That’s a lot of speakers to choose from. The good news is you don’t need to worry about a host of specs or details—just a few key features that will help you choose one smart speaker over another.
First, focus on size, sound quality, and price
In addition to the artificial intelligence it carries—more on that later—a smart speaker has three main specifications you’ll need to consider: size, audio quality, and price. In general, the smaller, lower-priced speakers tend to have lower-quality audio, and as you scale up in size, price and quality increase as well. By examining how speakers match up in these categories, you can narrow down your options. While sorting smart speakers by their size and price offers a general way of mapping out this particular market, you can also try to determine audio quality by looking at specific features. If you’re looking for amazing sound, check the size and number of internal speakers, including woofers for bass sounds, and tweeters for high sounds. That said, you can’t determine audio quality from specs alone. To get a better sense of a speaker’s performance, read professional and user reviews and, if possible, check out an in-store demonstration or two.
Check for compatibility
While size, audio, and price are a great trio of basic considerations, you’ll need to weigh a few other abilities to determine which speaker will best fit your needs. The key question here is: will your new purchase play nice with the products you already own? If you plan to hook your speaker up to other hi-fi equipment—which is pretty much a requirement for little models like the Echo Dot and the Nest Mini—check the specs to make sure the connection will be compatible. The Echo Dot, which has both Bluetooth and a 3.5-millimeter line-out jack, is more flexible, whereas the Nest Mini can only work over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. For other brands, do your research and check manufacturers’ websites and online forums. Most times, the experience of other users will be a deciding factor when choosing your smart speaker.
Consider bonus features
While you’re thinking about what you want from your smart speaker, review the bonus abilities that some of these devices boast. For example, families might want to look for products with multi-user support, which gives speakers the ability to recognize different people. This is extremely useful when it comes to delivering appropriate information—if you want to check your schedule, you won’t want the smart assistant to read your dad’s or daughter’s calendar instead. Those who need constant background noise will want multi-room streaming—the ability to switch playback from room to room, pumping tunes all around the house as the listener moves. All of the big-name speakers should be able to pull this off, but if multi-room streaming is a priority for you, you should check the specs to make sure. Sonos has a slight edge here, as it lets users control playback from their computers, phones, and tablets, as well as through voice commands. Smart display devices also give visual feedback on queries like the weather or your upcoming schedule, so you can see, as well as hear, what’s happening. You’ll also get on-screen controls for certain features—music playback or controlling your smart home devices, for example. They’re typically more expensive than smart speakers, but you’ll get plenty of extras for your money.
Choose an AI assistant
Of course, you’re not just shopping for sound quality. A speaker’s smarts are even more important than its audio capabilities, so the on-board AI assistant will also influence your decision. Alexa, Siri, and the Google Assistant are all extremely capable—but that’s actually irrelevant. The more important factor is which company’s ecosystem you’re already locked into. So if you already chat with Siri or the Google Assistant on your phone, a compatible device will let you carry on the same conversation with your speaker. The same goes for apps and services such as calendars, emails, and web browsers. And some third-party apps may be more integrated than others. For example, while Google Home lets you seamlessly link a Spotify account, the HomePod only lets you work with Apple Music, although it may add third-party services further down the line. All this means that when you’re choosing a smart speaker, you’ll have to keep in mind that you’ll have the most seamless experience with the AI assistant you already know works for you and your apps of choice. So, when you’re deciding on a smart speaker, work through this checklist. Take time to read a few reviews and hopefully check out some in-store demos. After that, your best bet should become obvious.
