


There's no right or wrong answer here, as it all depends on what you use more often, or what you're used to. READ NEXT: The best wireless in-ear, on-ear and over-ear headphones Which voice assistant is best? Amazon Alexa vs Google Assistant vs Apple Siri If, however, music isn't your top priority, or you just want to have access to your virtual assistant in every room in the house, then the Google Home Mini or Echo Dot are cheaper, smaller alternatives that take up barely any room at all. If you want a speaker with competent sonic capabilities, then size does matter – if you want to enjoy your music then you'll need to look at Google and Amazon's mid-sized devices, and if you want the very best then you'll want something like the Sonos One with Amazon's Alexa built-in. It all depends on what you're looking for.
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Then there's the likes of Sonos' One, which is roughly around the size of a bag of flour – still small enough to sit unobtrusively on a side table, but has amplification and drivers big enough to fill a room with full-bodied, crisp-sounding music. At the other end of the scale, there's the Amazon Echo Dot and Home Mini, both of which are tiny devices that will fit unobtrusively anywhere around the house – these have multiple microphones to hear you from across the room, and a small, basic internal speaker. Its features a 10in touchscreen, a large speaker, a 5-megapixel front camera, and looks rather like a digital photo frame. The Amazon Echo Show is the biggest of them all. Smart speakers come in all shapes and sizes. READ NEXT: Our favourite desktop speakers for gaming and music What features should I look out for, and does size matter? So, if you've got a Philips Hue bulb (or preferably several) you can adjust the brightness, colour and power all with a simple voice command. If you also subscribe to a music streaming service such as Spotify, then you can play music simply by searching by artist, album or track name, genre or year.Īnd as the name suggests, smart speakers can also be used to control your smart home appliances. These instructions can be as simple as asking the time, or what the weather will be like, but you can also ask for more specific facts and details, such as asking your assistant basic maths questions, to perform conversions from ounces to grams, or just to find out opening times for a local store. Smart speakers need to be woken with a wake word – such as 'Alexa' or 'Ok, Google' – before you can ask questions or issue commands. READ NEXT: Unbeatable Bluetooth speakers for indoor and outdoor use How does a smart speaker work? In short, you can ask them anything you'd otherwise ask your smartphone's assistant, such as Google Assistant, Apple Siri or Amazon Alexa. Whether you're lying on the sofa or cooking in the kitchen, you're in control: you can pause and play your music, choose a new artist or genre, ask for a news update, or even add products to a weekly shopping list, all with a set of simple voice commands. Unlike Bluetooth or wireless speakers that need to be controlled via a smartphone or tablet, a smart speaker is a far more versatile choice.
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How to choose the best smart speaker for you Why should I buy a smart speaker?
