The Smart Home Has A Voice Assistant Problem

“Alexa, should I use Siri or Google?”

- Ng Chong Seng

Voice-controllable smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home are the latest holiday sales darlings. At the most basic level, both can be your source of entertainment (e.g., have them stream music), but if you’re willing to let them into your life fully, they can also be your personal assistant and the commander of your smart home.

That last bit is why I got the Echo. You see, I have a Z-Wave network at home that’s set up to control my lights and power switches, and I’ve long wanted to control them via a way that’s not the atrocious app my smart home controller maker provides. The Echo/Alexa solution is attractive because, really, what form of interaction can be faster and more natural than voice?