10 best smart speakers

The Bose Home Speaker 500 performs the main function of a speaker: it fills the room with stereo sound from wall to wall, reproduces the perfect voice at any frequency. The smart model is augmented with Amazon Alexa intelligence. 2 speakers on the case are directed in different directions to pick up the voice from any end of the room. Amazon Alexa makes it easy to manage music, sort playlists. It connects to a smart home. The firmware is regularly updated based on customer feedback.

The Bose Home Speaker 500 performs at its best during raucous parties. She perfectly understands the voice thanks to 8 microphones. Devices connect to the ecosystem via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The brand cooperates with global streaming services (Spotify, Amazon Music), and Apple Airplay 2 was added in 2019. The smart speaker has its own BOSE Music app with dozens of radio stations. It allows you to customize the preferences of each family member.

The manufacturer Sonos is known to all connoisseurs of good sound at an affordable price. The brand has joined forces with Amazon to create a smart device with Alexa voice assistant.A unique feature is the support for 50 music applications, most of which work in Russia. Among them are Apple Music, Amazon Music, Sirius XM, dozens of online radios. Sonos One Amazon Alexa can create playlists, search for podcasts by interest, launch tracks. Several columns are combined into a system. The microphone picks up the voice in a noisy room at a great distance.

The Sonos One Amazon Alexa bass beats most of the competition. Vocals sound great in any range, especially at high frequencies. With all the functionality, the device has a compact size. It connects via Wi-Fi and via an Ethernet connector. The only thing missing is Bluetooth connectivity. If the Internet is weak, the music will slow down.

The miniature Google Home Mini speaker repeats many of the functions of its "big brother", but it costs several times less. The built-in assistant manages the smart home, organically fits into the technological ecosystem. The mini model always listens to the user, recognizes the voice of the owner. She can play music, turn on technology, answer requests, check and update the calendar. The assistant can launch the Chrome browser, show videos. Google regularly updates functionality. For example, recently it became possible to search for a lost smartphone.

Google Home Mini is similar in size and appearance to a donut. Textile on one side is required to change the volume. There are sensors on the sides. The smart speaker has 4 LEDs to determine the status of the device. They show when the assistant is listening to the person, processing the request, has the microphones turned off.The LEDs are very bright, the assistant's responses are clear.

Yandex.Station appeared at the end of 2018, promising to outperform foreign competitors. The brand has collected the best features of other companies: control on the top panel, LED indicators, powerful microphones. The latter can be turned off so that the smart column does not respond to requests. Alice sits in Yandex.Station: a domestic voice assistant. Russian services serve as sources of information: Yandex.Music and Kinopoisk. The brand has partnered with Amediateka, but a subscription is needed. Without it, Alice is not half as functional as she thought.

Buyers note an extensive library of films and music, praise the lack of restrictions on the launch of services. Many foreign platforms do not function in Russia, so some requests to imported columns are not valid. Yandex.Station, on the other hand, takes into account user ratings for executing commands and corrects errors. It has the function "My Ether": compilation of personal playlists.

The world's first smart speaker with a built-in Cortana assistant Harman Kardon Invoke Microsoft has focused on sound quality. Pairing with an assistant takes the device to the next level. Harman Kardon is a renowned audio device manufacturer and is responsible for the technical side. The volume is adjusted using the roller on the lid, the sound spreads 360 degrees. The model has 3 speakers of 45 mm and 3 woofers of 13 mm.The smart speaker fills frequencies up to 60 kHz, it sounds perfect in huge rooms.

Cortana from Microsoft is needed to perform simple tasks. For example, business reminders, creating a shopping list, answering the simplest requests. It interacts with smart home. Unlike competitors, it connects, among other things, to a PC from Microsoft. Works great with iOS and Android smartphones. Cortana can make Skype calls, launch Microsoft Office programs and online radio partners of the brand: TuneIn and iHeartRadio.

In 2016, the smart home from Google was supplemented with the Home column. The developers have made it the center of all systems, giving the user the ability to voice control equipment. With all the fancy features, the model takes up little space. The bottom panel is attached with magnets, they can be removed. On top are LEDs and a speaker. The smart speaker is made of metal, it is not afraid of falls. Buyers are attracted by smooth lines and minimalistic design. The model immediately became a world bestseller, collected the largest number of reviews.

The voice assistant Google Assistant is responsible for the intelligent part of the column. Microphones pick up a quiet voice, distinguish the speech of the owner among others. The device keeps the user up to date. It notifies you about changes in the settings of equipment connected to the smart home. The assistant will wake up the children for school, put on one of the hundreds of thousands of radio stations, add a shopping list. The Russian language is present, but not yet perfected.

The third generation of the compact smart speaker Amazon Echo Dot 3nd Gen has collected the best from previous devices. It offers great sound and stylish design. Devices can work in pairs. The volume has increased by 70%, now the smart speaker pronounces commands more clearly. The brand collaborates with the largest number of services: Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, ToneIn and many others. The device connects both via Bluetooth and via cable. It is compatible with the Echo Sub.

The model has a miniature size, neatly looks on the table. Around the perimeter, the speaker is trimmed with fabric, and there is an LED ring at the top. It signals the state of the device. The gadget connects to large audio systems, including third-party ones. The Amazon Skills Store is open with unique teams for leisure, learning and work. However, they are available in English, there is no translation yet.

Xiaomi is not losing its position as a budget manufacturer of quality devices, offering the most inexpensive smart speaker Mi AI Mini Speaker. Despite the cost, it is a worthy competitor to the leaders of the rating. The gadget plays music while controlling a smart home. Artificial intelligence tells the time, reads the news, notifies about the weather. The column includes an alarm clock, selects songs by genre. It interacts with a kettle, air conditioning, TV, curtains.

The device works only with an application that is downloaded free of charge to a smartphone. 4 windows will appear on the screen: music, commands, smart home and settings. It is convenient, the most basic functions are available in 1 click.The user sees all the tasks, beginners quickly learn to command the column. Xiaomi Mi AI Mini Speaker can tell fairy tales, but so far only in Chinese. This is the main drawback of the budget model - it is not connected to domestic services.

The first column from the Korean manufacturer LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK7Y is paired with Yandex. Thanks to this, domestic users received the best assistant Alice in the Russian Federation. She perfectly understands Russian speech, attracts services available in the country to search for information. The speaker of the smart speaker is hidden under the mesh, the parts are made of matte plastic. She looks stylish, does not collect fingerprints. Alice is looking for music, sets a timer, gives advice. She knows how to play with words, tell jokes. The column is part of a smart home, includes other devices.

LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK7Y has 2 speakers with a total power of 30W. The brand has added 2 settings presets: for clear voice transmission at high volume and for better bass sound. Judging by user reviews, the smart speaker almost always responds. She understands the speech of the owner in a noisy room, recognizes it among other voices. The confusion arises with the same song titles.

Apple HomePod appeared on the market in 2018, immediately displacing the leaders. A smart speaker can play music, retell the news, respond to a huge number of commands.The device has a built-in voice assistant Siri, it takes information from CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post and the BBC. The model interacts with the iPhone, helps to find the lost by sending a sound signal. She knows how to call friends, talk comfortably right through the speaker. The assistant understands the Russian language well.

The best feature of the device is the search for a song by words. It is enough to voice a few suggestions. The found results can be reproduced. A smart speaker can translate words into another language, although there is no Russian in the options. Apple HomePods are able to work synchronously, which gives surround stereo sound. They are part of a smart home, with the help of Siri they interact with other equipment. Commands are recognized without interference.