Smart Speakers: Are They Worth It?
If you have been following the latest trends in tech gadgets, you might have noticed that smart speakers have taken the world by storm. NPR’s report shows that in America, the number of smart speakers grew from 66.7million in 2017 to a staggering 118.5million in 2018. With Google and Amazon fighting for market share and nearly giving away these devices for free, are they worth it?
Let’s start with the basics. Smart speakers allow you to interact with a virtual assistant and ultimately the environment around you via a fully hands-free experience. With a few verbal commands, you can get audio updates on your latest notifications from various devices, turn the air conditioning on and complete your online shopping order. Smart speakers can quickly place calls, send texts or emails, set reminders, play songs, or even listen to the news. The possibilities are nearly endless. If you are looking for some inspiration regarding smart homes and what you can do, then head to Wired Smart to see the latest in smart home technology.
Depending on which company you choose, your smart speaker will come with a virtual assistant such as Siri or Alexa. These assistants will be able to tap into whatever ecosystem you are a part of and even understand the most extreme of accents. Just configure the speaker to recognize your voice and you are away.
Would you be losing your privacy?
It is important to not get carried away with how amazing these devices are and to stop and ask yourself where do you draw the line when it comes to privacy. When you break it down, these speakers are essentially listening devices with a virtual assistant attached. They are owned by companies who are incentivized by profit and answer to shareholders, whose objective is to make money. As a result, these assistants will carry inherent bias in their responses based on what relationships the parent companies have in place.
The other part to consider is how much data are you willing to part with? When you have all your accounts synchronized, and an assistant helping you with everyday tasks, you are parting with a considerable amount of data. A way to balance this, is when you buy a smart speaker is to establish the habit of turning the listening mode off when you do not really need it. By doing this, you can be confident knowing that the speaker is not recording (or at least that’s what the manufacturers promise us today).
Wrapping it up
You should not simply buy a smart home speaker for FOMO (fear of missing out). While there are plenty of perks of using a smart speaker, as mentioned there are also privacy and security concerns that you should be aware of. Our recommendation is that you know where your data boundaries are and also choose a smart home speaker that comes with the feature to toggle the microphone off. Smart home speakers are here to stay but are they a part of your ideal home?
