Google Home vs Echo Plus 2nd Generation vs Echo Plus 1st Generation

Google Home vs Echo Plus 2nd Generation vs Echo Plus 1st Generation

It's time to do a direct comparison of the Google Home, the Echo Plus 2nd generation, and the Echo Plus 1st generation. These three products are set to go head to head for the next year or so (maybe not the 1st generation Echo Plus...) as the flagship devices for their respective smart home ecosystems.

The Google Home boasts a great look and feel, a strong speaker, and the incredible Google Assistant. What's more is Google Assistant is about to become Google Duplex, and the incredible abilities that go along with that are amazing. On top of that, Google has YouTube, YouTube Music, Chromecast, Spotify, Deezer, and many other services attached to their Google Cast capability. This means you can have an incredible experience in terms of music, video, and of course with the incredible Google Assistant.

On the flip side, the Google Home sometimes looks a little dated to me, and while their Google Assistant is nearly perfect, some of their integration with other smart home products isn't perfect. For example, the Echo Plus has a Zigbee Hub, which allows for the elimination of hubs like the Samsung SmartThings hub. The speaker quality on the Google Home is great, but I think it just isn't able to keep up with Amazon's new Sub pairing capabilities.

However, when we talk about the Amazon Echo Plus 2nd generation device, we're talking about a smart home speaker that really means business. The speaker is improved over the 1st generation device, the Zigbee Hub is still on board, which makes for fantastic smart home control, the Alexa app is recently updated and is excellent, and the new design improves the look and feel significantly. What's more, if you buy a new Echo Sub, you're going to get an unbelievable smart home speaker setup and an unbelievable music experience.

On the flip side, the Amazon Echo Plus 2nd generation does struggle in a few ways. Alexa just isn't at the same level as the Google Assistant. Amazon's music and video services aren't on the same level either, and they can't get YouTube on their system at all.

In the end, the battle between #GoogleHome and the #EchoPlus really comes down to the voice assistant for me. In the end, the Google Assistant wins that battle hands down, and therefore, I'm recommending the Google Home. Having said that, if you want a true audio-rich experience, the new Echo Plus 2 is amazing. Pair the Echo Plus 2nd generation with an Echo Sub, and believe me when I say this, it is an amazing audio experience.

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Brian

[burnzy]

my only real complaint about the echo plus gen2 (and echo dot gen3) are that the fabric areas can't be removed for cleaning/replacement, you're locked into the colour you buy and better make sure it doesn't get dirty

[twosawyers]

Plus the AUX cable hookup takes out the short delay that Bluetooth sometimes add.

[enp]

I'm from Canada, and I have a FireTV, a few Dots, a 1st gen Echo, and a 1st gen Echo Plus... I can watch Youtube on my FireTV (using an app downloaded off of Amazon themselves) and Prime Video has a lot of good content in Canada for people that enjoy some older movies, interesting docs, and TV shows. It's not nearly as good as Netflix, but, you can get Netflix on a FireTV too, so.. Also, you can get decals for your Echo too (original style, not the fabric ones). Mine is dressed up like a galaxy and it looks really cool against the black finish of my Echo Plus 1st gen.

Good content overall and I agree that the 2nd gen is the best Echo Plus to date, but, I wouldn't discount what the older tech offers. My Plus easily fills a room with vibrant, clear tones and deep bass, and my Dots are so versatile that they're a stupid-proof purchase. Also, Alexa sounds pretty natural right out the gate, so I don't see them "falling behind" Google any more than others may.. Alexa beats out Siri, Cortana, no doubt in my mind, but for the time Google is ahead with their new updates. This isn't to say that Amazon can't easily catch up, because they're definitely direct competition at this point while Siri and Cortana fall short of coming close. IMO.

[ahr]

Thanks for this video! Was really looking for this kind of comparison. Getting the echo plus 2nd gen now.

[JtObservingLife]

Speaker Quality matters if your a music lover! I’m lovin’ my Echo Plus 2nd Gen, the bass is awesome... knowing room temperature is a plus. Regards from India 🇮🇳

[craig-tjrm]

im sorry but i have to disagree the amazon is way ahead of the google. software wise amazon is much better they have way more features than google. Google is still trying to play catch up on the amazon echo apart from the duplex feature i dont think i could name another feature that google has that amazon does not. ?

[MarisaAndChew]

I feel like perhaps the right answer is to have a Google Home Mini and the Echo as well, depending on what exactly you want to do. Currently, I am not building a "smart home", as in I don't have smart bulbs yet (still considering it!) or any of the other smart add-ons. I don't use Amazon itself for much of anything, outside of Kindle, and I've found a way to cast audiobooks from my laptop to my Google home (not sure if that is an Echo feature, just assuming). I have chrome cast on all the tv's in the house though and I find it very nice to speak to my phone or my google home and tell it to cast Spotify or Netflix to those tv's, and I find it nice to be able to ask Google the time, weather, set alarms/timers, favourite sports teams, and even ask for google searches without having to pull out a separate device. I find my google home mini has pretty darned impressive sound for a speaker that is barely larger than a hockey puck! I also like that my birds have somehow figured out the commands (only when I am not home) and will start blasting music to entertain themselves! As far as appearance, I actually think the design of the Google Home is more decorative than the Echo and it fits into the more minimal streamlined decor that seems to be trending, and of course you can get all the different sleeves to change it's appearance if you aren't into the minimal look, which doesn't appear to be an option for the Echo. I wish they both had a removable fabric that could easily be cleaned though. My dad's big old box speakers from when I was a kid have the fabric frame that pops right off for easy vacuuming and dusting or even washing, without compromising the actual speaker. I would love to see that integrated into all of these systems! Delicately vacuuming up dust, pet hair and everything else off of an electronic device can be a pain as can using a lint roller etc. I think cleaning needs to be considered during the design. I also appreciate that the searches I do on my google home can actually be seen on my phone if I open it up and look. Considering Amazon and Google seem to be having a bit of trouble cooperating, I can't imagine that my Echo questions would show up on my phone! Now, If I was a frequent shopper on Amazon, I would definitely be purchasing an echo because I LOVE seeing people adding things to their Amazon cart vocally and it actually being added, where with the Google my shopping list is still something I have to transfer over to an order list later on. Sorry, this is rambling and all over the place, just wanted to share before going to sleep! Another great video as always! I know that when I do decide to bite the bullet and get the smart things for my home that you will be the guy who I trust to direct me! Especially since you are in Canada as I am and that allows for me to know exactly what features I will actually have in any device I do decide to use!!! Keep up the great work!!!

[trapeenot]

For me it's definitely gotta be the Google Home. I'm not buying any assistant to be used for high quality speakers. I'm buying technology that can hone in and do it's job the best. If I want good sound, I'm using the assistant to tell it to play on another system that can be controlled. Also not looking to use the actual assistant for direct automation like control of other devices, rather will still use the assistant connected to a Samsung SmartThings hub for centralized control. The assistant is just my entry point into everything.

[gilburtvanhorn]

i have always liked the look of the 1st gen echo better than the 2nd i like the white color the best

[xXLARzXx]

I think k the safe bet is to always go with the software company not the shipping company (think Amazon fire phone - now discontinued because they couldn't compete). Amazon has good products but the Google Assistant runs circles around Alexa in my experience and Amazon will always be playing catch-up.

If you are concerned with sound quality on the Google device then you can always take a trip down to your local Costco and purchase a Bluetooth capable sound bar for your TV which should also incorporate into your Google Home automation. From what I understand at least the LG sound bars for the most part do.

-Not to be redundant but I think what Google offers over the others in automation and features out weighs better sound that can be rectified with cheap additional equipment.

[Alex-xcki]

I'm getting a Google home during black Friday.

[diehlwithit]

If you're bored with the look of your Google Home you can buy a third party skin to change the color of the white top. As always, thanks for the updates! You area always super informative and as a Best Buy employee, you help me become the best I can be at my job, so thank you will never be enough!

[Ampersand]

Thanks for all the excellent updates & sharing your views. Personally, since taking delivery of my Google Home Hub earlier this week, I'm now considering selling *all* my Google devices and either switching to Amazon or going without. Why? Because the Home app is now riddled with bugs. I've had to factory reset my Home Hub twice, which each time it is installed, renames an already existent group name (it also refuses to allow me to re-use the name of the reset device, hinting that the app still recognizes the reset device as if nothing had changed). I've had the ambient display settings reset themselves spontaneously, lost the ability to see any photos displayed at all, and on and on...
Prior to installing the Home Hub, my setup (3 x Home minis running off 3 x Google WiFi units, predominantly controlled by a Pixel 2 XL + Chromecast & Chromecast Audio dongles) was running with only the occasional hitch. I'm starting to feel that these things are, at best, cute when they work, but the frustration that's caused when they fail as spectacularly has they are at the moment is too immense to make the investment of time and money worthwhile. Maybe I'll sell it all and (selectively!) re-buy certain devices later once the bugs have been ironed out. All the best!

[frankthecat]

Enjoyed your well thought out discussion.

[gbi]

Great work from Amazon which I cant even buy from, since I'm not living in an Amazon-enable (EU) country.
Instead you have to be ripped off by local business who charge the double for the same product...

AMAZON

[surethom]

Both the echos sound much better than the Google home unfortunately as the Google home is way smatter.

[AndrewMarks]

I have Google Home and will continue to use it despite this review.

[queercastlimburg]

For me the google home have better sound than the echo, you can change the bass and treble at the google home