Google Home Mini or Amazin Echo Dot (3rd gen)

  • 30 October 2018
  • 6 replies
  • 1613 views

Userlevel 2
Hello, I have just been bought a Google Home Mini at the same time I bought the new Amazon Exho Dot 3rd Gen.

The Google Home Mini looks much better for talking to but am not sure it will work for everything I have. Help appreciated before I decide which one to return.

I have sonos ceiling speakers and Spotify throughout the house. Will Google Home Mini allow me to control these? Both Spotify and Apple Music?

I have Sky with a Samsung TV. Will Google Home Mini allow me to control the TV or change Sky channels?

I have Apple phones and MacBooks, will Google Home Mini work ok with this ecosystem?

Will Google Home Mini be able to turn on/off Philips Hue light bulbs?

Thanks for help with all the above - just want to make sure I keep the right one!

Finally, if I bought a Sonos speaker for just anywhere in the house, will I be able to control music played on that speaker - both Apple Music and Spotify?

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6 replies

At this time, the only voice control available for Sonos is Alexa. Google Assistant support has been promised by the end of this year. Note, for Alexa, you cannot initiate playback of Apple Music, only Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn, SiriusXM, IheartRadio, Deezer, and Spotify. It is assumed the Google Assistant implementation will have similar limitations. For more info on voice control via Alexa, see this link:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3514?language=en_US

The rest of the questions about support for Hue, Apple phones, Sky, etc. are best answered by Google.
Apple is a walled garden. The only voice control of Apple Music on Sonos right now is via Alexa, limited to pause/resume/skip/stop, not selection.

The best results on Google devices will be with Google Music, but Google’s voice control isn’t yet available on Sonos. The best results on Amazon devices will be with Amazon Music, with full integration on Sonos right now. Pandora, Spotify and Deezer also work with Google Home and/or Amazon Echo devices, with good Sonos integration via Alexa, but not yet Google voice.
Userlevel 3
Badge +2
The IFTTT app will let you create applets that allow you to control sonos favourites by voice. I have created about 50 favourites in Sonos (mostly feom imported playlists). So with the instruction "run Sonos xxx" the playlists will run. You can also do pause, resume, increase volume.

Hopefully, the fill integration woth Google and Sonos will provide a lot more.

Google Home has full control over Phillips Hue lights.
Apple is a walled garden. The only voice control of Apple Music on Sonos right now is via Alexa, limited to pause/resume/skip/stop, not selection.
You can control most aspects of Apple Music on Sonos speakers via Siri voice control, if you have a Sonos AirPlay-2 compatible speaker (Sonos One, PlayBase etc.) that has been registered in Apple HomeKit as an 'accessory'. Siri will launch, play, stop, pause, skip music etc. and adjust volume. I don’t personally like Siri control, but it does now do most things in a similar way to Alexa, via speaking to Siri directly on an iOS device. Give me Alexa though any day, it’s much easier to use, I think.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
You can use the SkyQ Bluetooth controller to voice control channel changes and a lot more with sky.
Currently there is no google integration with Sky.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
You can use the SkyQ Bluetooth controller to voice control channel changes and a lot more with sky.
Currently there is no google integration with Sky.


I use the Harmony Ultimate Hub (HUH) for controlling my AV system including SkyQ. With the Harmony skill Enabled I can use Alexa for Voice Control my TV and SkyQ to some extent. The HUH also supports Google Assistant.