SHOULD YOU GET A PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT FOR YOUR HOME?
Voice-activated assistants are the hottest home accessories right now. Not only are they cool, they’re a huge help around the house, from helping you control your lighting to entertaining your guests. While these smart devices are extremely handy, do you really need one for your home? Ask yourself these questions to determine if they’re worth it.
AM I DIGITALLY SAVVY?
The whole point of a home assistant is to make your life easier, but these devices still need to be set up and they’ll also require occasional maintenance, from tweaking of the settings to re-establishing connections. If you’re comfortable with learning how to operate and set up a voice-activated assistant—or you know someone who is—then that will remove some major barriers to use.
DO I WANT TO IMPRESS MY GUESTS?
Where these devices truly shine is in their ability to play party assistant. With voice commands, you can ask the assistant to play a particular song, tell you the answer to a burning question, or give you the recipe for a martini. If it’s connected to a home automation device like Nest, you can control the temperature without ever leaving your guests.
DO I LEAD A BUSY LIFESTYLE?
If you’ve got children, a full-time job and extra-curricular activities, a personal digital assistant can help streamline your life. It can help you create a grocery list, remind you when you have appointments coming up, tell you if your flight is delayed, convert tablespoons to cups, warn you if there’s a traffic jam on your morning commute, set your alarm system based on your schedule, and so much more. Over time, these features can shave hours off your day.
DO I HAVE THE MONEY?
As you might have guessed, these personal digital assistants don’t come cheap. Amazon Alexa goes for $129.99, Google Home costs $179.99, and the latest addition, Apple HomePod, is a whopping $449.99. Consider whether the benefits of a digital assistant will outweigh the cost. Otherwise, Christmas is approaching and it’s never too late to drop a few hints.
