Google Home - SO DISAPPOINTED

[The_Chief]

I was really stoked. Alexa is nice... and very versatile. She's great at what she does, but what she does is primarily consumption-focused. She'll help you buy something (from Amazon, of course) with a single command. But then Google Home comes along, promising to be more information-focused. I want information.

So we invested in the Google ecosystem. I bought three Google Homes, a SmartThings hub, two smart outlets and a Honeywell smart thermostat. I already had smart outlets and a smart thermostat, but they were Alexa-compatible and not Home-compatible. The plan was to sell off the entire Alexa ecosystem as a set.

Not so fast.

If Google Home is tied in at all to the Google database of everything, I'd be surprised. It seems to be Google Lite - there are a few things it does okay, a couple it does well, and so much it's really lousy at. For example:

"Okay Google, when was the last time Army beat Navy?"
"Sorry, I'm not sure how to help with that yet."

I opened Google Search on my phone and asked it the exact same question.
2001.

And that's just one example - there are plenty of others. Half the time we say "Okay Google" or "Hey Google", it doesn't even recognize that we said it. That means we have to literally turn a look at Google Home to make sure it's listening before rattling off a command or request.

We are so frustrated and disgusted by its limitations that we're on the bleeding edge of divesting ourselves of everything and setting up Alexa again. I sent feedback to Google, advising them that they had better make Google Home a lot smarter in a hurry, or we're out. Of course, I've received nothing back... not that I expected anything.

 

[AZgl1500]

it will be a COLD day in hell before I let Google Home get close to me, period.

"Okay Google" does NOT work on my phones period.

I have to touch the microphone icon.... and assuming the Internet is available, that works pretty good.

 

[The_Chief]

Today I repeatedly instructed Google Home to play "Traditional Holiday Classics". I have Google Play Music All Access... no brainer, right?

Without fail, every single time it started "Volume 78 Jazz Favorites". Yeah, I can see how the two are easily confused.

NOT.

 

[lunatic59]

I was looking into the Amazon dot today but wasn't sure. But Google Home sound's like an epic fail. You description reminds me how when I am driving and say "call Dr. Fornay" (my ophthalmologist) is responds with "dialing 437" and proceeds to dial 437. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

 

[The_Chief]

Alexa really isn't all that bad. She works very well for what she does. We had the Echo and then the Echo Dot in the bedroom. I have the whole ecosystem boxed up... I'm going to call Google Home support tomorrow and if I don't like what I hear, I'm taking the three Google Homes back to Walmart and setting up Alexa again. I want to know that Google Home is going to be updated - very soon - with full capabilities.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I'm not opening ours until Christmas. The latest update I read about allows you to play stuff from your Netflix through Chromcast and display Google Photos. Sounds like they really need to fix links to there own search engine database though. I bet IBM Watson could have answered that question easily.

UPDATE: Google Home only knows NCAA Division I Football teams. Annapolis isn't on that list but the Air Force Academy and West Point are. Go figure. I should stay out of sports talk...

ADDENDUM:

Looking at the sample page questions on Goggle Home support page it looks like History is not part of Facts and info. What happens if you say "Hey Google" When was the United States founded?

 

[The_Chief]

I asked Home that question and, surprisingly, it answered 1776. I guess even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut

 

[Deleted User]

The Gadget Show (UK TV programme) did a review of these systems. Their patchy results convinced me that the technology wasn't reliable enough for me to buy into. Needs more work. Seems like Google have done a poor job on this, which surprises me. Possibly a rushed-to-market product, to try and catch up with Amazon.

 

[The_Chief]

I'm officially OVER Google Home. I called their toll-free support line (kudos to Google for having that) and told them all my problems. Today we told Google Home to set the thermostat to 67. It set it to 40. The CSR was very nice, not too bright, and suggested that they could replace the units. When I suggested the problems would not resolve since the new ones had the exact same firmware as mine, it threw her off-script (they hate that) and she kept going back on script... which wasn't the least bit relevant to my problems.

Anyway, I'll be taking all three Google Homes back to Walmart and I'll set up the Echoes again.

Does anyone here want a SmartThings hub and two outlets? Cheap?



EDIT: YAYYY! I just installed Alexa and checked her skills. SmartThings and the Honeywell Smart thermostat are there, so I'm not out anything

 

[Davdi]

I wouldn't have any 'smart things' in my home, until they're provably secure.