For many years it was pretty easy to say what sort of companies Amazon and Google are, the former is a shopping giant and the latter a technology company. Over the last five years though, the lines between the two different companies have started to blur. Google is of course still the technology company it always has been, but Amazon has become more of a technology company themselves over the years, and with the launch of the Amazon Fire tablets, and the ill-fated Fire Phone, it’d be easy to call them a tech company as well. Especially as they offer their Amazon AWS service which a lot of companies – such as Netflix – use to manage their online businesses and such. Google, meanwhile, have been targeting more mainstream users, and in parts of the Unite States they even offer same-day delivery services of goods using Google Shopping. Now, with Google Home and the Echo, as well as their respective assistants, the two companies are going to war over our homes.
On Amazon’s part, the firm has been working on hard on Alexa, their own virtual assistant, and through a fairly open way of doing things, have allowed more and more services and products to connect with it. This means that the Echo line of speakers – which are now cheaper than before – can control a lot more around the home than you might first think. The Google Home meanwhile, has only just launched with the Google Assistant creeping into people’s homes under the guise of a new speaker that has a few tricks up its sleeves. The smart home is of course where the majority of this “war” is going to be fought, but for Google, it looks like they might be taking on Amazon on with their home services. According to ClickZ, some ads for “Google Home Services” have been spotted in beta testing, with reports of services like plumbing and building work.
If Google were to not only offer a smart and connected solution for the home as well as a way to vet and even “guarantee” these workers for home services, then Amazon could have a lot to worry about. Amazon has made a name for themselves as a home brand, and while Google is still thought of as something of a tech brand, the Internet giant is slowly, but surely creeping into our homes, and Amazon can’t be happy about it. In the end though, with better products and services from both parties, it’s ultimately us, the consumer, that will benefit.