Do you have/use a smart speaker?

What smart speakers do you use (or plan to use)?

  • Apple's HomePod

    Votes: 3 1.8%

  • Amazon's Alexa

    Votes: 23 14.1%

  • Google's Home/Nest

    Votes: 43 26.4%

  • Other

    Votes: 3 1.8%

  • None - the only voices in my head should be mine

    Votes: 91 55.8%
  • Total voters
    163
Got a lot of lights running off Alexa with Ecjo dot and echo show.
But my plan is to replace them all with Apple HomePod and HomePod minis.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Meanwhile I have quite a smart home by now and the smart speaker is the last thing to go into it really. Pointless to do it the other way round.
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If it wasn't for winning the alexa I wouldn't have invested in all the sonoff devices.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Yeah that’s the only way.

Which is never going to happen with Family Sharing.

Stupid restrictions.
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My kids have been bugging me to switch to Spotify which doesn't seem to have the same issues as Apple.
 
bwana said:
My kids have been bugging me to switch to Spotify which doesn't seem to have the same issues as Apple.
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I’ve never understood why anyone would pay for Spotify if they can just use the Free version and then spend the money somewhere else and have access to two services.

So I’ll likely just use that like I do with the Xbox when I feel like it.
 
bwana said:
My kids have been bugging me to switch to Spotify which doesn't seem to have the same issues as Apple.
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Apple always has issues - why I avoid them as far as possible. They make good stuff, but EISH!!! after the shine wears thin, that straight jacket chafed badly. :(
 
SauRoNZA said:
I’ve never understood why anyone would pay for Spotify if they can just use the Free version and then spend the money somewhere else and have access to two services.

So I’ll likely just use that like I do with the Xbox when I feel like it.
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Do the free and premium plans offer similar functionality/features?
 
bwana said:
Do the free and premium plans offer similar functionality/features?
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Higher quality (which won’t matter on an Echo) and offline capability are the main sales pitches.

No ads too, but their ads have never been a major issue for me.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Higher quality (which won’t matter on an Echo) and offline capability are the main sales pitches.

No ads too, but their ads have never been a major issue for me.
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My echo is connected to my stereo so it might make a difference (for someone with better ears than I possess)?
 
bwana said:
My echo is connected to my stereo so it might make a difference (for someone with better ears than I possess)?
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Yeah that ultimately depends how much of an active and good listener you are.

Worth a trial I guess.

I’m hopeful we’ll see more Apple support though, especially keen for Apple One.
 
SauRoNZA said:
On the money.

I laugh at all the people I know who have all these smart speakers but no smart home to use it with.

Meanwhile I have quite a smart home by now and the smart speaker is the last thing to go into it really. Pointless to do it the other way round.
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That's a bit of a daft thing to say, why would you assume everyone has the same uses for a speaker as you do? Streaming radio stations from overseas would be more than reason enough for anyone to own a smart speaker.
 
Spizz said:
That's a bit of a daft thing to say, why would you assume everyone has the same uses for a speaker as you do? Streaming radio stations from overseas would be more than reason enough for anyone to own a smart speaker.
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Can’t you stream radio stations on other devices?

But it was rather a comment about people who claim their house is smart but all it has is a speaker and a voice assistant and doesn’t do anything actually smart.

Not saying there’s anything wrong with just having a speaker, but rather that it doesn’t do all that much by itself to make a house smart.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Can’t you stream radio stations on other devices?

But it was rather a comment about people who claim their house is smart but all it has is a speaker and a voice assistant and doesn’t do anything actually smart.

Not saying there’s anything wrong with just having a speaker, but rather that it doesn’t do all that much by itself to make a house smart.
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Yeah, fair enough, I get the point. Personally I control my lights through a Philips Hue hub and my CCTV through an app and the Alexa devices are pretty much supplemental to their use, although handy to have for voice commands I guess. So I agree with you there also on doing it backwards by getting a smart speaker first.

But my point was I use them far more for streaming BBC radio and Spotify than anything smart home related. Wife also uses 2 Echo dots in her restaurant kitchen solely for streaming music. So lot's of uses and as one not really interested in Sonoff and smart plugs etc, a smart speaker is pretty much an essential piece of kit in my house now.

And just to say, for streaming radio, yes other things do it and I also have a Sonos One speaker which cost 10 times as much as an Echo dot. Although the Dot obviously can't hold a candle to the Sonos for sound quality, it offers great bang for buck and I recommend them to people all the time just for radio reasons.
 
bwana said:
Do the free and premium plans offer similar functionality/features?
Click to expand...

Spotify Free has adds, and a lower quality stream. Most folks will not know the difference - we live with the mp3 generation after all. The quality is decent, even if I can hear the difference. About it tho.
 
elf_lord_ZC5 said:
Spotify Free has adds, and a lower quality stream. Most folks will not know the difference - we live with the mp3 generation after all. The quality is decent, even if I can hear the difference. About it tho.
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Can you also download your music with the free service?
 
I believe you can if you use it on a mobile device, never tried. All my music on my system in digital format, is CD Red Book or better, flac files.
 
There is a search/play limitation on the free service - if you use Google Home/Nest to search for music and you request a specific tune and artist, you will be informed that the service is only available to Premium (paid) users and Spotify will then play a 'station' with tunes that are similar to your request.

Listen to music on Google smart speakers and displays - Google Home and Nest Help

Enjoy music from popular music services by artist, song, genre, album, playlist, mood, or activity. Multiple people can use the Google smart speaker or display, but each person can only link a single
support.google.com support.google.com
 
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