Ally vs Smart Speaker Controller
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ally
This app provides instant voice responses to your questions and commands using Amazon Alexa. It offers a wide range of functionalities, from checking the weather and news to controlling smart home devices and accessing Alexa Skills. It's designed for accessibility and supports multiple languages.
- Instant voice answers
- Weather and news updates
- Timers, alarms, and reminders
- Smart home device control
- Access to Alexa Skills
- Multi-language support
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Ally is your personal voice assistant powered by Amazon Alexa Voice Services. Just tap the button, speak your question or command, and Ally responds instantly. FEATURES • Ask questions and get instant answers • Check weather forecasts • Get latest news updates • Check sports scores • Listen to jokes and fun facts • Set timers, alarms, and reminders • Control smart home devices • Try Alexa Skills • Audio playback controls AVAILABLE IN 4 LANGUAGES English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese (Brazil) — fully translated interface. ACCESSIBILITY Designed with full VoiceOver support and Dynamic Type for a comfortable experience for everyone. Try Alexa before purchasing an Echo device, or use Ally as your on-the-go voice assistant. REQUIRES • Free Amazon account NOTE: Certain content may be unavailable due to licensing restrictions.
Smart Speaker Controller
Control your smart speakers using your smartphone without needing to speak. This app functions like a TV remote for your smart speakers, offering pre-registered commands and a recording feature for custom voice prompts.
- Control smart speakers via smartphone
- No speaking required
- Universal compatibility
- Pre-registered commands
- Voice recording function
- Editable wake-words
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This is a remote control app that allows you to easily control your smart speakers with your smartphone. When you wake up from sleep and have a hard time speaking, or when you have a sore throat and can't speak, this app allows you to easily control your smart speakers without speaking. You can use this app to control your smart speakers just like a TV remote control. ＜Functions＞ Compatible with all smart speakers! It is compatible with all smart speakers. Ready to use! The 15 buttons are registered with frequently used words from the beginning, so you can use them without registration. Recording function You can record your voice and call it out with a single tap. You can record your voice and call out with a single tap. Pre-registered wake-word The wake-word of the smart speaker is already registered, so you can use it just by selecting it. Of course, you can edit the wake-words freely, so please feel free to use them. If there are any features you would like to see added or improved in future updates, please let us know in the review section.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Smart Speaker Controller at 67% against Ally's 15%. Smart Speaker Controller also leads on ratings volume (23 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). Ally's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and ads (none vs shown). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ally holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Speaker Controller has 23 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of Ally's written reviews are positive against 67% of Smart Speaker Controller's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ally ships an update weekly, Smart Speaker Controller every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ally | Smart Speaker Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.9 (23 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 14.7% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luis Castillo | Yuki Kubota |
Customer experience
Ally
Smart Speaker Controller
Bugs and requests
Ally
Reported bugs
21 issues- Cannot set alarms
- Cannot get weather information
- Time zone setting perpetually loading
- Password is not accepted even when correct
- Voice recognition is very bad
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Sound quality is very bad
- App does not respond
- App does not work
- App is broken
- App is too slow
- App is too quiet
- App does not have all Alexa features
- App is not working
- App makes no sense
- App is useless
- App is awful
- App is stupid
- App is pésimo
- App is rubbish
- App is a waste of time
- Amazon account sign-in issues
Requested features
4 requests- Update app for all Alexa settings
- Hands-free 'Hey Ally' option
- Adjustable volume (low and high)
- Button should be push to talk only
Smart Speaker Controller
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ally
No in-app purchases
Smart Speaker Controller
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ally free?
Is Smart Speaker Controller free?
Which has better reviews, Ally or Smart Speaker Controller?
Do Ally or Smart Speaker Controller have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ally or Smart Speaker Controller?
Other comparisons
