Google vs. Amazon – Battle for the smart home pt. IX

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LG starts the trend.

• LG is the first to execute on a trend that I have long predicted and one which will move the battle for the smart home completely into the realm of software and user experience.
• LG USA has announced that all of its WiFi connected SmartThinQ home appliances will support both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
• LG has around 100 products in its SmartThinQ range including a series of hobs, ovens, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and so on.
• All of these products will now support both digital assistants and I think that the time will soon come when these appliances also have the assistant embedded into them.
• LG has added a series of skills for both assistants that allow all of these devices to be controlled either by voice or by the app.
• It is clear that this is still in the experimental stage as some of the use cases that LG is promoting are completely useless.
• For example, the ability to ask Alexa or Google to turn the oven off because the user is carrying a hot meal to the table is more easily executed by manually turning the oven off before taking the food out.
• I think that this is the future of the smart home and in near future, there will be very little point in Google or Amazon making the hardware.
• One exception could be the microphone array which is very specific to each assistant, but I think with time, this too will disappear.
• For example, there is very little point in trying to compete with the likes of Harman Kardon, Bose or JBL in speakers because they have far more experience and are likely to create a better audio product.
• Furthermore, I don’t think that hardware is central to the strategy of either Amazon or Google so when everyone is embedding their assistants into products, there will be little reason to continue.
• It is at this point that the battle moves entirely into software and the user experience, and here I think Google has Amazon licked.
• This is because Google Assistant is fundamentally a better product than Amazon Alexa.
• Furthermore, the vast majority of digital assistant traffic is generated on a smartphone meaning that Google Assistant has much more raw material with which to improve.
• Now that Amazon’s advantage in controlling the smart home has been all but eroded, Google Assistant is competing on more level playing field.
• I now expect this battle to be won by Google with Amazon Alexa becoming the assistant with which to do one’s groceries and not much more.
• I am warming up to Google once again mainly because it is likely to escape the most unscathed from the current privacy related back lash and hence should outperform its peers.
• That being said, privacy advocate Apple is likely to fare the best of all while the current storm rages.