Buying guide for Which smart speaker is best?
Your smartphone grants you the ability to manage your home smart devices, but what if you want a device that can do that and more, such as listening to music or streaming movies? That’s where a smart speaker comes in handy, as it essentially lets you control other smart devices on your network just with your voice.
There are many smart speakers, but before you buy one, there are a few things to consider. Primarily, you want your smart speaker to be responsive to your voice commands and to integrate easily into your existing smart-home network. The best smart speakers are easy to set up, deliver excellent sound quality and offer multiple connectivity options.
The BestReviews Testing Lab researched and evaluated a number of smart speakers and found the Apple HomePod Mini, which offers superior audio quality and responsiveness, to be the very best.
Our top picks
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Siri | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 4
The Apple HomePod Mini is our favorite smart speaker because of its impressive sound quality, responsiveness and clean design. It’s easy to set up and integrate with other smart devices, even more so with other Apple devices on the same network. When we tested it, we asked it to set timers, play music and turn off the lights and gave it other commands to test responsiveness. And you can set up programmed timers and schedules for your smart-home devices. For example, when we said, “Goodnight, Siri,” it turned off all the lights except for in the bedroom. Additionally, it can be programmed to unlock a smart lock and turn on lights immediately when you get home.
We found it easy to sync with any iPhone, and it picked up voices up to 100 feet away. We also found that using any third-party (non-Apple) streaming services was a non-issue. Previously, the HomePod exclusively supported Apple Music and AirPlay for music playback, but you can now use voice commands to play music from third-party services like Spotify.
The HomePod Mini is perfect for those who want a universal stereo system throughout their home. Also, if you like to use voice commands and already own other Apple devices, this is the best option for seamless functionality and smart-home integration.
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Alexa | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 3
The Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation) is among the most popular and affordable smart speakers. For the price, we can’t think of a better speaker for casual music listening and smart-home integration. It’s an excellent speaker for getting live sports updates, weather notifications, setting timers and reminders, and managing other smart devices on your network.
Our tests found the Echo Dot (5th Gen) to be a capable performer, especially for its size. We were impressed with its solid sound quality, even filling rooms with decent audio. Using the app, you can easily create multi-speaker groups for synchronized music playback across your home. Connecting compatible devices is also a breeze. The Echo Dot (5th Gen) even lets you make hands-free calls to any other Amazon Echo device linked to your account. During testing, we experienced clear call quality with no distortion — a convenient feature for staying connected.
Overall, this smart speaker is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to purchase their first smart-home device or a smart speaker for a room in their home. There’s nothing flashy about this speaker, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s affordable, responsive and integrates well with other smart devices. Plus, Amazon offers a model with a built-in clock that’s perfect for a nightstand.
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Alexa | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 4
If you're craving more than voice commands and music playback from your smart speaker, the Echo Show 8 will level up your experience entirely. It's the perfect smart-home hub, and its useful touch screen offers visual control over your devices and immersive entertainment with your favorite streaming apps.
The smart display boasts an impressive 8-inch display for high-definition playback from apps like Netflix, Hulu and, of course, Amazon Prime Video. There’s even a camera for taking video calls; plus you can turn the display into a digital photo frame.
Thanks to support for Zigbee and Matter smart-home protocols, the gadget is also a capable hub that can control various smart devices on your network, including cameras, lights and doorbells, using the display or your voice without the help of additional hardware.The Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) boasts impressive sound quality and doubles as a handy kitchen companion for following recipes on its crisp display. Whether you're a music enthusiast or need a versatile device for video streaming or conference calls, we can assure you the Echo Show 8 won't leave you hanging.
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Siri | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 4
Our top pick, the Apple HomePod Mini 2, sounds great, but if you want even better sound and deeper bass, we recommend the Apple HomePod (2nd generation). It delivers high-fidelity sound, retains Apple’s trademark sleek design for its devices and responds well to various voice commands.
We tested the HomePod (2nd Generation) by giving it voice commands to manage other smart devices. Commands such as “Hey, Siri. Turn off the living room light” were followed almost instantly, and when we asked it questions about the weather or daily thoughts, it responded quickly, which we found other smart speakers struggled with. Because of its design, the sound surrounds you even when it is at an average or minimal volume in a way that regular speakers typically don’t.
As with our other Apple smart speakers, this device is best for those who already have other Apple devices, as it integrates seamlessly into Apple’s ecosystem. Touch controls work just as well as voice controls, giving users more flexibility, and the sound quality is superb for a speaker of its size.
Best multi-room wireless speaker system
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Sonos Voice Control, Alexa | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Line-In Auxiliary | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 2
Sonos is one of the top audio electronics brands in the world, and the Sonos Era 100 is good enough to make it onto our list of the best smart speakers. We love this speaker for its fast processor that makes smart-home integration a breeze and its excellent sound quality.
The Sonos Era 100 works with Alexa so that you can manage other Alexa-compatible smart devices on the same network, but it also features a native voice assistant called Sonos Voice Control. Its compact design makes it convenient for traveling, and it offers more connectivity than many other smart speakers. In addition to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, you can connect a turntable or other audio source using an auxiliary cable and the Sonos Line-In Adapter.
Sonos is known for its ecosystem of speakers that are easy to set up in your home. This speaker is a great starting point for anyone who wants to set up a multi-room wireless speaker system. It connects seamlessly to other Sonos speakers and lets you play and control music even if you move from one room to another.
Best-looking smart speaker
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Alexa | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 2
Although you may associate the brand with its signature guitar amps, Marshall also manufactures surprisingly impressive smart speakers, and we would be remiss if we didn’t include it in roundup. We’re huge fans of its vintage speaker design and compact frame.
The Uxbridge has a built-in Alexa function and offers several connectivity options for music listening, including Wi-Fi, Airplay 2, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth. It’s also an excellent starter speaker for setting up a multiroom speaker system thanks to cross-compatibility with Amazon Echo and other supported Alexa built-in speakers or Airplay 2-enabled speakers.
We love this speaker for its classic design and its ability to work as part of a whole-home speaker system for seamless music listening across various rooms. In terms of sound quality, its thumping bass and balanced soundstage make it one of the better speakers for the price.
Most portable smart speaker
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Alexa, Google Assistant | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 1
The primary drawback of many smart speakers is that many aren’t portable or battery powered. Unlike most smart speakers, the Sonos Roam is portable, waterproof and built for adventure, so you can immerse yourself in rich audio, indoors or out, and control your smart home with your voice thanks to built-in support for Alexa and the Google Assistant.
We ran the Sonos Roam through a series of tests and found it delivers on every product claim. The quality is impeccable for a speaker that can be taken on the road and used via Bluetooth. It’s also easy to incorporate it into an existing Sonos system by connecting it to the same Wi-Fi network. The sound quality is clear, and the speaker is easy to carry around, thanks to the built-in handle.
If you have an existing Sonos system setup, you’ll love this speaker. If you’re committing to the Sonos system, you need this speaker because it lets you have it in any room or take it out on the patio. The battery life is solid, lasting several hours at medium volume on a full charge. Overall, it’s an excellent speaker for outdoor listening, such as at picnics, backyard gatherings or out on the golf course.
Best Google Nest smart speaker
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Google Assistant | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 3
Portable smart speakers are great for listening on the go, but if you want a dedicated smart speaker for smart-home integration, we recommend taking a look at the Google Nest speaker. The sound quality is crisp, and the bass is surprisingly deep for a speaker of its size. Its sleek design and color scheme also make it blend into your home’s walls or decor for a clean look that doesn’t stick out or draw attention to itself.
It has a three-microphone array, so it picks up voices easily, and you can give it all kinds of voice commands, whether you want weather updates, to hear your schedule or to make calls to family and friends. Nest Audio works together with other Nest speakers and displays, Chromecast-enabled devices or compatible speakers to create an ecosystem of devices.
The Google Nest is an excellent smart speaker that can also be used as a TV speaker and sounds terrific when paired with other Google speakers. It integrates well with smart devices and is highly responsive to voice commands, and it typically offers more up-to-date information than competing smart speakers. If you don’t mind sacrificing portability, this is an excellent speaker for managing your smart-home devices and listening to music.
Product Specifications
Voice Assistant Compatibility: Alexa, Google Assistant | Connectivity: Wi-Fi | Smart-Home Integration: Yes | Microphone Array: 5
While some smart speakers can technically connect to your TV, they often fall short on power, clarity and the ability to deliver a truly cinematic experience. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) sound bar delivers immersive home theater in one sleek package so you can ditch laggy mismatched audio and buy one single product as opposed to multiple smart speakers.
This sound bar seamlessly integrates with Alexa or Google Assistant for hands-free music control. Plus it’ll help you experience movie magic like never before thanks to its support for Dolby Atmos, which creates a 3D soundscape where planes sound as if they’re soaring overhead, footsteps will sound eerily close by and movie scores will wash over you.
Don’t worry, this sound bar functions much the same as a standard smart speaker, and you can easily ask Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to set timers, check the news, control smart-home devices and play your favorite tunes or podcasts. But for folks who want even more and need an immersive sound bar to deliver an incredible, high-end theater experience, this sound bar is your match!
Which digital assistant is best?
Your smart speaker experience will be defined by the quality of the digital assistant, and each available option has unique strengths and quirks. Here’s what you need to know about the three main digital assistants you’ll encounter in various smart speakers.
Alexa from Amazon
Amazon’s Echo series of devices rely on the shopping giant’s industry-leading voice-controlled services. Alexa is the pioneer of smart speakers and typically the first to deliver new services to consumers (such as their recent integration with Nest thermostats). More importantly, Alexa has maintained a lead by being the best with artificial intelligence (AI) and voice recognition; Echo devices can understand just about anything you say, whether you want to check movie times, place an Amazon product order or simply lower the volume. The best Alexa devices from Amazon include the Echo Show 8 (3rd Generation) and Echo Dot (5th Generation).
Google Home from Google
Although it doesn’t have a catchy name like Alexa or Siri, Google’s digital assistant comes with devices under the Google Home brand, and they’re in more homes across the United States than any other competitor. Google Home has competent (but not perfect) voice recognition, so you may have to repeat yourself occasionally. Google Home is the only digital assistant powered by Google Search, which gives it a significant advantage over the competition. If you want a high-quality Google speaker, check out the Google Nest Audio and the Google Nest Mini 2nd Generation.
Siri from Apple
Apple products are typically “best in class” for most categories, but when it comes to getting general knowledge, Apple’s voice assistant is lagging behind Google and Alexa. Siri’s voice recognition is convenient but leaves much to be desired. Apple also doesn’t offer as many options for preferred music streaming services. Fortunately, you can still use voice controls and AirPlay to stream from third-party apps like Spotify if you aren’t an Apple Music subscriber. The top Apple smart speakers are the HomePod Mini and the HomePod (2nd Generation).
The practicality of smart speakers
If you’re still reluctant about getting a smart speaker, you might be interested in learning a few use cases of smart speakers to see how you could potentially incorporate them in your daily routine.
- Connect with friends and family: It’s easy to make hands-free calls to stay connected with your loved ones or use multiple speakers as an intercom system throughout your home.
- Reminders: You can set a smart speaker to deliver audio reminders for various things, such as taking medication, paying bills, canceling trials or completing chores. It also serves as an excellent kitchen timer.
- Entertainment: In addition to playing music, a smart speaker can tell you a joke and interesting facts, or you can listen to audiobooks and play games.
- Someone to talk to: If you live alone, a smart speaker can be a great companion you can use to practice conversation and active listening skills.
- Smart device control: Your smart speaker can be used to manage other compatible smart devices on your network, including smart lightbulbs, switches, thermostats and even your TV.
- Emergencies: Your smart speaker can connect with apps that allow you to get in touch quickly with emergency contacts and first responders.
Killer feature: Multiroom audio
Once you’ve added a smart speaker to your home, it can be hard to avoid the temptation to buy more. But if you do go all-in on smart speakers and place them strategically throughout the house, you’ll be able to experience a new benefit: multiroom audio.
Many smart speakers can work with other models from the same brand and coordinate audio so that it plays the same music through every available smart speaker in your house. The resulting effect is multiroom audio: a soundtrack that follows you no matter where you are. Multiroom audio is great for parties or open houses, and so is being able to use voice commands to control it all wherever you go. Some speakers with this feature include the Sonos Era 100, Google Nest Audio and Sonos Roam.
If you’re interested in setting up multiroom audio in your home, pick your first smart speaker wisely because you’re essentially deciding on which brand you’ll be using as you build out your multi-speaker environment.
Smart speaker uses
For most people, the first question is typically, “What exactly would I do with a smart speaker?” While most models are learning new skills all the time, it’s worth remembering the core functions that make owning a smart speaker so much fun. Here are things we most love doing with our smart speakers.
Streaming music
Smart speakers are perfect for listening to your favorite music-streaming services, and some even allow you to rate music with voice commands so they can create a custom “radio station” based on your unique tastes. Having your own voice-powered personal radio may be a basic feature, but it still feels like a luxury. Speakers that are excellent for streaming music include the Marshall Uxbridge Home Speaker and Sonos Roam.
Local traffic and weather updates
All smart speakers can provide you with news and information about your local environment, including weather and traffic conditions. Having a smart speaker can revolutionize how you go about your morning — not only can it tell you the best way to get to work, but it can also help you choose the right clothes for the weather. Speakers that are helpful in this regard include the Echo Dot (5th Generation) and Apple HomePod Mini.
Smart-home control
If you have any smart-home tech in your house, you may be able to control it with a smart speaker. Most commonly, people use their smart speakers with Wi-Fi thermostats or smart light switches and bulbs. Using voice commands for things like air conditioning or indoor lighting can take some getting used to, but it offers incredible convenience. The best smart speakers for smart-home control include the Apple HomePod (2nd Generation) and the Echo Show 8 (3rd Generation).
Smart speaker prices
Don’t be fooled by the low retail prices of smart speakers. Consider these price ranges while you’re shopping.
Entry-level
Most smart speakers at this price offer solid digital assistant services but include speakers that leave a lot to be desired. If you need a battery-powered, portable smart speaker — or you don’t plan on using your smart speaker to listen to a lot of music — an entry-level model will do perfectly. Speakers in this price range include the Echo Dot (5th Generation) and Google Nest Mini (2nd Generation).
Mid-range
In this price range, you’ll find most of the name-brand flagship smart speakers that offer a nice balance of audio quality and price. These smart speakers are good for just about any size room and have an impressive microphone range. If you’re looking for a smart speaker that runs the whole gamut of digital assistant services and is good enough for casual music listening, you can easily find a solid option for less than $150. Smart speakers you can find in this range include the Apple HomePod Mini and the Google Nest Audio.
High-end
Smart speakers at this price come with larger, higher-quality speakers but are otherwise functionally identical to less expensive models. Premium smart speakers are for people who need big, audiophile-quality sound and high-end aesthetics. Expensive speakers in this range include the Marshall Uxbridge Home Speaker and Apple HomePod (2nd Generation).
Tips
- Learn the voice command to change your smart speaker’s volume to a specific level. Volume settings on most smart speakers run from one to 10, where one mutes the speaker and 10 is the loudest it gets. Experiment to find which number suits you best for local volume and remember it. If someone else changes the volume, you can change it back to your exact preferred level.
- Set up a PIN code on your smart speaker for making purchases. All smart speakers are tied to shopping engines, so you can easily order products from online retailers through simple voice commands. Being able to shop with a digital assistant is fun, but not just anyone should be allowed to buy things with your account, so set up a PIN code that will be required for each purchase. With a PIN code in place, you’ll be safe from accidental and unintended purchases.
- If you have more than one smart speaker, learn to use them as house intercoms. Most smart speaker brands build their devices to connect with one another, and one of the most popular uses is a throwback to houses from the 1980s — using smart speakers as intercoms. Look into your smart speaker’s intercom functionality, and relive the joy of talking between rooms in the house.
How we analyzed
Before we created our curated list of the best smart speakers, we tested four products for performance: HomePod Mini, Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation), Sonos Roam and Sonos Beam (2nd Generation). All four products performed well in various categories, including functionality, responsiveness and entertainment. We also researched other smart speakers that have been highly reviewed and compared them to the ones we’ve tested. We considered design, quality and overall performance when determining the best smart speakers.
FAQ
Q. Will a smart speaker record when I talk to it?
A. Typically, smart speakers aren’t recording until they recognize their wake-word such as “Hey Siri,” “Hey Google” or “Alexa.” Although each brand has different privacy policies, all data sent to their servers is typically encrypted. However, the devices do gather data that is used for marketing purposes. Fortunately, most brands allow you to delete all recordings, some even have a dedicated mute button, and most offer some way to disable the onboard microphone.
Q. Can a smart speaker call 9-1-1 in an emergency?
A. Yes, most smart speakers include emergency-services functions, so you can call an ambulance or the police with voice commands in situations where you can’t get to a phone.
Q. Can I listen to my own CDs or MP3s with a smart speaker?
A. Some smart speakers have auxiliary 3.5-millimeter ports so that you can connect any audio source for playback — even an LP turntable, as many vinyl enthusiasts do. Some models also support wireless connectivity via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for streaming audio directly from a smartphone or tablet. Or you can upload your MP3s to various streaming services to play your tracks anywhere there’s Wi-Fi. If you’re planning on connecting a smart speaker to your existing audio components, check to be certain the connectivity options of the model you buy meet your needs.
Our expertise
As a longtime reporter for BestReviews, Kevin Luna has accumulated experience writing about tech, gadget and electronics. He’s written about all kinds of smart devices, including smart speakers, and other related consumer products, such as Bluetooth speakers and sound bars. He’s familiar with the best features of a high-quality smart speaker, which allows him to make reliable product recommendations.
