Looking for the best smart speaker? We round up the top voice assistant-enabled music players you can buy.<\/b>
\nThe best smart speaker offers more than just a way to enjoy your favorite albums and playlists in all their glory – they also feature a built-in voice assistant. As well as pausing and skipping tracks for you, so you don\u2019t have to reach for your smartphone, a smart speaker can also provide the weather report or sports scores and answer your burning questions. The best smart speakers come with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri built-in. Smart speakers manufactured by Amazon, Google, or Apple – the brand\u2019s behind these voice assistants – only come with access to their own voice assistants. However, models from third parties such as Sonos and Bose offer a voice of which voice assistant is used on the speaker. The best smart speakers can only offer audible responses to your queries, unlike the best smart displays that feature a screen and can serve up visual interpretations as well. However, smart speakers come in both mains-powered or portable options with a rechargeable battery so you can take it on the go, whereas smart displays are only mains-powered. Although if there\u2019s no Wi-Fi connection close by, these portable smart speakers do require mobile data, usually accessed via a Bluetooth connection to your smartphone, for the voice assistant to work. Smart speakers can also be used as an intercom in your home – great for telling the kids dinner is ready – as well as offering the ability to make audio calls to friends and family, too. They can even be used to get some of the best smart home devices to work together. If you have some of the best smart lights or smart plugs in your home, you can issue one command to the smart speaker to ensure they switch on or off at the same time. Alternatively, smart speakers can double as a chime for the best video doorbells or home security cameras, playing a tone to alert you that motion has been detected or the doorbell has been pressed. Some even allow you to converse with anyone in the camera\u2019s field of view too. Smart speakers from Amazon and Google are always heavily discounted on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Not only can the price be slashed by as much as 50%, but they\u2019re often bundled with smart home devices or access to music subscription services, making them even better value. We expect to see the same substantial savings again this year. If you want to get a smart speaker for the best price possible then hanging on until Black Friday makes sense. You can also get a heads up as soon as the deals start appearing by visiting our Best Black Friday Amazon Echo deals round-up. However, if you want to ensure you\u2019ve got your smart speaker before the festive period, we\u2019d recommend snapping up a deal now. The supply chain issues that are being faced globally mean shipping times are taking far longer than usual. There\u2019s a wide array of smart speakers on the market, with a number of models in the Amazon Echo and Google Nest ranges alongside Apple\u2019s HomePod, and as we\u2019ve already mentioned, designs from audio brands including Bose and Sonos. We\u2019ve put the most popular options to the test, rating them on sound quality and voice assistant smarts, to identify the best smart speaker you can buy right now. To discover the best smart speakers on the market, we assess the sound quality of the speaker and how effective the built-in voice assistant is at controlling playback for you; from selecting specific playlists, albums and tracks to adjusting the volume, skipping tracks and even the number of streaming service its compatible with. We also evaluate each model on its ability to pick up your voice when issuing commands to the voice assistant, privacy features that help ensure the smart speaker isn\u2019t constantly watching and listening, and the smart home devices it’s compatible with, as well as how compact and durable the design is. On the whole that’s subjective. Some people have always liked Apple products the best and stay loyal to Siri. Others really like Alexa after snapping up an Echo as soon as the smart speaker was first launched. The general consensus seems to be that Google Assistant is, largely, the most accurate voice assistant. If you’ve got a lot of Apple products, of course Siri is the best and for overall compatibility, you’re best opting for Alexa. But they’re not hard and fast rules. For starters, the choice might depend on which speaker you like the look of the most. Sure Amazon’s Echo range is very similar to the Google Home, but the Show, Spot, and Dot look quite different \u2013 check out our guide to the best Alexa speakers for more information. When it comes to the smart assistants within the speakers, they’re both extremely capable. Amazon’s Alexa has many, many Skills, which set it apart from the rest. But Google has been a leader in the AI game for a long time now, well before the smart speaker market emerged. It’s a lot harder to change Alexa’s voice, too.<\/p>\n