Asia Starz

(Photo : Getty Images/AFP) Google vice president of product management Mario Queiroz shows off a Google Home virtual assistant device that could challenge the Amazon Echo at the Internet firm's annual developers conference in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, California on May 18, 2016.

The battle between Google Home and Amazon Echo is on. Both devices are powered by the company's own versions of their virtual assistants, the Google Assistant for the Home and Alexa for the Echo. The big question now is which one will be the consumers' top pick between the two competing gadgets.

The launch of Google Home on the company's Oct. 4^th event allowed for an online debate as to whether or not the newly-introduced speaker can be able to beat Amazon's Echo. While Google Home is expected to hit the shelves beginning on Nov. 4, the device has already received mixed reviews. However, this does not mean that it doesn't have the edge to compete with the Echo.

To compare the two devices, Google Home and Echo both respond to voice commands. To do this, you can order the virtual assistants to do something by simply saying "Ok Google" for the Home and "Alexa" for the Echo. In the case of Echo, there's an option to change the 'wake word' to Amazon or Echo.

Basically, Alexa and Google Home work just as the same when it comes to being a personal assistant. It can do things such as: make a shopping list, add items to your calendar, check a flight status and track a package. However, what Google Home can offer that Alexa cannot is its personalized daily briefing ability where a user can ask about an appointment for the day or the latest news.

When asking questions, the Google Home offers a more conversational experience than the Echo. Google Assistant is now able to respond to follow-up questions, while the Echo just works on a single question and answer exchange. Another amazing feature of the Google Home is its integration with the Chromecast, which means any media (Netflix/Youtube) that is playing from the device can be connected instantly with just a voice command.

The Echo, for its part, is more reliable when it comes to controlling smart home appliances. To date, the device can now integrate with brands including: Nest, Ecobee, SmartThings, Wink, Insteon and Philips Hue among others.

The price tag of Google Home starts at $130 in the US, while the Echo is at $180.