Smart speakers are devices that have voice recognition technology
embedded which enables them to interpret spoken instructions. This
technology has been used in smartphones for some time (e.g. Apple's
Siri) but is now being extended to smart speakers that can be used in
your home. There are currently three main companies that are rolling out
these devices, Google (Home), Amazon (Echo) and Apple (HomePod) and
each brand has integration with their company's products,
As an example, the Amazon Echo (www.amazon.com/echo)
smart speaker uses the Alexa voice recognition system and is orientated
to providing shopping services on the Amazon shopping site, as well as
streaming video and music from the Amazon platform. The same applies to
the Google and Apple devices for their respective media platforms.
As well as providing information, they can also connect into some smart
devices in your household to automate things, like turning on and off
lights, or lock and unlock doors (with the right smart equipment).
Google Home will integrate with the Google Calendar and can provide
information about your daily tasks, as well as integrate with your
entertainment system if you use a Chromecast streaming device. Google
Home has extensive support for home automation devices so is probably a
good option if you want to integrate with other smart devices such as
air conditioners (store.google.com/product/google_home).
The
Apple HomePod (www.apple.com/homepod) uses Airplay 2 to communicate
with other Apple devices to manage audio and video streaming, and in
particular, works well with Apple Music. So if you have a large library
of Apple music then this is a convenient option for streaming music
wirelessly throughout your house. The HomePod also has smart acoustic
technology which manages directional sound for ambient audio or focused
audio for directional sound.
There
are benefits to these smart speaker, especially if you have a lot of
the compatible technology in your house already. The convenience needs
to be balance against the possibility of a lack of privacy. Given the
revelations that have been made about the abuse of privacy recently
though failures by some of the technology companies (most recently
Facebook) it is a relevant concern about the level of trust we have with
these listening devices and how that information is kept safe. I guess the risks need to be measured against the rewards so it is up the buyer to make that decision.
