Amazon has a wide range of Alexa-enabled smart speakers on offer, but which one is best? For anyone new to Alexa and smart home technology, deciding which speaker to purchase can be difficult. That’s why we’ve put together this guide with the best Amazon Alexa smart speakers on the market today to help you decide which is right for you and your needs. We’ll also go over some of the different ways that you can use these devices in your everyday life.
Sonos One
The Best Alexa Smart Speakers
The Sonos One is one of the most popular Amazon Alexa-enabled smart speakers on the market. Not only can you talk to your Sonos One to play music, but you can also create a network of other Sonos speakers in your home, enabling sound to fill an entire house. As for the Amazon Music service, some people may find it easier than having all their music available from Google Play or Spotify because you can access your library by voice.
Pros
With the Sonos One smart speaker, you can fill a room with sound from a small shelf or counter. You can also take advantage of Alexa’s wide array of features, including answering questions and scheduling reminders and timers. You can also use Google Assistant with the speaker, so you don’t have to pick one.
For voice control, the Sonos One requires a Wi-Fi connection, but it also supports Airplay 2 and other technologies, as well as easy app controls if you don’t want to use your voice. A Sonos speaker can also easily connect to another speaker or speaker system, allowing for many innovative setups, from being part of a home theater system to linking two speakers together for stereo-like sound.
Cons
However, not everything about the Sonos One will suit everyone. For example, if you want higher-quality sound from Pandora or Apple Music than what Google Play Music offers, then this speaker won’t work for you.
Bose Home Speaker 500
All you have to do is say, Alexa, find music by Pink and she’ll search for songs or albums. You can also search by genre, playlist, or song title, among other options. Bose Home Speaker 500 fills your room with 360-degree sound–as if it were live musicians playing in the room. Enjoy up to 16 hours of battery life between charges. This speaker works seamlessly with Amazon Music Unlimited so you can access millions of songs, along with tens of thousands of playlists and stations for every mood or activity imaginable.
A Bose speaker with a little of everything could be the perfect choice for customers who want the best of both worlds. It offers great sound, supports Amazon Alexa, and offers Google Assistant as well. It also provides more sound options than most smart speakers, with touch panel presets for your favorite music options and ease of adjustment via Bose Music app.
The speaker has a mini display that can show off the current song and some album images, which makes it easy to show off at parties and other events. All these features, however, don’t come cheap, which is why this is the most expensive speaker on our list.
The redesigned Echo Dot (3rd Gen)
The Best Alexa Smart Speakers
The third-generation Echo Dot, the newest Amazon device in the Echo lineup, has a smaller body and a new design. For starters, it is notably slimmer than the second-generation Echo Dot with a rounder shape. There are also front-facing speakers on both sides of the mic for better sound quality and spatial awareness when playing music. The colors have been updated to a new dark blue color and Amazon has introduced five new wallpapers so users can personalize their devices even more. In terms of functionality, this newest iteration comes with improved Wifi connectivity that allows you to use multiple devices within your home without experiencing reduced audio quality or lag time.
Amazon’s Echo (4th Gen)
Despite its compact size, Amazon’s flagship Echo device offers great 360-degree sound. The Echo works solely through the Alexa app, so you don’t have to switch between apps to get what you want.
It also features a rounded design that allows it to be placed anywhere and displays notifications with an LED base. Amazon also sells a battery base accessory so the speaker doesn’t need to be plugged in and a wall mount if you don’t want the speaker on a counter, options that are seldom available with smart speakers.
Amazon’s Echo Dot (4th Gen)
The Best Alexa Smart Speakers
Echo Dot, Amazon’s pint-sized speaker, is a copy of the Echo 4th Generation speaker (mentioned above), but smaller. Even though it can’t produce music as loud as the larger version, it can still be a good little desktop companion and can replace an old radio or a bedside clock (the version with the LED clock cleverly woven into the fabric serves as a bedside clock).
In addition to the larger version, Amazon sells the Echo Dot with a battery stand or wall mount. There is also a kids’ version with a new skin and a free trial of Amazon’s kid-friendly program.
The new Echo Show 5
The Echo Show 5 is the newest edition of Amazon’s popular smart speaker and has a ton of features and new developments that makes it even better than its predecessors. The Echo Show 5 has a 10-inch display screen, which is the perfect size for video calling with family and friends, playing games, watching YouTube videos, and reading books to kids at bedtime – all without using your phone or tablet. It also allows you to control your smart home devices like lights and appliances so you don’t have to get up off the couch. You can also still use voice commands with the Echo Show 5, but if you’re not into talking out loud in front of your device then there are physical buttons on this model that make navigation easier.
Amazon’s Echo Studio
Those who are passionate about sound may already own a superior audio system or have begun listening to more spatial audio songs: The Echo Studio is a great companion to this setup with its focus on music and larger design featuring five internal speakers to cover bass, midrange, and highs more effectively. In addition, the speaker has sensors that adapt the audio to the local acoustics regardless of where you place it.
If you have a lot of smart devices in your home, the Studio is one of the few Alexa speakers that still supports the older Zigbee smart protocol, which can be critical for controlling certain smart devices. In addition, Alexa allows you to choose a default music service to play from, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more, which makes it a lot easier to give song-related commands.