If you’re alive and breathing in 2019, you’ve probably heard of the Alexa and Siri. These are the names people call those little devices in the corner of the room that talk back to you. There are a couple of different brands of these smart speakers for your home. We’re not going to get into which one is better or worse; we’re going to discuss if they’re worth having! (Early heads up, I don’t have one).
Let’s talk about the good first. Smart speakers can make life easy if you take a little time to set them up to connected devices. Doing this, you can have your lights, security cameras, fans, smart door locks, thermostats, garage door, music playlists, TVs, some appliances, and more all controlled with your voice. Pretty cool! You can even ask the speakers any question you would like, and they’ll answer (not all the time is the answer legit).
As an example, Amazon is constantly updating it’s Echo device (Alexa) to have new commands or tasks for it to follow regularly. This is nice because these devices will, technically, grow with your interests and your home. It’ll adapt to anything new you bring in. Also, smart speakers have had a big impact with those who are disabled. Thankfully most American households do not have anyone with a physical or mental disability in their home, but in those homes where there are disabilities, smart speakers have worked wonders.
Alright, now the ‘bad’. The stuff that makes you question if it’s actually worth handing your money over for.
There’s a saying about all the smart technology that has been coming out over the last several years. It is, “they’re only smart if you make them smart.” Simply put, you have to be the one who learns the commands, sets up the device, and knows what it’s capable of. Thankfully, it’s not as big of a deal and this problem is minor, it is true to an extent. You may also wonder how often people use their devices? According to The Verge, consumers with smart speakers in their home use them for 65-70 minutes on average per day. Honestly, I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing! But most of that time is to just play music or ask what the weather is like.
Last two things are privacy and extra costs. Having a device around that is on 24/7 and always listening to you is a bit creepy. I’m not super worried about that aspect but I mean, privacy is privacy and smart speakers really aren’t giving any privacy! As far as extra costs; you can’t just have any light bulb, light switch, refrigerator, or garage door to have it be ‘smart’. No, you gotta fork out some more money for those things!
Let’s wrap it up.
Are smart speakers a piece of tech you NEED?… MAYBE. (Sorry, this one is on the fence a bit).
YES, if you have disabilities or have tons and tons of money laying around to just do whatever you want with.
NO, in general. My home does not have a smart speaker and I’m living just fine! It’s not that hard to get off the couch and turn on the light or check MY PHONE (useful piece of tech) for the weather. And, if you didn’t know, A LOT of what can be done on a smart speaker can be done on your phone anyways.
The decision is up to you! Hope this helped! Disagree with me? Leave a comment and tell me about it. Stay tuned for my content coming next week!
Tech You Need 