will be. Since I want my "office lights" to not include my work bench, I have that setup as a "switch" instead. When I turn on the "office lights" I get the desired non-verbal response. When I turn on my bench lights it's "OK TURNING ON THE BENCH LIGHT" This has been an ages old complaint that google hasn't addressed well.
I've also heard that what she's been lacking in intelligence and conversation ability are also steadily improving.
