Best Rated Smart Speaker

A smart speaker has a virtual assistant that makes it perform tasks that other speakers cannot do. You can be sure to check the number of calories in an avocado (160 calories) or know the news making headlines today if you have a smart speaker.

Also, you could ask your smart speaker to tell you what time it is, and it will tell you the time! The possibilities could be endless with these smart home devices.

And all these are possible because of voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant nestled in these smart speakers. The virtual assistants ensure your voice commands are enough for hands-free control and access to information.

Therefore, you should invest in a smart speaker to control your smart home through voice commands. If you’re looking for the best-rated smart speakers for sound quality and excellent performance, be sure to read on for more information!

What Are The Best-Rated Smart Speakers?

Echo Dot (4th Gen)

This Amazon Echo Dot with clock is more than a speaker. And that’s because it features an LED display that shows time. What’s more, you can set the time and alarm, making this smart speaker ideal for your bedroom nightstand.

Also, you can set a timer and tap the snooze button when the time is up.

Aside from showing time and allowing you to set the alarm, you could also play your favorite song over the speaker. It has access to various music streaming platforms such as Amazon Music and Spotify, among a few more, to ensure you can always find a song by the artist, genre, or song’s title.

All you need to do is to command Alexa to find the music for you.

Since Alexa is the built-in voice assistant in this smart speaker, you can also do other interesting things with this device. For example, you could control other compatible smart home devices like your smart TV with this smart speaker.

Alexa allows you to change the TV channel or even control the volume level, and all these are possible through the sound of your voice.

Also, you can switch on a lamp (or switch it off) through voice commands, but after pairing it with this smart speaker. Therefore, there are a lot of things you could do with this smart home device.

You can pick these smart speakers and set one in each room to let everyone know when dinner is ready. Therefore, it is a smart speaker worth considering.

Pros	Cons
High-quality recycled materials.	Alexa doesn’t hear well the first few times.
Built-in Alexa voice assistant.	The setup is a bit of a challenge for some users.
It also controls smart home devices.
Best Rated Smart Speaker Reviews

Echo Dot (3rd Gen)

Echo devices take your privacy seriously, and this one is no different. Of course, Alexa is the built-in voice assistant, and she could be listening to everything you say.

But after tapping the microphone button, you will disconnect the microphones, and Alexa will not be listening to anything you say. And this ensures you can have privacy when you need it most.

Alexa has skills that could transform your smart speaker into something else for a better smart home! Alexa could read out the news for you. It could also find your favorite music and play it over the speaker.

And the great part is that the sound quality is amazing, thanks to this smart speaker’s powerful speaker.

This is a smart speaker you can buy if you have kids around the house. That’s because Alexa works excellently to filter explicit words in her responses.

Not only that, but Alexa can also access Amazon Kids+ to give your children kid-friendly information and responses such as videos and songs. But Amazon Kids+ requires a subscription even though you get a 1-month free trial.

Besides featuring a great sounding and powerful speaker, this device grants you voice control over other smart home devices such as TVs, lamps, and smart locks.

There are plenty of smart home devices you could control using this smart speaker. You can pair this smart speaker with a second Echo Dot for stereo sound quality.

Pros	Cons
Excellent smart home control.	No LED displays.
You can set a timer.	Only two color options.
Multi-layered privacy.
Best Rated Smart Speaker Reviews

Echo Studio – High-fidelity smart speaker

If you’re looking for impressive audio quality, this smart speaker might be what you need. It boasts an immense sound, thanks to its built-in five speakers.

Yes, you read it right! And the results are powerful bass, dynamic sound midrange, and crisp-clear sound. And from these powerful speakers, this smart speaker earns its name – Amazon Echo Studio.

Alexa is the built-in voice assistant, and she listens to every voice command you give. And since this smart speaker accesses information such as news and music with ease, you can ask Alexa just about anything! For example, you could ask Alexa to read out the news for you, and guess what, she will!

Alexa also ensures you can command this device to play your favorite song over the five powerful speakers. And that’s possible because this device has access to music streaming apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music, to mention a few platforms.

Another brilliant capability of this device that’s worth noting is its ability to adapt to any room. And it does this by sensing the acoustics of your room to adjust and fine-tune the playback for excellent sound quality.

If you have smart home devices such as a smart camera, TV, or smart lock, you can control them by the sound of your voice. But you will need to pair them with this smart speaker before you can have hands-free control over them.

Consider pairing your smart speaker with another one, like a second Echo Studio (or Echo Sub) for a more crisp sound.

Pros	Cons
Excellent privacy.	It is incompatible with some devices.
Voice control over smart home devices.	Alexa cannot access some songs.
Five built-in speakers.
Best Rated Smart Speaker Reviews

Bose Home Speaker 300

This Bose smart speaker gives you other control options besides granting you hands-free control over it. It connects to the Wi-Fi network grant you control via the Bose Music app.

It also has one-touch presets for adjusting the volume or shuffling to the next song. But voice control is more convenient since you don’t have to lift a finger when controlling this smart speaker using it.

This smart speaker has Alexa built-in for efficient voice control. Alexa unlocks many possibilities, one of which is the ability to allow you to make or take calls using this smart speaker.

You can also use voice commands to search and play your favorite songs. That’s because Alexa can access the Bose Music app to play all the songs you love.

What’s more, this smart speaker also has Bluetooth connectivity for pairing with your smartphone. And that means you could stream your favorite music from the phone and play it over the powerful speaker.

Talking about the speaker, this smart speaker boasts an impressive sound performance.

The sound travels in all directions (360°) for a room-rocking performance. Aside from using Alexa as a voice assistant, this device also uses Google Assistant. Therefore, it works with Alexa and Google Assistant as voice assistants.

And if you have other smart home devices (such as a SoundTouch speaker) with the Bose SimpleSync, you can pair them with this smart speaker for crisp music playback.

This smart speaker has all the smart features you need to control smart home devices and is worth considering.

Pros	Cons
Two voice assistants.	It doesn’t pair with some smart speakers.
Multi-directional sound performance.	The warranty period is limited.
Voice control.
Best Rated Smart Speaker Reviews

Sonos One (Gen 2)

This Sonos speaker is one of the smart speakers with a brilliant sound. That’s because the speaker is powerful enough to give you a room-filling performance.

But the reverberating sound isn’t the only incredible feature that this smart speaker boasts. This smart speaker also has Alexa built-in to grant you voice control over it.

And there are interesting things you could do just by the sound of your voice. First, you can command Alexa to read out the news to update you every moment of the day.

Second, Alexa could take your voice commands and instruct this smart speaker to play your favorite music.

You can also set the alarm and have Alexa answer all of your questions. The possibilities could be endless, but after adding the right skills for Alexa.

You can connect this smart speaker with other Sonos speakers such as Sonos Move to have stereo sound and boost the sound performance.

Once you have two Sonos smart speakers, you will have nothing short of a crisp sound. With Alexa as the built-in virtual assistant, you could also control other smart home devices with this smart speaker.

You can pair it with your smartphone via Bluetooth and stream your favorite music. This smart speaker performs incredibly well, especially if you consider the sound. Therefore, it is one of the best-rated smart speakers.

Pros	Cons
Alexa built-in.	It only uses one virtual assistant.
Powerful sound.	Only two color options.
One-touch presets.
Best Rated Smart Speaker Reviews

How To Pick the Best Rated Smart Speaker

Since the market is full of smart speakers, you can bet that not all of them give the best performance. And to find the best-rated ones, you will consider a few features. And those features include the following:

The Virtual Assistant

One of the reasons (if not the main reason) for buying a smart speaker is to control it by the sound of your voice. But this will be possible if your chosen smart speaker has a virtual assistant. So, you want to check if your preferred smart speaker has a virtual assistant.

But you might ask yourself: what are these virtual assistants? Well, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri are the contenders. These virtual assistants allow you to control your smart speaker through voice commands.

But as you might have guessed already, smart speakers feature different virtual assistants, with a few of them featuring two voice assistants at the same time: Alexa and Google Assistant.

Alexa is a more robust virtual assistant since you can control more smart home devices with it. Also, it is easier to use. Google Assistant comes in to take the second spot if you consider ease of use and compatibility with smart home devices.

On the other hand, Siri is a bit restrictive and is a bit challenging to use. Therefore, you might want to consider picking smart speakers with Alexa built-in.

If you can find one with Alexa and Google Assistant, that would be great. And a model that has the three voice assistants would even be excellent.

Wi-Fi Connectivity

You also want to ensure your preferred smart speaker connects to the internet via built-in Wi-Fi. And this is essential for a few reasons. First, your smart speaker will access information such as news updates if you’ve connected it to your Wi-Fi network.

Also, your smart speaker will stream your favorite music while using the internet. The smart speaker will also rely on Wi-Fi connectivity to know the weather forecast and temperature, to mention some of the information.

Besides, you will pair your smart speaker with some smart home devices via the Wi-Fi network to control them through voice commands. Therefore, Wi-Fi connectivity is a big deal when picking a smart speaker. So, ensure your preferred smart speaker has it.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Besides accessing information such as news or weather forecast, a smart speaker could also allow you to stream music from a Bluetooth-capable device, like your smartphone. And this converts them into Bluetooth speakers.

Also, you can pair these smart speakers with other smart speakers of the same brand for a stereo sound performance. But all these are possible if your smart speaker has Bluetooth built-in. Therefore, you want to ensure the smart speaker of your choice has Bluetooth built-in.

LED Display

You want as much functionality from a smart speaker as possible. And another function of a smart speaker could be displaying time. But this will require an LED display.

There are smart speakers with smart displays for more information visualization. You can be sure to find a smart home device that incorporates a smart speaker into a beautiful LED display. And the Amazon Echo Show (2^nd Gen) is one such smart home device.

But some smart speakers also feature an LED display for showing time. The Echo Dot (4^th Gen) is a good example in this case. You could also check out the Echo Dot (3^rd Gen) smart speaker with clock if you’re looking for more functionality.

LED display could make your smart speaker do more and is a nice feature to consider when picking a smart speaker.

The Design

A compact smart speaker saves space while sitting on your nightstand or the shelf. Also, compact-sized smart speakers are more portable. So, you might want to consider compact-sized smart speakers if you’re looking to save on space, which is great if your home has limited space for putting smart home devices.

The Battery Power

Of course, smart speakers are battery-powered, although you can plug them into a wall outlet using their power adapter. That means the battery power is another deciding factor when looking to pick a smart speaker.

You want to pick a smart speaker with a powerful battery because powerful batteries power the device for an extended period.

Usually, smart speakers rate their batteries in terms of hours of music playback. If you can get more than 10 hours of music playback from a smart speaker, that is excellent. So, you want to check a smart speaker that gives you more hours of music play before recharging the battery.

FAQs

What can my smart speaker do for me?

Smart speakers could do plenty of stuff for you. First, you can access information by commanding your smart speaker to read out the news for you.

Also, your smart speaker could update you on the weather forecast, stream music from streaming platforms, and answer your questions.

On the other hand, you can control smart home devices using your smart speaker after pairing them with the smart speaker. For example, you could control a smart plug with a smart speaker.

Smart lights also pair with these smart speakers for ands-free control over them. As long as a smart home device pairs with a smart speaker, you can control it through voice commands, thanks to a smart speaker.

What are the common virtual assistants for smart speakers?

Smart speakers rely on three virtual assistants for excellent hands-free control: Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. For example, the Google Nest Audio is a smart speaker that uses Google Assistant as its virtual assistant.

On the other hand, Apple Homepod Mini is a smart speaker that uses Siri, while the Amazon Echo Dot uses Alexa.

What wireless connectivity does a smart speaker use?

Smart speakers rely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to pair with other smart devices such as smartphones or other smart speakers. Bluetooth connectivity will be essential for streaming music from your smartphone over the loud, smart speaker.

And Wi-Fi connectivity will be essential for your smart speaker to access data such as news updates. Also, Wi-Fi connectivity ensures your smart speaker can stream music from various platforms it can access.

Therefore, you want to ensure the smart speaker of your choice connects to the Wi-Fi network and has Bluetooth connectivity.

How do I set up a smart speaker?

Smart speakers, such as Google Nest Mini, have a downloadable app for setting them up. You will launch the app and head to the Setup section within the app to complete the process.

Most apps have the Discover button for discovering your smart speaker and add it to the app. Then you will follow the set of instructions for the setup process. Therefore, you will need your smart speaker’s app to set it up.

Wrap Up

Smart speakers could be what your smart home needs for hands-free control of other smart home devices. Also, these smart speakers could fill your room with a crisp sound if you pair them together via Bluetooth.

As such, they offer more functionality than any other type of speaker.

But with many brands on the market, finding the best ones might be a challenge. And that’s why we have presented you with a few brands that might work best for you.

Their excellent performance makes them the best-rated smart speakers. Also, we have included a buyer’s guide to help you pick other best-rated smart speakers on the market.

Therefore, invest in the best smart speaker to gain hands-free control over them and other smart home devices.