Google I/O is kicking off in a few hours and we expect to hear a lot about Android, Assistant, and various other Google products and services during the conference. Just in time for this parade of all things Google, Amazon has updated its Alexa smart home compatibility page to say that a staggering 60,000 smart home devices from 7,400 brands are now compatible with the voice assistant. Sixty thousand.

If the number seems enormous to you, you're right. Alexa was supported by 12,000 devices last May and 20,000 in September. It took three years for Amazon to reach that number, so tripling it in the span of eight months sounds suspicious. Either the earlier totals weren't accurate or the news ones are inflated. If we don't want to consider foul play, the most logical explanation is that the number could be due to the hundreds upon hundreds of generic light plugs and switches that have filled the market. A few Chinese companies have started making white label smart home products with Alexa and Assistant compatibility, and there are hundreds of companies across the world picking up their designs and just slapping their own logo on top. If that's the case, then Google Assistant should benefit from that jump as well.

Amazon's Alexa smart home page says it supports 60,000 devices and 7,400 brands.

Speaking of Assistant, Google's support page still mentions 10,000 devices only, but that number dates back to October 2018. Maybe Google will update it today or it could refrain from engaging in this battle of numbers. After all, in my opinion, it doesn't matter how many devices your ecosystem supports, as long as it's very widely adopted and offers a variety of choices in different categories and prices. With that in mind, both Alexa and Assistant have won the market war over every other voice assistant.

Source: Amazon