00:00finally the day is here we're seeing huge developments in smart home with the arrival
00:08of AI and that's made its way to our news desk in the form of two major companies announcing
00:13new hardware and AI capabilities those being Amazon and Google but which is better if you're
00:19looking to swap or start your smart home today I'm going to run you through all the news before you
00:23choose so let's start from the top Amazon hit the headlines first announcing the all-new echo dot
00:31max and an updated smaller echo studio the echo dot max is the first time we've seen a more premium
00:37upgrade to one of Amazon's flagship products and we definitely weren't expecting it it's a complete
00:42redesign of the original dot featuring an all-new sound system with one high excursion woofer and a
00:47custom tweeter that's one fewer tweeter than the fourth gen echo but one more than the dot there's
00:53a new more powerful processor on board as well in the az3 while the studio sees the new az3 pro the
01:00studio has also seen a design update with the same form as the dot max but with a high excursion
01:05woofer and three full range drivers as well as cinematic smarts like immersive spatial audio
01:10with Dolby Atmos now it's worth highlighting here that you compare up to five echo studios and an
01:15optional echo sub but to use them you'll need a second gen fire TV 4k max second gen fire TV stick
01:224k or fire TV cube and that's the third generation of that one these speakers are also the first non
01:29display smart speakers built by Amazon that are specifically coming with Alexa plus support now
01:34it's an interesting move given that the narrative when they announced Alexa plus was very much that
01:39this screen is super important interface for back and forth and with Alexa but if they cracked it I'm
01:44excited to see myself how chatting with Alexa feels hot on Amazon's heels Google unveiled its first smart
01:53speaker since the nest audio back in 2020 except now they've rebranded and it's just called the Google
01:58home speaker now unlike Amazon's yearly product release cycle for its smart speakers Google pretty
02:03much vanished from the face of smart home for the last half decade so as you'd expect there are some
02:08meaty upgrades here the most notable of these is that this is the first Google smart speaker built
02:13specifically with Google Gemini in mind now with the release for this a few months away we don't
02:18have much in the way of specs yet but when our US managing editor for news had hands-on with a
02:22pre-release model he said it sounded solid producing a surprising amount of volume without sacrificing
02:28clarity so as I say we don't know much about Google's new speaker under the hood yet but there's plenty
02:36to compare between the echo dot max and the Google home speaker at a surface level for one thing the
02:40price the echo dot max is $99 or 99 pounds and is available to pre-order now for its October 29th
02:46release we might even see it go on sale for black Friday if Amazon follows suit with past releases
02:51the Google home speaker matches the echo dot max at $99 or 99 pounds but it won't be available till
02:57spring 2026 looks wise it's a little uncanny value too both are rounded with a 3d knitted exterior but
03:04Google has definitely won me over with its array of fun color ways now onto the AI of it all both
03:12the echo dot max and the echo studio will come with Alexa plus out of the box so if you've been
03:17waiting for early access that's your best shot at cutting your wait time of course that only applies
03:22if you're in the US we've got a while to wait yet overseas the price for the full Alexa plus
03:26subscription will be $99.99 monthly or it comes as free as part of your $14.99 a month prime
03:32subscription and that is a huge boon for Amazon the Google home speaker will work with Gemini but
03:39will also require subscription to fully unlock its potential you'll be able to use regular Gemini
03:43for free but you'll need a Google home premium subscription which was formerly nest aware to take
03:48advantage of advanced features such as Gemini live there are two different tiers to choose from
03:53the first is standard which is $10 or eight pounds a month and then there's advanced which is $20 or 16
03:58pounds a month just like with Amazon's prime plan there is a bundle on offer here too
04:02Google home premium standard is included as part of the broader Google one AI pro plan which costs
04:08$19.99 per month and then home premium advanced is included in the Google one AI ultra plan for $249
04:16per month great for power users but maybe not for the everyday person however Google does have a
04:22feather in its cap that Amazon just can't compete with Gemini will be available on all of Google's older
04:28smart home devices you just need to update the Google home app and head to home settings to join
04:32the early access program Alexa plus on the other hand skips a few of the earlier Amazon devices which
04:38we've listed on screen it's hard to say for sure with both devices being as yet unreleased but if you
04:47push me for a decision right now I'd say Amazon at the very least offers the best value for money and a more
04:52promising landscape for compatibility Amazon sells a huge range of smart home devices many of which are
04:58really affordable and easily connected for one thing and it's also been pretty consistent in its
05:03focus on smart home its ability to roll Alexa plus functionality into prime is a huge win too
05:09Google on the other hand has had a run of gutting well-loved features and products from customers around
05:15the world who were fans of its smart home space losing a lot of good faith there that being said Alexa plus
05:21rollout has also been rocky at best with customers complaining about reduced functionality and
05:25interface issues consistently since gaining access Google's AI experience and beefy hosting capabilities
05:31could mean a more consistent and robust voice assistant experience but we won't know for sure until rollout
05:37begins later this month in October 2025 if you want my advice just wait a few months for more news and our
05:43full reviews of the speakers that I've mentioned today and use that time to deep dive into the features on
05:48offer subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up to date with the latest developments in these stories
05:52or head to techradar.com for all of our news reviews and more
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