What is the best voice assistant?

We've got the scoop on some of the most interesting entertainment apps and skills (the equivalent of Amazon apps) — although not the only ones — to make the most of these devices at home.

What is the best virtual assistant for music?

Lovers of good music (and not as good music too) can use these gadgets to enjoy their hobby. Both Alexa and Google Assistant offer the necessary features. Both assistants integrate with your company's respective music services and, in some cases, offer the option of linking with third-party offers.

Alexa allows you to link your Apple Podcasts account as a music service, providing tighter integration for those on iOS and Mac devices, while Google Podcasts offers an interesting variety of music and other content.

What's more, to get the most out of your system, both assistants offer for some form of multi-room audio feature, such as speaker clusters. Alexa and Google Assistant also support audio playback from some music services to Sonos speakers, while Google Assistant can communicate with any speaker connected to Chromecast.

Similarly, users can read, or rather listen to, a wide range of audiobooks. Audible and Kindle are compatible with Amazon. They are available directly from Google through the Google Play Books application.

Series

If there is one trend that has taken hold in recent times, it is undoubtedly watching television series. Some even joke that we are consuming television series beyond our means.

With Alexa, you can enjoy services such as Amazon Fire TV or Amazon Prime. Meanwhile, the Google assistant also allows you to control playback on devices connected to Chromecast, including TVs with Chromecast built-in, so you can enjoy platforms as popular as Netflix and HBO, as well as YouTube, of course.

Cooking

Taking charge of the cooker is an activity that has been gaining in popularity. In fact, one only has to look at social media to see that more than a few have unleashed their creativity in the kitchen. For many, being able to use a voice assistant has undoubtedly meant the difference between success and failure in their attempts.

Along this line, both Google and Alexa are very useful tools for preparing everything from the most sophisticated recipes to the simplest dishes. An example of the applications that can be used in both is an app called "Directo al Paladar", that guides aspiring chefs through the more than 800 recipes found on it.

Video calls

Today, more and more people live alone or away from their loved ones. This situation can be complicated even in the best of times. This is where virtual assistants can help us, as both assistants allow us to get in touch with other people.

With Alexa, you can call any phone number or any contact whose phone number is in your contact list. If you have an Echo Show, you can make video calls to other users of this system or users of the Alexa smartphone application. Amazon also recently added support for Skype.

Google Assistant can also be useful for contacting other people. In addition to calls, Google Nest Hub Max enables users to make video calls through Google Duo.

Exercise

Along with cooking and video calls, exercising at home has also become the order of the day. And what better way to get the most out of it than with a guide. For this there are highly appealing applications and skills available thanks to virtual assistants. There is something for everyone, from those focused on yoga to those who prefer high-intensity training.

For example, Alexa boasts Dynamic Yoga or My Personal Trainer. Meanwhile, Google allows you to enjoy (or suffer through) 7-Minute Training or Freeletics, to name a couple.

In the car

Virtual assistants aren't solely for use at home, but also in our cars, where they offer some attractive features.

An increasing number of consumers already use voice assistants in cars, and car manufacturers continue to invest to improve the user experience.

The use of these systems has focused mainly on 3 relatively simple tasks: control in-car features, provide navigation information and make phone calls.

Many of these systems are even capable of performing more complex communication tasks, such as answering questions and accessing entertainment, and they can also be programmed to perform practical tasks, such as monitoring on-board lighting and cooling systems and consequently alerting drivers to maintenance requirements.

Conclusion: Alexa vs Google?

Virtual assistants, such as those offered by Google (Assistant) and Amazon (Alexa), are highly useful across the board.

If you want to have your whole house full of gadgets, Alexa is the better option, since it is compatible with a greater number of gadgets. The key difference is that Amazon allows third parties to develop skills for its assistant. Assistant, while not compatible with as many devices, is able to have more complex conversations.

These conversational assistants can also be useful for many everyday tasks in companies, such as facilitating training, filling in a request form or checking a bank account.