Dan Moren, Six Colors:

At present, there’s certainly not much to recommend the Home to people who already own an Echo or Echo Dot. Most of what the Home can do, the Echo can do just as well, with the exception of translation and Chromecast support.

Those on the fence about which smart speaker to buy have a less enviable decision. Both are attractive, well-made devices in their own way, and both will scratch that itch of a ubiquitous assistant at your constant beck and call. To date, the Echo remains the heavyweight champion of the market, thanks to its deep bench of features and third-party skills, but it would be unwise to underestimate Google’s resources and expertise if the company decides this is a field where it wants to devote its energy.

It’s early days for the always-on, stay-at-home assistant. One thing that is clear: Google Home and Amazon Echo are extensions of their relative ecosystems. If and when Apple builds one, I expect their fixed assistant to favor Apple’s ecosystem, too.

A pity, that. If I were to hire an assistant, I would never hire someone who had to check the branding involved before they could help me with a particular task. The divisions are getting deeper.