Michael Grothaus 14/06/2017 - 4:16pm

Apple and Amazon battle for your home, as Amazon Echo takes on newcomer Apple HomePod

The smart speaker market is heating up thanks to three of the biggest tech companies. First on the scene was Amazon, with the Echo smart speaker. Next came Google with its Amazon Echo speaker.

And finally, Apple has unveiled its long-rumored smart speaker, called the Apple HomePod. So what makes a smart speaker “smart”? It generally needs to have the ability to control it with your voice, a built-in virtual assistant, and a streaming music service. All of these requirements are met by both Amazon and Apple (and Google, but we’ll compare that in another piece).

So, how does Amazon’s smart speaker stack up against Apple’s? We took a look to find out—but please keep in mind the features of Apple’s HomePod could change once the final product ships in December, and we’ll update this piece as information comes out.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Design


It’s often been said that the Echo looks like a futuristic Pringles crisps can. That’s especially true when you compare it with the shape of the HomePod, which looks more like your traditional speaker.

At 235mm tall x 84mm in diameter, the Echo is both taller and thinner than the HomePod, which stands at 172mm tall x 142 mm in diameter. The Echo also has a polycarbonate body while the HomePod is covered in a mesh material.

And not that it matters too much because you won’t be moving them around a lot, but the Echo is half the weight, at 2.3lbs versus the HomePod 5.5lbs. Both come in white or black models.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Conversational Commands

The way you interact with both smart speakers is, of course, by voice. For the Echo, you are talking to Amazon’s assistant, Alexa. On the HomePod you are interacting with Apple’s Siri. You activate Echo by saying “Alexa” and then speaking your command.

For the HomePod you say “Hey, Siri.” Naming conventions aside, it’s hard to tell which of these assistants are the better one. That’s because the HomePod isn’t out yet and it will use the new refined version of Siri shipping with iOS 11.

Right now Echo’s Alexa assistant seems to beat Siri just because there are more third-party skills, or apps, available to it. But that could change by the time HomePod ships.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Media Abilities

Where the HomePod, without a doubt, beats Echo is is its media abilities. That’s because the HomePod can stream music to multiple rooms thanks to AirPlay 2. The Amazon Echo doesn’t offer multi-room support—though it does support streaming to multiple Echo’s and Echo Dots.

However, Echo may beat the HomePod in the music streaming service department. Echo currently supports Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and others, while at the time of this writing HomePod only supports Apple Music.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Personal Assistant Tasks

But when we get to the two performing tasks, the Echo wins…for now. Echo can carry out more tasks (which it calls “skills”) thanks in large part to third-party developers adopting its rich SDK.

Both HomePod and Echo can do tasks such as adding items to a calendar, setting a timer, reading you the news, making a shopping list, making a to-do list, checking flight statuses, and tracking a package, but right now only Echo can also do things like order a pizza, call an Uber, of play a game like Jeopardy.

Echo supports over a thousand skills at the moment, which means HomePod has quite a lot of catching up to do.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Third-party Smart Home Device Integration

As for now, the Echo and HomePod are tied when it comes to smart home integration. Echo supports products from Nest, Ecobee, SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, Lifx, Big Ass Fans, IFTTT, other smart home devices via its skills, while HomePod also supports devices from most of those manufacturers via its HomeKit platform.

Apple HomePod vs. Amazon Echo: Price & Verdict

It’s really too early to call which is better considering HomePod doesn’t ship until November. But as is the case, if you’re already tied into Apple’s ecosystem, HomePod is probably the better choice for you thanks to its integration with Apple’s services.

If you’re not, Amazon Echo is a great choice—not to mention it’s already out—and it features thousands of skills and access to third-party streaming services. Right now Echo is sold in the UK for £149, while the HomePod doesn’t have UK pricing yet, but will retail in the US for a hefty $349 (about £270).

Or, if you're in the US: 

FYI – John Lewis is offering FREE shipping right now too.