Some of the most popular questions asked of Google and Alexa voice assistants are about weather so let’s see how they both let you know about rain.
The photo above taken by my colleague Jason tells me that it is raining a lot in Sydney near the CBD right now. But what about the rest of today?
Most people who own a smart speaker would probably just ask “What’s the weather?” but after querying both assistants this morning, they didn’t tell me how much rain was expected.
Google told me “Currently in Waterloo it’s 20 with rain, today there will be thunderstorms, with a forecast high of 20 and a low of 16”.
Alexa told me “Right now in Alexandria it’s 18 degrees Celsius with rain throughout the day, you can expect more of the same with a high of 19 degrees and a low of 16 degrees”.
Asking “Is it raining later today?” Alexa’s response was a bit more useful than Google because it specifically mentioned a large amount of rain. Whereas Googles answer didn’t tell me whether there will be a tiny amount of rain or a lot.
Google said “Yes it’ll continue raining in Waterloo the rest of today”.
Alexa said “It’s raining right now, you can expect about 74mm”.
Asking “Do I need an umbrella?” Both answers were good but I’d rate Alexa’s answer as better.
Google said “Yes it’s currently raining in Waterloo”.
Alexa said “It’s raining right now, you can expect about 74mm”.
Some people I know find thunder and lightning very scary – or have pets who do – so they want to know if there will be a thunderstorm. When I asked: “is there a thunderstorm today?” Google’s answer was better than Alexa.
Google said “Today in Waterloo there will be thunderstorms, with a forecast high of 20 and a low of 16 degrees, it’s currently 20 with rain”.
Alexa’s answer was less useful. It didn’t mention thunderstorms and just gave me the same answer as “What’s the weather?”.
That’s plenty of rain information about today but what about tomorrow.
I asked “What’s the chance of rain tomorrow?” and both assistants gave useful information. I think Google’s answer had the edge over Alexa. However the ideal answer from both would have been both a percentage and the timeframe for expected rain.
Google said “There’s a good chance of rain in Waterloo tomorrow from 4 to 8 am”.
Alexa said “It might rain in Alexandria tomorrow, there’s a 50% chance when will it rain in Alexandria tomorrow”.
Overall both voice assistants offered useful information but their advice was not consistent. Usually one assistant gave better tips than the other.
What’s your experience of asking Google and Alexa about weather forecasts and rain in particular?
As an aside please also let us know in the comments if Google Home or Alexa weather forecasts think you live in a different suburb to where you actually live.
Google Home insists that I live in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo. However I actually live in the suburb of Alexandria nearby. Yes I’ve already entered my exact address into the Google home details so it should know where I live.
