I’m removing Alexa from my home, and perhaps you should consider doing the same.

      We’ve been an Amazon Alexa family since the launch of the first products, but Amazon's introduction of a new and enhanced Alexa—called Alexa+—has led us to reconsider how much longer we want to have our various Alexa devices around. As current Amazon Prime subscribers, it won't cost us more, but I dislike feeling compelled to upgrade to a product I don’t see as a true improvement. (The new Alexa will be priced at $20 per month for non-Prime members but will be free for Prime subscribers. The fact that Prime costs only $15 per month suggests that the main goal of Alexa+ is to boost Prime memberships.)

      In brief, the new Alexa+ promises to be quicker and easier to interact with, will connect seamlessly with “tens of thousands of services and devices” we use daily, allow for voice-created Alexa Routines instead of just through the app, and will continue to manage devices as it has for years. Furthermore, Alexa+ will leverage AI to generate songs on demand with Suno—slowly diminishing the essence of musicians everywhere, myself included.

      Our home currently houses several Amazon devices, including an Echo smart speaker in our living room, an Echo Spot in our bedroom, two Echo Dots, and an Echo Show 15. We regularly utilize nearly all of them for controlling music playback (both at home and when we're out, providing entertainment for our dogs), switching the lights and AC on and off (especially during the heat of Los Angeles), and making announcements throughout our home for our son to come to dinner or to share silly messages that make him laugh.

      We have a bedtime routine established for our son since he was born, which starts a specific playlist curated by my wife, adjusts his lights to a set brightness and color, and activates a projector that displays a constantly changing starfield on his ceiling. This routine provides him with comfort, and it’s one of our longest-standing practices. We also employ routines in our home theater setup to power on devices, adjust lighting, and modify color temperatures based on whether we’re watching movies and TV or starting a workout session through Les Mills or Apple Fitness+. Home automation has been seamlessly integrated into our daily lives.

      However, in the realm of smart home control and automation, we generally have three primary options: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. Each utilizes AI; Amazon is merely catching up to Google’s Gemini and Apple’s Siri after a significant push for Apple Intelligence last year (a somewhat gimmicky play on the A.I. acronym). They all collect data from our lives at every waking (and sleeping) moment. Thus, it becomes a matter of selecting the lesser of three evils, and in our situation, that choice is Apple.

      Apple as the better option

      While Apple may gather our data like the other tech giants in Silicon Valley, they tend to keep it (mostly) private. According to Apple’s privacy policy, “Apple does not share personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.” It also states they may “share personal data with Apple-affiliated companies, service providers acting on our behalf, partners, developers, publishers, or others at your direction.” This may involve entities storing data for Apple, services like Apple Card and Apple Cash, or subscriptions to third-party applications from the Apple Store. It’s far from ideal, but we’re at a point where, apart from unplugging completely (which isn't a practical option for my job), we strive to limit data collection as effectively as possible.

      In addition to its relatively better data-sharing practices compared to Amazon and Google, we are already quite embedded in the Apple ecosystem—perhaps even more than with Amazon. This existing integration would ease the transition from one ecosystem to another. Our iPhones (my wife and I each have one), our Apple Watches (both my wife and son), our iPads (my son and I), and our HomePods can all be utilized to access and control our system.

      Transitioning from Alexa to Siri

      For those contemplating a switch from Amazon to Apple, there are a few minor challenges. Given Apple’s protective stance regarding its ecosystem, there are fewer products compatible with HomeKit. It’s no surprise that Amazon Smart Plugs are not functional, and other older third-party options might also not be supported. (Unfortunately, the Wemo smart plugs we own fall into the unsupported category.)

      To address this, there’s an app called Homebridge, which integrates devices not compatible with HomeKit, including Amazon devices like Ring doorbells. Sounds great, right? However, if security is a primary concern, it might be less reassuring. Homebridge is open-source and relies on community-created app integrations. If you’re knowledgeable in coding, you could verify the code for safety or ensure to use apps that have been downloaded frequently. Common sense is crucial in instances like this. I haven’t used Homebridge yet, so I can't fully endorse it at this time.

      As we make the switch, we