7 ms·

Amazon is under the (mistaken?) assumption that the Echo was popular for any reason besides the fact that it makes playing music super easy.

wvenable 7y ago
I don't think they messed that: https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/25/20882636/amazon-echo-studio-hd-3d-audio-dolby-atmos-sound-listen-hands-on-specs-features-price https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/25/20882636/amazon-echo-stud...
justapassenger 7y ago
I've owned Echo for 4 years (switched to google home now), and used it to play music only once. It's purely assistant to me.
- riantogo 7y ago
  You are in the minority. Most of the queries by far are for music use case.
  - delecti 7y ago
    Do you have a source for that claim? Because I also rather rarely play music through mine. Most people I know who have one use it mainly for smart home control.
    - jamesponddotco 7y ago
      Yeah, I would love to have some data on that too. We have a few HomePods around the house, and even though that is more of a music player than a smart speaker, we use the voice assistant for everything BUT music. Music is usually controlled with our phones or computers, casted to the HomePods.
      - yellowapple 7y ago
        For some additional anecdotal data points: - I use mine exclusively for music. - My mom uses hers for a mix of home automation and music, but seems to be heavier toward the latter. Sometimes she'll play Jeopardy with it. - My grandparents use theirs exclusively for home automation.
blhack 7y ago
Anecdote, but: we use our echo all over our house for doing things like setting alarms, and checking the time.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  So... it's a clock. Except one that you have to talk to, instead of just looking at it. I have a mantle clock for that. Every 30 minutes a gentle chime drifts through the house, keeping everyone on time. No charging. No shouting. No telemetry. No privacy invasion involved. Best $7 I've spent in a long time.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    I have one of the Google Home devices in every room in the house. The speakers for the bathroom/bedroom and the video screens for the living room and kitchen. It's amazing. I can tell it to play music synchronized across the house, I have photos of fun stuff scrolling in my living spaces, and I ask it for calendar, transit, and weather advice daily. Plus, it's so far superior to a clock in that I can get in bed and say "Set alarm for 6.30" or "Wake me up in 9 hours" or whatever I want and I can snooze it from bed or stop the alarm without needing to find a button.
noelsusman 7y ago
These days mine is just a hands free kitchen timer. I don't use it for anything else.
CodeMage 7y ago
While I had one, I mostly used it for: 1) playing music that can be named in English (because fuck other languages, right?), 2) setting timers, 3) checking the time. I find voice assistants to be of very limited use to me. Generally, I prefer typing, because it's just faster. When I find myself needing a voice assistant, it's because I'm: 1) not near enough a keyboard, and/or 2) using my hands for something else, namely cooking or driving. Back when I had Echo Dot, it wasn't really useful for cooking, other than setting timers. And, of course, I couldn't take it with me in my car. I don't know if they made it more useful in the last couple of years. I think voice assistants could be extremely useful, but they're being hampered by their creators' ambition. Every single voice assistant I've seen is trying too hard to be "everything you'll ever need", so it could dominate the market. I had hopes for Mycroft II, because it promised to be an open source solution on par with other voice assistants. It turned to be a typical Kickstarter horror story: overpromised and not yet delivered.

wvenable 7y ago

I don't think they messed that: https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/25/20882636/amazon-echo-studio-hd-3d-audio-dolby-atmos-sound-listen-hands-on-specs-features-price https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/25/20882636/amazon-echo-stud...

justapassenger 7y ago

I've owned Echo for 4 years (switched to google home now), and used it to play music only once. It's purely assistant to me.

riantogo 7y ago
You are in the minority. Most of the queries by far are for music use case.
- delecti 7y ago
  Do you have a source for that claim? Because I also rather rarely play music through mine. Most people I know who have one use it mainly for smart home control.
  - jamesponddotco 7y ago
    Yeah, I would love to have some data on that too. We have a few HomePods around the house, and even though that is more of a music player than a smart speaker, we use the voice assistant for everything BUT music. Music is usually controlled with our phones or computers, casted to the HomePods.
    - yellowapple 7y ago
      For some additional anecdotal data points: - I use mine exclusively for music. - My mom uses hers for a mix of home automation and music, but seems to be heavier toward the latter. Sometimes she'll play Jeopardy with it. - My grandparents use theirs exclusively for home automation.

blhack 7y ago

Anecdote, but: we use our echo all over our house for doing things like setting alarms, and checking the time.

reaperducer 7y ago
So... it's a clock. Except one that you have to talk to, instead of just looking at it. I have a mantle clock for that. Every 30 minutes a gentle chime drifts through the house, keeping everyone on time. No charging. No shouting. No telemetry. No privacy invasion involved. Best $7 I've spent in a long time.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  I have one of the Google Home devices in every room in the house. The speakers for the bathroom/bedroom and the video screens for the living room and kitchen. It's amazing. I can tell it to play music synchronized across the house, I have photos of fun stuff scrolling in my living spaces, and I ask it for calendar, transit, and weather advice daily. Plus, it's so far superior to a clock in that I can get in bed and say "Set alarm for 6.30" or "Wake me up in 9 hours" or whatever I want and I can snooze it from bed or stop the alarm without needing to find a button.

noelsusman 7y ago

These days mine is just a hands free kitchen timer. I don't use it for anything else.

CodeMage 7y ago

While I had one, I mostly used it for: 1) playing music that can be named in English (because fuck other languages, right?), 2) setting timers, 3) checking the time. I find voice assistants to be of very limited use to me. Generally, I prefer typing, because it's just faster. When I find myself needing a voice assistant, it's because I'm: 1) not near enough a keyboard, and/or 2) using my hands for something else, namely cooking or driving. Back when I had Echo Dot, it wasn't really useful for cooking, other than setting timers. And, of course, I couldn't take it with me in my car. I don't know if they made it more useful in the last couple of years. I think voice assistants could be extremely useful, but they're being hampered by their creators' ambition. Every single voice assistant I've seen is trying too hard to be "everything you'll ever need", so it could dominate the market. I had hopes for Mycroft II, because it promised to be an open source solution on par with other voice assistants. It turned to be a typical Kickstarter horror story: overpromised and not yet delivered.