The Echo kicked off the smart speaker trend a few years ago, but Amazon's Alexa speaker is no longer alone. There are dozens of smart speakers on the market, and picking out the best one keeps getting tougher. You need to decide which voice assistant you prefer (there are now four worth using—Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana) and which speaker has the features that are most important to you. Is music quality your biggest concern?
Do you want a touchscreen with your voice control? Does your speaker need to connect to your other smart home gadgets? Below, we’ll try to help you answer those questions by highlighting our favorite smart speakers. Check out our, and guides to learn more.
Updated on November 30, 2018: We added the new Amazon Echo Show, JBL Link View, and a good deal of other speakers to this list, and removed some older models. Best Overall. Sonos (Connects to Alexa, Sonos, AirPlay 2, and soon Google Home) There are louder speakers, and others that are more portable, but no smart speaker is a better buy than the Sonos One right now. It sets the bar in a number of areas, including sound quality, stable multi-room audio, and smart-home utility. Plus, it's probably compatible with whatever ecosystem you prefer—it comes with Alexa enabled, but also supports Apple Airplay 2 and software improvements in the next few months will add Google Assistant. JBL (Connects to Google Home) Out of all of the smart speakers I’ve used, the sheer convenience and usability of the JBL Link 20 have made it my favorite. The Link 20 is waterproof and floats.
I'm wondering if $150 will buy a decent set of speakers for a new mac mini I'm thinking of buying. Mainly to be used for listening to music. Best thing is to go out shopping and and listen to the. Question: Q: Speaker recommendations for Mac Mini for $150 or less?
It also has helpful indicator lights showing you how much battery is left and how strong your Wi-Fi signal is, both important when you’re moving a speaker around the house (or in the backyard). Pairing via Bluetooth is also easy and I like that you can charge it while it stands upright, something that requires an adapter on the rival.
Insignia (Connects to Google Home) Best Buy likes to jerk the price of its budget Google Home speaker up and down. Don't buy it if it's more than $50—just wait for the price to dip. At its normal price of $25 to $40, it's an awesomely affordable alternative to the Echo Dot and Home Mini with a bonus: it has a clock on the front. The audio clarity is surprisingly good and it does everything you'd expect out of a Google Speaker. It even shows you the temperature on-screen when you ask it the weather. The Max also automatically shapes its sound to match the acoustic properties of the room you’re in. An array of six microphones listens to the audio signature of the space, amplifying or reducing certain frequencies to arrive at a sweeter sounding result.
The Max gets about as loud as a, though it’s not quite as clean and balanced as the Sonos One. But if you like to rock out and kick up the volume, it’s unmatched among voice-controlled options. If you’re completely nuts, you can pair two of these together. Like other Google speakers, setting up the Home Max is easy. Buy or Honorable Mentions. Ultimate Ears Work Really Well: The other Link speakers are almost as good as the Link 20 (recommended above), depending on your needs. The is a solid alternative with 5 hours of battery life.
The and are also solid picks, though the 300 and 500 require a power outlet. Other Competent Google Speakers: The, and all sound excellent and make good choices if the price is right.
The standard is OK, but can't fill a room with music like others on this list. Is the Alexa Soundbar: The Polk Command Bar is a great that comes with a subwoofer. It's an excellent bargain for the price, and the Alexa integration is solid. If you don't go with the Sonos Beam we recommend above, try this.
Are Also Awesome: The UE Blast and larger Megablast (8/10, WIRED Recommends) sound even better than the JBL Link speakers, are also waterproof, and have better battery life. Unfortunately, they only use Amazon Alexa. Buy them with the, which lets you top up the battery without plugging any cables into the speaker. Brings the Bass: Harman Kardon's shapely speaker is not for everyone. It’s bulky, has lights on it, and looks like an egg. But it also spits out wicked bass. Just keep in mind that it’s an Alexa third-party speaker, so it may have some compatibility issues if you already own other Alexa speakers.
Is a Clear-Sounding Echo: Don't buy it for music alone, but the Echo Plus sounds the best of Amazon's Echo speakers—and it sounds downright awesome when. What about Siri and Cortana? Apple has finally released its first Siri speaker, the HomePod, and believe it or not there is a Microsoft Cortana speaker out there too from Harman Kardon.
They aren’t our top picks, but are they any good? For Apple Junkies: Apple's one and only Siri speaker sounds fantastic, but it's only for people who live a complete Apple life. It only works with Apple Music and can't control as many devices as its competitors, yet it costs. Read to see if it's a good pick for you. Is (Kind of) a Steal: The Invoke relies on Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant which is not super-popular.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Cortana doesn’t have a lot of smart home compatibility, but it does control Spotify and some other services, and it's the best assistant for handling Skype calls. It can also tell you the weather and do all the basic tasks other assistants can. Did I mention that this particular speaker sounds twice as good as its price? The Invoke is only. Why We Prefer Google Home Speakers (For Now) There are a lot of reasons to love Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, and honestly it works pretty well.
If you want to use your voice assistant to shop or use Amazon services, chances are an Alexa-powered speaker is best for you. Spotify, Pandora, Google Play Music, and YouTube Music are the main ways to play music with Google Assistant, covering most of your bases. The service can also send Netflix shows and movies to your TV if you have a Chromecast attached. Should You Wait to Buy? Now is a great time to buy any of these speakers. There likely won't be any major new releases until early to mid-2019. Most of these speakers should last several years, since many of the improvements have to do with the services powering each digital assistant rather than the hardware.
Sonos has a track record of supporting its speakers that are decade old, so if you're worried about longevity, opt for them.