From Amazon Echo Dot to Apple HomePod, Here Are The Five Best Smart Speakers
Smart speakers for the home are all the rage right now. Amazon, Google and Apple all have an array of excellent smart speakers. If you are looking for a device which you can plug in anywhere at home and which not only plays you the perfect music but answers virtually all your need and even lets you shop, these smart speakers are the ones you should buy.
Last Updated: September 11, 2020, 14:34 IST
Apple HomePod: Apple HomePod's Siri adapts its sound to the room one is in and has a fantastic sound for all genres of music. Due to Siri, one can also use an Apple HomePod to control smart home products with the sound. The speaker creates rich, nuanced sound, and combines Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced software to deliver precision sound in a room. The device comes at a price of Rs 19,900.
Echo Dot 3rd-Gen: Echo Dot is a voice-controlled smart speaker with Alexa that can be placed in any room. You can ask for music, news, information from the device. It has a sleek and compact design and is able to stream music from Amazon Prime Music, JioSaavn, Gaana, Hungama Music and Spotify. The Echo Dot can be put to a variety of use, from switching on the geyser before getting out of bed to dimming the lights while sitting on the couch without even lifting a finger. Echo Dot comes ready to connect to WiFi and is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices and also a web browser. The device costs around Rs 4,499.
Google Nest Mini: While it may look very similar to the Google Home Mini, it is available in four colour variants – sky, coral, charcoal and chalk. The speaker's top fabric is made of 100 per cent recycled plastic and the external enclosure is made of 35 per cent recycled plastic. It boasts of three microphones for recognising voice across the room and also make use of ultrasound sensing, where the speaker emits tiny inaudible noises which bounce off objects in the surrounding and reflect back to the microphone to tell the device if someone is nearby. The device costs Rs 4,499.
Amazon Echo Plus 2nd- gen: Amazon released the first Echo Plus in 2017 and the second generation a year later. What makes it a Plus" is the incorporation of a built-in Zigbee radio that eliminates the need to have something like a Samsung SmartThings. Another minor addition is the ambient temperature sensor. A user can ask Alexa what is the temperature in the room, apart from getting a weather report. It has a 3-inch woofer and 0.8-inch tweeters. The device costs Rs 11,999.
Sonos One: The device has both Alexa and Google Assistant built-in and allows users to pair twin units to play the stereo sound or multi-room audio. It has a compact design which can fit into any space and is humidity-resistant, allowing users to even put it in the bathroom. The smart speakers connect over WiFi, so users can build a system which allows everyone in a house to even play music on sync.
