Amazon might own IMDB, but ask Alexa, “Who starred in the original movie Gone in 60 Seconds?” and she’ll recite the cast of the remake from 2000. But Google operates the world’s best search engine, and Google Home takes full advantage of it. Ask about the weather or traffic conditions on your route to work, and both smart speakers will do a great job of delivering that information. The Alexa-compatible Sonos One greatly complicates this decision-no one makes a better multi-room audio system than Sonos, in my book-but that’s not fair to Google because the Sonos One is a third-party product. The Google Home series is also the better choice for building out a multi-room audio system. I haven’t heard the Google Home Max yet, but none of Amazon’s speakers have impressed me with their sonic prowess. If you’d prefer to have someone else to do the work, but can’t afford a big-ticket system such as Control4, take a look at ADT Pulse, Comcast Xfinity, or Vivint Smart Home. Or you might look into a cloud-based system with professional monitoring, such as Frontpoint Security, another system I have personal experience with. You’d be better off buying a smart home hub like SmartThings or Wink if you’re the DIY type. The Echo Plus is limited to controlling ZigBee devices in a market that has yet to settle on a single standard-you’re just as likely to want to purchase a smart home device based on Z-Wave technology. That said, don’t buy an Amazon Echo Plus because it’s the only smart speaker on the market to incorporate a smart home hub.
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