Tag: Smart speakers

Black Friday speaker deals 2025: Save up to 50 percent on bluetooth speakers, smart speakers and soundbars

Black Friday and Cyber Monday feature some of the best audio equipment deals you’re likely to see all year. Whether you’ve been thinking about upgrading your home sound system, you’re planning a party or you just want something nice to listen to while you cook, we’ve found discounts on a speaker you’ll love. The deals on this list range across brands, with offerings from Ultimate Ears, Bose, Beats and more, plus Sonos and Amazon Echo smart speakers and soundbars from Sony and JBL. We’ll be curating this list all month, so check back daily for new audiophile-approved recommendations, organized by price.

Best Black Friday speaker deals under $50

Soundcore

The Soundcore Select 4 Go is a miniature economy speaker from Anker that roundly beats expectations for its size and price. It’s waterproof and rated for a full meter of depth, so it’s safe if you drop it in the shower, the bathtub, or even a boat if you’re near the shore. With a 5W output, it’s not the punchiest speaker, but it can get loud enough to make every dollar you spent more than worth it. The battery also lasts for around 20 hours on a single charge — and that’s continuous play.

$22 at Amazon

Anker Soundcore 2 for $28 (38 percent off): This is the absolute cheapest you’ll probably see a full-size Bluetooth speaker go for in 2025 — the Soundcore 2, the latest effort by Anker to expand from charging components into portable audio. This model gets you 24 hours of battery and 12 watts of output, with bass ports designed to heavily boost the low ranges. It all works through a simple set of highly visible and tactile buttons on top of the speaker box.

Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen for $32 (36 percent off): The fifth-generation Echo Dot is cheaper than ever, and it was already the best smart speaker under $50. Its genius spherical design lets it pack a lot of audio into a compact space, and it can be controlled with both hands-free Alexa commands and on-device buttons. The latest release comes with early access to the Alexa+ AI upgrade.

JBL Go 4 for $40 (20 percent off): You might expect a speaker as small and portable as the Go 4 to sound tinny at the higher frequencies and weak at the lower ones, but JBL has worked its magic to make this model sound great at both ranges. Weighing less than half a pound, made partly from recycled materials and including a convenient carabiner hoop, this is one of our favorite speakers to take on treks.

Tribit StormBox Micro 2 for $50 (29 percent off): The StormBox Micro 2 gets you the two things you need out of a portable speaker — it’s light (weighing about a pound), and it’s loud. Tribit hasn’t changed the game on portable sound quality here, but with this on your bike or in your backyard, you’ll be having so much fun you won’t care. And the fact that you only spent 50 bucks will definitely help your mood.

Amazon Echo Spot for $50 (38 percent off): The Echo Spot looks like an Echo Dot sawed in half, which is a surprisingly effective design. It’s designed to work best as a bedside alarm clock, but you can customize the screen to show things other than time, including a weather forecast, smart home controls or the current song on your playlist. It’s Alexa-capable, and like the latest Echo Dot, will let you give Alexa+ AI a try.

Best Black Friday speaker deals for $50 to $100

Ultimate Ears

The Wonderboom 4 is the little barrel that could, an adorable 1.2-pound portable bluetooth speaker that stays charged for 14 hours and keeps on playing after a five-foot drop. Outdoor Mode is a standout feature, amplifying the higher frequencies so you can hear from farther away. There’s even a USB charger so your other devices can take advantage of that long battery life.

$60 at Amazon

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar for $85 (29 percent off): This is by far the least you’ll pay for a worthwhile soundbar this Black Friday season. Amazon’s soundbar supports Dolby surround sound, works straightforwardly through a single HDMI cable and can be upgraded with an optional Alexa voice assistant. It doesn’t only work with Amazon products, either, being compatible with all smart TVs.

Marshall Emberton II for $90 (50 percent off): We’re huge fans of the Emberton II, Marshall’s affordable new-age retro speaker. It looks great, but it’s much more than a visual throwback, featuring 360-degree sound, IP67 proofing and 30 hours of battery life. Since the deal cuts the price in half, you can even by two and chain them together for a surround sound setup.

Amazon Echo Dot Max for $90 (10 percent off): The Echo Dot Max just dropped this month, and our reaction was mixed, but there’s no denying the leaps forward in this brand-new addition. Not only does it feature better sound than the vanilla Echo Dot, but Alexa+ makes is a much more equal conversation partner. The Echo Dot Max features a similar spherical design to the Dot, but with forward-facing physical buttons on the surface of the sphere.

Bose SoundLink Micro for $99 (16 percent off): If the Home isn’t small or cheap enough for you, Bose has gone even smaller and cheaper with the SoundLink Micro, a tiny, portable speaker in the vein of the JBL Clip. It’s waterproof, dustproof and surprisingly good at taking hits, all while staying charged for around six hours. The sound quality isn’t intense, but it’s cleaner than it has any right to be.

Beats Pill for $100 (33 percent off): Beats jumping back into portable bluetooth was one of the happiest surprises of 2024. As we noted in our full review at the time, the Beats Pill isn’t content to coast on its brand name or luxurious design. Its re-engineering speaker improves volume while reducing distortion, it can survive dropping into three feet of water and it even works extremely well as a speakerphone. We found that mid-to-high range music showcases its potential best, though the bass also hits hard.

Best Black Friday speaker deals for $100 to $200

Amazon

The Flip 6 was already one of our favorite speakers, so we were overjoyed to see the Flip 7 crank up everything about it. Not only does it sound good at nearly any volume and frequency, but it’s also well-designed, with a versatile cylinder shape and glow-in-the-dark buttons. You can even customize the output through the JBL Portable app, with three EQ bands to choose from.

$110 at Amazon

Bose SoundLink Flex for $119 (20 percent off): Of all the Bose on this list, the SoundLink Flex may be the most balanced, much cheaper than the Home and a lot more powerful than the Micro. Other speakers may be louder, but few have such good range; we’ve yet to find a track that sounds muddy or tinny coming through the Flex’s speakers. The design is also outdoor-friendly, with a light-but-tough exterior and 30-foot bluetooth range.

JBL Charge 6 for $130 (35 percent off): It’s a little more expensive than the Flip line, but the extra cost of the Charge 6 pays off — it boasts almost twice the battery life of the Flip 7, with the same convenient design, built-in USB-C charger and wide sound range. If you’re looking for a speaker that balances sturdiness with portability and will last you a while, the Charge 6 is a very good investment.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 for $150 (25 percent off): The UE Megaboom line is venerable at this point, dropping first in 2015, but its fourth iteration still tops our audiophile lists. It puts out 360-degree sound with an emphasis on bass, can work up to 147 feet away from the music source, and literally floats in water (though you probably shouldn’t leave it in the pool all night). It can even pair with any other UE speaker through PartyUp — combining it with a couple of Wonderbooms pays off in spades.

Sonos Era 100 for $169 (15 percent off): Two years after launch, the Era 100 is still a smart speaker more than worth your time. It’s sleek and simply designed, making it clear Sonos’s engineers put their work into sound quality and features rather than just looking the part. Touch controls have never worked better, and setup takes five minutes, though you will have to use the Sonos app. Once you start playing music, the Era 100 can get as loud as you like, while never sacrificing audio quality.

Bose SoundLink Home for $179 (18 percent off): The SoundLink Home is small for a high-quality speaker, but it packs everything it needs into two pounds and about 10 square inches. Nothing about the sound is diminished thanks to two passive radiators. Though we haven’t gotten to test it directly, given Bose’s record with other compact speakers like the Flex, we’re confident it’ll be loud enough to satisfy anyone.

Bose TV Speaker soundbar for $199 (29 percent off): Bose’s entry into the world of soundbars does not disappoint. For a price lower than some Bluetooth speakers, you’ll get a compact two-foot speaker bar that amplifies dialogue while conjuring a balanced, realistic soundscape from any movie or show. It’s suitable for audio neophytes, too, with no complex adjustments necessary — just plug in the HDMI and start watching.

Ultimate Ears Everboom for $200 (25 percent off): We gave the Everboom a full review when it first dropped last year, and found it stuck to the general Ultimate Ears plan — nothing earth-shattering in the audio quality, but rugged reliability and fantastic extra features. Everboom users can connect it to the UE Boom app, which lets you control the volume remotely, use the speaker as a megaphone to make announcements, import your playlists and pair Everbooms through the PartyUp chaining feature.

Best Black Friday speaker deals over $200

Amazon

Moving up in scale from the SoundLink Home, we’ve got the Plus — fairly heavy for a portable speaker but with heavy bass to match. Its battery lasts for 20 hours if you choose to take it outside, but it also works as a home speaker, with customizable sound levels and the ability to chain two together for a more surround audio experience.

$190 at Amazon

JBL Xtreme 4 for $280 (26 percent off): Xtreme is the largest and highest-end that JBL goes, and the Xtreme 4 is a luminary of the line. At 4.6 pounds, it’s on the outside edge of portability, but that weight means it puts out appropriately heavy bass, along with clear treble. It’s fully weatherproof and — unless it’s in a completely open space — can get loud enough that all your party guests will enjoy the full effect.

Bose SoundLink Max for $299 (25 percent off): The SoundLink Max, Bose’s biggest speaker that isn’t a soundbar, is more affordable for Black Friday than we’ve seen for a while. Frankly, it’s worth more than this, with two radiators and three transducers that make it sound larger than it is. Indoors or outdoors, it’s great for anyone who wants to be able to pick out individual elements of their favorite music.

Sonos Era 300 for $378 (21 percent off): The Era 300 is Sonos’s big (and largely successful) swing at a truly space-filling smart speaker, combining spatial audio with support for both Alexa and its own assistant. The Trueplay feature detects the environment around the speaker and adjusts its setup to reach every corner. Spatial audio can be hit-or-miss on older tracks, but it’s transcendent with modern ones.

Sonos Move 2 for $399 (20 percent off): Move is Sonos’s high-end portable smart speaker, with more heft, power and features than the smaller Roam line. With the Move 2, Sonos improved the Move’s sound quality, boosted its battery life to well over 24 hours, jacked up the volume and redesigned the outer hardware for greater durability. It also works with both Alexa and the Sonos assistant, but it’s more portable than the Era 300.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 for $798 (20 percent off): In our review of the Bravia 6 this year, we called out its full sound and special talent for enhancing dialogue, but were frustrated that it didn’t support AirPlay or Spotify Connect. The Bravia 8 works with both services, making it a clear choice for your next premium soundbar. It’s got a tight, low-footprint design that fits any aesthetic, and hits a maximum output power of 495 watts.

Sonos Arc Ultra for $879 (20 percent off): The Sonos Arc Ultra is the best premium soundbar, bar none (pun intended). As we cover in our full review, it delivers full-throated bass without needing an extra sub, and has added more mid-range drivers and tweeters to make dialogue pop. Its software features are also solid, with Trueplay sound tuning, Speech Enhancement and a new Night Sound mode to tone down the boom for your roommates’ sake.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 for $1200 (29 percent off): If you’re going to drop $1200 on a soundbar, you need to know it’s going to deliver — and the 1300XMK2 does. Its key design element is two detachable speakers that recharge when plugged into the main unit, but can spend up to 10 hours unplugged. The audioscape does an excellent job of separating and clarifying details, which really enhances the sense of a theatrical experience.

Sam Chapman

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November 28, 2025
Keep Your Kids Entertained With These Adorable Screen-Free Speakers

With a lovely mix of music, stories, and sounds, all available in eight languages, this speaker successfully combines fun and education. It is durable, has its own handle, and is simple enough for toddlers to operate. Timio is for kids aged two years and up. There’s no need for a screen, app, or internet connection, as your child can play content by selecting one of the plastic discs and slotting it on top. You get five discs in the box covering classical music, farm animals, vehicles, lullabies, and bedtime stories. Each disc looks like a clock face with pictures at each hour, and kids simply press the one they want. Additional sets of discs are $22 and cover all sorts of topics, from dinosaurs to learning colors.

The speaker sounds surprisingly good, and there’s a 3.5-mm audio port for kids’ headphones. Timio is a great way to introduce your kids to other languages or for multilingual households (you can press and hold the language button to switch between English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Chinese, Italian, and Portuguese). There’s also a quiz mode, with prompts like find the police car, identify numbers, or select a specific shape. Timio does require three AA batteries, and when you screw open the back panel, you will also find the SD card that holds the content. We recommend rechargeable batteries, as you will change them often if Timio proves popular with your kids. Although they are large and you get a bag to keep them in, there is a risk that discs will go missing.

For kids aged 2+ years.

Simon Hill

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November 25, 2025
Prime Day speaker deals are still available: Save on JBL, Bose, Ultimate Ears and more
Amazon Prime Day is nearly over, but our audio experts are still sifting through Amazon for bargains on the best smart speakers, soundbars and portable blueetooth speakers. We’re always ready to argue this high-quality speakers are a worthwhile investment, adding new dimensions to any kind of entertainment — and with these deals on top speakers from JBL, Bose, Beats, Marshall and more, there’s no excuse not to upgrade. Whether you’re building a permanent setup for your home theater or chaining portable speakers together to blast dance tunes through an outdoor party venue, we bet you’ll find some deals to love on this curated list.

Best Prime Day bluetooth speaker deals
- JBL Xtreme 2 for $150 (17 percent off): This deal is a great way to get ahold of the JBL Xtreme 2, an old favorite from 2018 we still love. An Xtreme 2 can get louder than you’d expect from a portable speaker, putting out 40 watts at maximum, and stays charged for around 15 hours.
- JBL Flip 6 for $100 (23 percent off): The JBL Flip 6 is a solid choice for an all-around bluetooth speaker, performing well in any room or on the go. It sounds good at almost any frequency and volume, runs for 12 hours on a single charge and is nearly impossible to damage with falls, dust or water.
- JBL Go 3 for $35 (30 percent off): The JBL Go 3 is a decent and highly affordable carabiner speaker for all your outdoor adventures — as is its sister product, the Go 3 Eco, which is made from recycled materials. It’s obviously not the most powerful speaker at 4.2 watts, but it has a surprisingly good functional range. Plus, the design looks good on any belt or backpack.
- Beats Pill for $119 (34 percent off): This Bluetooth speaker from Apple subsidiary Beats earned a score of 83 in our review and currently holds a spot in our buying guide. It’s not the best raw value on the market, and it can struggle at maximum volume, but it generally pumps out strong bass without sounding imbalanced. A stylish and water-resistant design, ample battery life and the ability to play lossless audio over a USB-C cable add to the appeal. This sizable discount matches the lowest price we’ve tracked.
- Ultimate Ears Miniroll for $47 (41 percent off): Miniroll is the smallest speaker from Ultimate Ears, but it punches far above its weight, starting with UE’s trademark massive volume buttons. While small enough to fit in a jeans pocket, its combination of a driver and radiator manages about 85 decibels. A Miniroll can run for about 12 hours on a single charge.
- Ultimate Ears Boom 4 for $95 (37 percent off): The UE Boom 4 is a balanced speaker that does well anywhere. Take it camping (it’s waterproof and a charge lasts for 15 hours), to a party (it puts out loud 360 degree sound) or make it part of a permanent home system by chaining it with other UE speakers — one of these plus two Minirolls or Wonderbooms would come pretty close to full surround sound.
- Ultimate Ears Everboom for $231 (15 percent off): The Everboom is the middle ground of the UE line, with more powerful output than the Wonderboom and more portability than the Hyperboom. Its 360 degree sound pairs with an Outdoor Boost feature to work better outside, though it isn’t quite as impressive in the middle ranges.
- Bose SoundLink Flex for $99 (34 percent off): We’ve rarely seen the Bose SoundLink Flex this cheap, so now is the time to snap up this high-fidelity outdoor speaker. It’s small enough to carry in one hand and can be operated from up to 30 feet away via the Bose Connect app. We’ve also found it simple and fun to use for hands-free phone calls during breaks in the music.
- Bose SoundLink Revolve+ for $179 (40 percent off): The SoundLink Revolve+ line, Bose’s original upright 360-degree speakers, continue to pack a punch. This current model features a 17-hour battery life, IP55 water resistance and the ability to connect to a smart speaker to extend your virtual assistant’s range.
- Bose SoundLink Max for $299 (25 percent off): The Bose SoundLink Max may put you in mind of a classic boombox, with its detachable handle and thudding base. But inside it’s all modern, with a 50-watt output, an effective range of 52.6Hz and a 20-hour rechargeable battery. It even comes with a 3.5mm AUX input to connect to a turntable, if you really want to embrace your inner 90s DJ.
- Anker Soundcore 2 for $28 (38 percent off): This larger speaker doesn’t look like much, but it’s tough, water-resistant and versatile. It’s got a broad range of optimal pitch, effective across 70 Hz from bass to treble, and 12 watts of output. While it’s portable and sounds good outdoors, its wide design means it can also substitute for a soundbar in your home theater.
- Soundcore Select 4 Go for $18 (20 percent off): The Soundcore Select 4 Go weighs only 9.3 ounces, which makes the rest of its specs even more impressive: 20 hours of battery life, IP67 waterproofing and sound that fills rooms. It even sounds pretty good in compact outdoor spaces, more than capable of serenading an outdoor desk or livening up a pool party.
- Soundcore Motion 300 for $56 (30 percent off): The Soundcore Motion 300 is a full-frequency champ, with clean sound in the higher ranges and reasonably heavy bass. Its adaptive audio feature changes output depending on whether the speaker is currently lying down, standing on end or hanging from your belt loop. It’s also small and light enough to carry in your pocket or clip to your backpack.
- Marshall Emberton II for $100 (44 percent off): Marshall, the old warhorse of the audio world, continues to crush it with the portable and bluetooth-ready Emberton II. Although it looks like an antique, it’s anything but, with 360-degree sound and over 30 hours of battery life from a single charge — all weighing a little more than a quarter of a pound.
- Marshall Acton III for $200 (33 percent off): Marshall recently re-engineered the Acton’s speaker setup by angling the tweeters outward. It paid off, especially in the Acton III, which now delivers a pleasingly wide soundscape. At 6.3 pounts, it’s not technically portable, but the design makes it easy to move around — and for the eco-conscious, it’s made of 70 percent recycled materials.
Best Prime Day smart speaker deals
- Amazon Echo Pop for $25 (38 percent off): The Echo Pop is Amazon’s smallest and cheapest smart speaker, resembling an Echo Dot sliced in half. It’s a little quiet, and probably best for extending Alexa’s range rather than serving as the primary host for your virtual assistant. In a smaller room, though, this is as convenient and clear-sounding as any other Echo you’ll use.
- Amazon Echo Spot for $45 (44 percent off): Other than perhaps the Pop, no Amazon Echo fits better on a bedside table than the Spot. Its user-friendly design incorporates both a speaker and a digital display — so it’s recognizable as a classic alarm clock, but with much more information on the screen and far better sound quality. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen it sell for.
- Sonos Era 100 for $180 (10 percent off): The Sonos Era 100 is a fantastic smart speaker for an even better price. It’s not only loud — it also sounds good at any volume, no matter what platform you’re streaming audio from. It can connect via bluetooth or physical lines, and uses TruePlay to tune the sound to your current location using included mics.
- Sonos Era 300 for $379 (21 percent off): In our full review of the Sonos Era 300, we found that it’s easy to set up and sounds incredible. It includes the exciting spatial audio feature that makes music sound like it’s coming from everywhere — while it doesn’t always work, it’s exhilarating when it hits. The Era 300 can even automatically tune sound to your location, and you no longer need an iPhone for this feature to work.
Best Prime Day soundbar deals
- JBL Bar 300 for $250 (38 percent off): The Bar 300, part of JBL’s 2023 soundbar explosion, is a mighty yet cheap soundbar with an integrated subwoofer. Despite being small, it manages to create a theatrical experience by working both Dolby Atmos and MultiBeam. Its voice sharpening algorithm is especially good at making dialogue clearer (for those of us who always have to put on the subtitles).
- Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus for $150 (40 percent off): One of the cheapest soundbars you’ll ever see, the Fire TV Soundbar Plus provides a noticeable boost to your TV’s audio quality, even if it doesn’t reach Dolby Atmos heights. It’s simple, but that makes it a breeze to set up — all you have to do is plug in one HDMI cable.
- Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 for $498 (29 percent off): The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 is part of Sony’s Dolby Atmos soundbar lineup. It stands out from that line as a great entry point, balancing theatrical sound with defined dialogue by adjusting outputs through machine learning. It’s capable of transforming normal stereo into surround sound through automatic up-mixing.
- Roku Streambar for $69 (31 percent off): The Roku Streambar is already affordable, but this deal puts it within anyone’s reach. It’s also economical in terms of space — as we noted in our full review, it’s about the size of an egg carton, but still manages to give off near-surround sound.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/prime-day-speaker-deals-are-still-available-save-on-jbl-bose-ultimate-ears-and-more-083538046.html?src=rss

Sam Chapman

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October 8, 2025
The best Day 2 Prime Day speaker deals: JBL, Bose, Ultimate Ears and more
We’re always ready to argue that high-quality speakers are a worthwhile investment, adding new dimensions to music and dialogue that make any kind of entertainment more enjoyable. Though Prime Day is almost over, our resident audiophiles are still sifting through Amazon for bargains on the best smart speakers, soundbars and portable bluetooth speakers. This October Prime Day, our list of the best deals includes brands like Anker, Bose, JBL, Amazon Echo and more. So if you’re ready to hear when your favorite TV actors are scratching themselves, let’s get started.

Best Prime Day bluetooth speaker deals
- JBL Xtreme 2 for $150 ($30 off): This deal is a great way to get ahold of the JBL Xtreme 2, an old favorite from 2018 we still love. An Xtreme 2 can get louder than you’d expect from a portable speaker, putting out 40 watts at maximum, and stays charged for around 15 hours.
- JBL Flip 6 for $100 ($30 off): The JBL Flip 6 is a solid choice for an all-around bluetooth speaker, performing well in any room or on the go. It sounds good at almost any frequency and volume, runs for 12 hours on a single charge and is nearly impossible to damage with falls, dust or water.
- JBL Go 3 for $35 (30 percent off): The JBL Go 3 is a decent and highly affordable carabiner speaker for all your outdoor adventures — as is its sister product, the Go 3 Eco, which is made from recycled materials. It’s obviously not the most powerful speaker at 4.2 watts, but it has a surprisingly good functional range. Plus, the design looks good on any belt or backpack.
- Beats Pill for $119 (34 percent off): This Bluetooth speaker from Apple subsidiary Beats earned a score of 83 in our review and currently holds a spot in our buying guide. It’s not the best raw value on the market, and it can struggle at maximum volume, but it generally pumps out strong bass without sounding imbalanced. A stylish and water-resistant design, ample battery life and the ability to play lossless audio over a USB-C cable add to the appeal. This sizable discount matches the lowest price we’ve tracked.
- Ultimate Ears Miniroll for $47 (41 percent off): Miniroll is the smallest speaker from Ultimate Ears, but it punches far above its weight, starting with UE’s trademark massive volume buttons. While small enough to fit in a jeans pocket, its combination of a driver and radiator manages about 85 decibels. A Miniroll can run for about 12 hours on a single charge.
- Ultimate Ears Boom 4 for $95 (37 percent off): The UE Boom 4 is a balanced speaker that does well anywhere. Take it camping (it’s waterproof and a charge lasts for 15 hours), to a party (it puts out loud 360 degree sound) or make it part of a permanent home system by chaining it with other UE speakers — one of these plus two Minirolls or Wonderbooms would come pretty close to full surround sound.
- Ultimate Ears Everboom for $231 ($39 off): The Everboom is the middle ground of the UE line, with more powerful output than the Wonderboom and more portability than the Hyperboom. Its 360 degree sound pairs with an Outdoor Boost feature to work better outside, though it isn’t quite as impressive in the middle ranges.
- Bose SoundLink Flex for $99 (34 percent off): We’ve rarely seen the Bose SoundLink Flex this cheap, so now is the time to snap up this high-fidelity outdoor speaker. It’s small enough to carry in one hand and can be operated from up to 30 feet away via the Bose Connect app. We’ve also found it simple and fun to use for hands-free phone calls during breaks in the music.
- Bose SoundLink Revolve+ for $179 (40 percent off): The SoundLink Revolve+ line, Bose’s original upright 360-degree speakers, continue to pack a punch. This current model features a 17-hour battery life, IP55 water resistance and the ability to connect to a smart speaker to extend your virtual assistant’s range.
- Bose SoundLink Max for $299 ($100 off): The Bose SoundLink Max may put you in mind of a classic boombox, with its detachable handle and thudding base. But inside it’s all modern, with a 50-watt output, an effective range of 52.6Hz and a 20-hour rechargeable battery. It even comes with a 3.5mm AUX input to connect to a turntable, if you really want to embrace your inner 90s DJ.
- Anker Soundcore 2 for $28 (38 percent off): This larger speaker doesn’t look like much, but it’s tough, water-resistant and versatile. It’s got a broad range of optimal pitch, effective across 70 Hz from bass to treble, and 12 watts of output. While it’s portable and sounds good outdoors, its wide design means it can also substitute for a soundbar in your home theater.
- Soundcore Select 4 Go for $18 (20 percent off): The Soundcore Select 4 Go weighs only 9.3 ounces, which makes the rest of its specs even more impressive: 20 hours of battery life, IP67 waterproofing and sound that fills rooms. It even sounds pretty good in compact outdoor spaces, more than capable of serenading an outdoor desk or livening up a pool party.
- Soundcore Motion 300 for $56 (30 percent off): The Soundcore Motion 300 is a full-frequency champ, with clean sound in the higher ranges and reasonably heavy bass. Its adaptive audio feature changes output depending on whether the speaker is currently lying down, standing on end or hanging from your belt loop. It’s also small and light enough to carry in your pocket or clip to your backpack.
- Marshall Emberton II for $100 (44 percent off): Marshall, the old warhorse of the audio world, continues to crush it with the portable and bluetooth-ready Emberton II. Although it looks like an antique, it’s anything but, with 360-degree sound and over 30 hours of battery life from a single charge — all weighing a little more than a quarter of a pound.
- Marshall Acton III for $200 ($100 off): Marshall recently re-engineered the Acton’s speaker setup by angling the tweeters outward. It paid off, especially in the Acton III, which now delivers a pleasingly wide soundscape. At 6.3 pounts, it’s not technically portable, but the design makes it easy to move around — and for the eco-conscious, it’s made of 70 percent recycled materials.
Best Prime Day smart speaker deals
- Amazon Echo Pop for $25 (38 percent off): The Echo Pop is Amazon’s smallest and cheapest smart speaker, resembling an Echo Dot sliced in half. It’s a little quiet, and probably best for extending Alexa’s range rather than serving as the primary host for your virtual assistant. In a smaller room, though, this is as convenient and clear-sounding as any other Echo you’ll use.
- Amazon Echo Spot for $45 (44 percent off): Other than perhaps the Pop, no Amazon Echo fits better on a bedside table than the Spot. Its user-friendly design incorporates both a speaker and a digital display — so it’s recognizable as a classic alarm clock, but with much more information on the screen and far better sound quality. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen it sell for.
- Sonos Era 100 for $180 ($20 off): The Sonos Era 100 is a fantastic smart speaker for an even better price. It’s not only loud — it also sounds good at any volume, no matter what platform you’re streaming audio from. It can connect via bluetooth or physical lines, and uses TruePlay to tune the sound to your current location using included mics.
- Sonos Era 300 for $379 ($100 off): In our full review of the Sonos Era 300, we found that it’s easy to set up and sounds incredible. It includes the exciting spatial audio feature that makes music sound like it’s coming from everywhere — while it doesn’t always work, it’s exhilarating when it hits. The Era 300 can even automatically tune sound to your location, and you no longer need an iPhone for this feature to work.
Best Prime Day soundbar deals
- JBL Bar 300 for $250 (38 percent off): The Bar 300, part of JBL’s 2023 soundbar explosion, is a mighty yet cheap soundbar with an integrated subwoofer. Despite being small, it manages to create a theatrical experience by working both Dolby Atmos and MultiBeam. Its voice sharpening algorithm is especially good at making dialogue clearer (for those of us who always have to put on the subtitles).
- Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus for $150 (40 percent off): One of the cheapest soundbars you’ll ever see, the Fire TV Soundbar Plus provides a noticeable boost to your TV’s audio quality, even if it doesn’t reach Dolby Atmos heights. It’s simple, but that makes it a breeze to set up — all you have to do is plug in one HDMI cable.
- Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 for $498 ($202 off): The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 is part of Sony’s Dolby Atmos soundbar lineup. It stands out from that line as a great entry point, balancing theatrical sound with defined dialogue by adjusting outputs through machine learning. It’s capable of transforming normal stereo into surround sound through automatic up-mixing.
- Roku Streambar for $69 (31 percent off): The Roku Streambar is already affordable, but this deal puts it within anyone’s reach. It’s also economical in terms of space — as we noted in our full review, it’s about the size of an egg carton, but still manages to give off near-surround sound.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/the-best-day-2-prime-day-speaker-deals-jbl-bose-ultimate-ears-and-more-083538729.html?src=rss

Sam Chapman

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October 8, 2025
The best Prime Day speaker deals: JBL, Bose, Ultimate Ears and more

JBL designed the 9.1 soundbar for Dolby Atmos, and the results speak for themselves, with 820 watts of booming audio. The best thing about this soundbar is the pair of detachable wireless speakers you can place around your viewing room to make the sound even more surround.

Sam Chapman

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October 8, 2025
Amazon Echo Dot Max and Studio Hands-On: Do You Need an Army of Echo Speakers?

Amazon’s Echo speakers have never been my smart speaker of choice, but for lots of people—like lots and lots of people—they are. Because of the sheer volume of Echo speakers in the world (no pun intended), when Amazon releases a new Echo product, it’s kind of a big deal—that’s regardless of whether the generation is iterative or not.

The same applies to Amazon’s just-released Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max, which debut at $220 and $100, respectively. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly wowed with what I saw at Amazon’s event, but I did get to listen to them myself, and… they sound pretty good! That’s not an exciting impression of a product, but that’s the most I have to go off of with a gadget that I only got to watch someone else use in a limited capacity.

The crux of what I got to experience was based on showcasing audio improvements between generations. Specifically, I got to listen to a 5th-gen Echo Dot compared to Amazon’s new Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio, and the experience was predictably drastic. There’s a big difference between the 5th-gen Echo Dot and the Echo Dot Max, with the latter putting out a lot more bass and more volume. I can see the Echo Dot Max being a solid option for someone who wants the benefits of a smart speaker with Alexa+ but has limited space and still wants a smart speaker that’s serviceable for playing music.

© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The jump between the Echo Dot Max and the Echo Studio is equally as drastic. While the former smart speaker has two drivers and a woofer, the Echo Studio has three, as well as a woofer. The result is a bigger sound with a wider “soundstage,” which is to say, you can hear a lot more nuance in your music. The Echo Studio also has a secret weapon compared to the Echo Dot Max, which is spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. In a demo after Amazon’s keynote, I got to listen to the Echo Studio briefly, and it did a good job of filling a medium-ish room with sound that felt a cut above what you’d get on the Echo Dot Max. There’s definitely more dimensionality compared to Amazon’s smaller speaker, and that capability is highlighted even further when you use one of Amazon’s newest features, Alexa Home Theater.

Alexa Home Theater, which Amazon also announced today, allows you to pair together multiple Echo Dot Maxes or Echo Dot Studios (up to five of each) and one subwoofer if you choose to create a spatial home theater system. The result is wild. I got to experience a couple of things with Amazon’s Alexa Home Theater feature, which, in this case, was using five Echo Studios. The first was spatial music (Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”), which was fun.

I was told by Amazon that the track we listened to wasn’t a special one that was tuned by Dolby Atmos specifically for spatial audio, but it still sounded “3D,” bouncing sound from one corner of the room to another during the song’s intro. I’ve had some pretty wild spatial audio experiences in my day, including one inside a Maybach at CES, and while this wasn’t quite as immersive as that, it still sounded nuanced and fairly high fidelity.

© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The second experience with Alexa Home Theater was watching a movie (a scene from Ready Player One), which also sounded decent, though I didn’t get quite the same dimension from the demo as I did in the spatial music demo. Maybe it was the way people were situated in the room, potentially blocking some of the speakers, or maybe the movie just wasn’t as well-suited for the setup, but I didn’t get quite the same experience—the sound was still big, but just not as 3D as the music demo.

Either way, though, I’m not sure that many people are going to be using Alexa Home Theater. The idea of buying that many Echo Studio speakers for a home theater setup is… a little much. At $220 a pop, you’re talking about an $1,100 package (if you’re using the max five speakers) before tax. For that price, you could get a fairly nice home theater system from brands like Klipsch, which, yes, may involve a more complicated setup process, but also offers a more dedicated home theater experience compared to a bunch of Echo speakers.

A big part of your decision to buy a new Echo speaker or not may hinge on your interest in Alexa+ and on that front, I didn’t get a very full preview. An Amazon representative demoed Alexa+ by asking the voice assistant to find a specific scene in a movie (again, Ready Player One), but I didn’t get to test that feature for myself, so I can’t tell you if it works as intended. Without a good read on how Alexa+ works, I can at least tell you that the Echo hardware does feel upgraded, so if you’re looking for a boost to volume, bass, and 3D sound, it’s worth considering an upgrade. If you’re satisfied with your current Echo speakers, however, I don’t think you need to rush out and buy a new black orb to yell at just yet. We all know they’re going to be on sale for Prime Day soon anyway.

Both Echo devices are available for preorder today, and U.S. customers get Alexa+ in early access. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio will both be available for purchase on Oct. 29.

James Pero

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September 30, 2025
As Apple pursues AI, spare a thought for the poor HomePod

When the video kicking off Apple’s began yesterday, I was pleased to see a HomePod in the opening shot. I hadn’t given any thought to Apple’s beleaguered smart home speaker in ages, so I was all set for Tim Cook and crew to deliver an actual surprise and reveal new stuff for HomePod. When the entire presentation then passed without another peep about the product, I was disappointed, but resigned.

HomePod has always been behind the curve. When smart speakers first came on the scene, the sector was quickly dominated by Amazon and Google, with Sonos as the boutique third-party option. Apple the HomePod in June 2017, almost three years after Amazon its original Echo speaker.

The HomePod arrived too slow and cost too much, and (in an echo of the company’s current woes) Siri was too unhelpful, for the smart speaker to really claw back much market share from its rivals. The Mini iteration came out in late 2020, and the second-generation HomePod in February 2023 added support for Thread smart home standard. Not exactly pushing the boundaries of smart speaker innovation.

And things got worse for the poor HomePod as voice-controlled AI assistants have transitioned away from being centered around dedicated speakers. AI is now being integrated ever-more tightly into our smartphones and computers, with less need for a separate intermediary device. Which brings us to the ongoing issue of Apple’s shaky foothold in the AI race.

Apple has been promising a big overhaul to Siri for awhile, with the new and improved version currently not due until . To show off that new AI assistant, Apple is reportedly working on an that is expected to have HomePod-like audio capabilities baked in, but won’t be ready for launch until . What’s a company to do in the interim?

It makes sense for Apple to hold back on any big developments to its existing Siri-centric smart home speaker. I get it. But I could have been hyped to see a stripped down HomePod that focused more on being a speaker than on being smart. I have a Sonos that I love, and part of me assumed that I would eventually upgrade to an Apple offering. The AirPods are such a great element in the Apple ecosystem, and I use mine almost daily. Having a powerful, high-quality home speaker that delivers the easy interconnectivity that’s such a big part of Apple’s value proposition might have helped bridge the time gap, keeping Apple in people’s minds as a player in home tech while the company works on its next, more innovative move. Take one step back to take three steps forward.

In practice, though, it feels like the window for the HomePod to become a star in Apple’s lineup has shrunk to almost nothing. As I now look at the recent trends in AI and home tech, I don’t see an obvious space for a smart speaker. That’s not limited to Apple; it’s also pretty telling that both Amazon and Google haven’t been giving much love to their smart speakers either. In fact, a majority of this year are from specialist Sonos as the big tech names have put their focus on AI instead of audio. We’ll still have smart speakers, but they’ll be folded into multi-purpose gadgets and pitched as general smart-home aids.

To be clear, there’s been no indication that Apple will sunset the HomePod. But my personal prediction is that HomePod will stay on the sidelines for now and get pushed even farther away from the spotlight when the new smart home products are unveiled, receiving only occasional attention until Apple officially and quietly pulls the plug for good. And so will end the life of a star-crossed product that never got the chance to shine at its full potential. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.

Anna Washenko

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September 10, 2025
The best smart home gadgets for 2025

Turning your house into a smart home is easier — and more useful — than ever. From automating your lights and climate to securing your front door, smart home tech has come a long way in making everyday life more convenient, energy-efficient and secure. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to upgrade your setup, there are plenty of gadgets that work seamlessly together to make your home feel a little more futuristic.

The best smart home gadgets can help you control everything from your light switch to your smart thermostat with a tap on your smartphone or a quick voice control command. Whether you’re setting routines with a motion sensor, managing entry with a smart lock, or keeping an eye on things with a full security system, modern home automation puts you in charge — often with options for remote control when you’re away.

Table of contents

Best smart home gadgets for 2025: Smart speakers

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Our recommendation for the best smart speaker is the Sonos Era 100. It’s compact enough to fit in most areas in your home, but more importantly, it delivers excellent audio quality that’s superior to a lot of other smart speakers out there. When tuned properly to the acoustics of your room — which requires the iPhone app — the sound is fantastic, with punchy bass and clear highs. Unfortunately, the Android app doesn’t have TruePlay tuning (Sonos has not said whether it’s in the works), but the speakers should still sound admirable. It’s also compatible with a slew of streaming services to play music, including major ones like Spotify and Pandora.

The main benefit that a Sonos speaker brings over the competition is that it’s a gateway to a multi-room audio setup that you can build out over time. It’s also convenient if you plan on building a home theater setup later on, as the Era 100 integrates well with Sonos soundbars.

$249 at Sonos

Amazon

For those with tighter budgets, there are a handful of smart speakers around $100. We recommend picking up one of the three latest smart speakers from either Google, Amazon or Apple. Out of the three, we think the Echo has the best audio quality. Our colleague Nate Ingraham said its bass is impressive and the mid-range frequencies are pretty powerful. You can also pair two together to get even better stereo sound.

That said, the Nest Audio and HomePod mini are no slouches either. The HomePod mini sounds balanced, while the Nest Audio has pretty good bass tones. Again, it all comes down to which assistant you prefer.

$100 at Amazon

Best smart home gadgets for 2025: Smart displays

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

The best Alexa-powered smart display is the Echo Show 8. The Echo Show 5 is a little too small, while the Echo Show 10 and its rotating screen take up too much space. The Echo Show 8, on the other hand, is perfectly sized for a living room and most other rooms in the house. Like other Alexa-powered smart displays, it supports plenty of video streaming services including Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix and it comes with a couple of built-in browsers that you can use to surf the web on its touchscreen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support YouTube, which is a pretty notable omission considering how ubiquitous the service is. As a workaround, you can access it via the aforementioned browsers, but the experience isn’t as smooth as if it were a native app.

You can use the Show 8 to make video calls with any phone or tablet with the Alexa app. Alternatively, it supports Skype, Zoom and Amazon’s own Chime service. Like the Nest Hub Max, the Show 8 also has an optional face-tracking feature that follows your movements around the room during a call.

$150 at Amazon

Google

Our favorite Google-powered smart display is the second-generation Nest Hub. It has a 7-inch screen, which makes it just big enough to fit in most rooms in the house. The size also makes it work well as a digital photo frame. You can set it up to pull in pictures of friends and family from your Google Photos library, and there’s a smart algorithm that automatically uses the best shots while avoiding the blurry ones. As you might expect, you can also use the display to watch YouTube, Netflix and other streaming services.

Plus, a smart display without a camera is great if you want to place it in more intimate places like the bedroom, where you might be more protective of your privacy. If you place it by your bedside, the Nest Hub also has a sensor that can track your sleep patterns, if you opt in.

If you prefer a display with a camera, we recommend splurging on the higher-end Nest Hub Max. Its built-in camera can be used for video calls with Google Duo, Google Meet and Zoom. This smart gadget also has an optional face-tracking feature that lets the camera follow you around during calls. One benefit of the camera is that it gives you the option for Face Match, a feature that automatically recognizes individual members of the house and then displays the information that’s pertinent only to them, like calendar alerts.

Additionally, the camera adds a unique gestures feature that lets you play and pause media simply by holding up your hand to the screen, which is convenient if you need to stop the music without having to shout across the room. The Google Nest Hub Max also has better audio quality than the Hub thanks to its larger speakers.

$88 at Walmart

Best smart home gadgets for 2025: Smart lights

Philips Hue

One of the easiest ways to introduce smart home technology into your home is to swap out your existing light bulbs with smart ones. Smart light bulbs let you control your lighting remotely, either via an app (via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) or with your voice. They add automation and scheduling to the mix, so you can have them turn on and off at certain times of the day. Some also let you adjust the smart bulb’s brightness and color temperature, or even let you create a custom light scene.

Our favorite smart lighting products come from Philips Hue, and the White and Color Ambiance LED Smart Button Starter Kit is a particularly good entry point as it includes three Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance 60W LED smart bulbs; a Hue hub that lets you control up to 50 lights; and a Smart Button if you want to have the option of turning off the lights without having your phone around.

This kit offers lots of versatility in lighting styles; you can change not just the brightness of the smart light bulb but also the color temperature and experiment with all different shades of the rainbow, decking out your room in whatever light scene you desire. If that seems a little too daring, Philips offers alternatives: The Hue White Ambiance Starter Kit lacks the color option, while the Hue White Starter Kit won’t let you adjust the color temperature.

The main reason we prefer Philips Hue bulbs is that they’re widely supported across smart home ecosystems. Not only can you find them pretty much anywhere, but they’ll work with Google, Amazon and Apple’s HomeKit. Since all the bulbs connect to the Hue hub via the Zigbee protocol (and not your home’s WiFi), it tends to be more reliable and it won’t slow down your home internet connection either.

$189 at Amazon

Kasa Smart

TP-Link makes a bunch of affordable IoT gadgets and we liked the Kasa Smart WiFi light bulbs enough to name them our favorite budget devices in our smart lights guide. They’re easy to install and remain reliably connected, plus their companion mobile app is clean and easy to use. These are full-color smart bulbs and we like how changing up the color of your lights is as easy as dragging your finger around a color wheel in the app. Of course, you can stick with different temperatures of white light too, adjusting from warm to cool as needed.

You can also set schedules, allowing your lights to turn on and off at specific times throughout the day, and the app’s “usage” section shows you each bulb’s energy use over time, plus an estimate of how much energy you’re saving by using a smart light instead of a regular one. Ultimately, we like how much value these bulbs pack into an attractive price tag — a four-pack typically costs $40, but you can sometimes find it on sale for as low as $30.

$27 at Amazon

Best smart home gadgets for 2025: Security cameras

Blink

Blink’s latest wireless security cameras may be named “outdoor,” but they’re some of the best to use as home security for both the interior and exterior of your home. These battery-powered cameras run on two AA cells, so you can place them anywhere you want, and they have a battery life of around two years before the cells need replacing. Blink Outdoor 4 home security cameras are weather resistant and support night vision, motion detection and two-way audio. You can store clips in the cloud via the Blink Subscription Plan or you can also save events locally to a Sync Module 2 via a USB flash drive (sold separately). Unfortunately, Blink works with Alexa only, which could be a non-starter for some.

$45 at Amazon

Arlo

If you want a camera specifically for your front door, a doorbell camera makes more sense than a standalone option. We like the latest Arlo Video Doorbell 2K, which is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. It delivers high-quality 2K footage along with a 180-degree view so you can see a person from head to toe and it can ring your phone with a video call whenever someone rings the bell. There’s also two-way audio so you can talk to whoever’s at the door.

A highlight of this doorbell is that it comes with a 30-day trial to Arlo’s Secure subscription service, which includes a motion detection feature that can tell the difference between a person, package, vehicle or animal. Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar said that he really appreciated the package alerts when he tested out a previous version of the doorbell; it did a good job of telling him whenever UPS dropped off a box. It’s such a useful feature, in fact, that we recommend keeping the service beyond the trial period.

In addition to the improved 2K video resolution, the latest Arlo Video Doorbell includes an integrated siren, enhanced night vision, an IP65-rated design and the ability to install it wired or wirelessly. There’s also an HD version that’s a bit cheaper (the 2K model typically goes for $130, but you can snag the HD version for only $80) if you want to save some money upfront.

$60 at Amazon

Best smart home gadgets for 2025: IoT gear

iRobot

This model is an updated version of the Roomba 694, a previous favorite budget robot vacuum. Not much has changed here aside from a few design tweaks that result in a simplified silhouette and a larger battery. Otherwise, you’re still getting an excellent, entry-level robot vacuum that has powerful suction for the price, smart navigation for more efficient cleaning and app connectivity. iRobot’s app is really easy to use for luddites and the tech savvy alike. And just in case you don’t have access to the app — maybe you left your phone in another room, for example — this Roomba has a couple of on-device buttons for quick controls.

One of the reasons this model cleans so well is that it has a three-stage system that tells it to suck up dirt while also navigating around obstacles. When it encounters an especially filthy area, it focuses in on it, making sure it’s clean before moving on. You can also manually instruct it to clean a specific spot in case you need it. And if you prefer to talk to your robot vacuum cleaner, this Wi-Fi-connected Roomba works well with both Alexa.

$71 at Amazon

Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Read our full review of the Roomba Combo j9+

The Roomba Combo j9+ has everything we want in a combination robotic vacuum and mop. It offers incredibly powerful suction, deep floor scrubbing and a slew of smarts to avoid obstacles (including cat and dog poop!). It’s a better vacuum than its predecessor, the Roomba Combo j7+, and it also features a new Clean Base that can automatically refill its liquid tank. More than any Roomba before it, the Combo j9+ can make your floors sparkly clean with very little intervention on your part.

While it’s expensive, the Roomba Combo j9+ certainly beats paying for a professional cleaning service. It’s one of the best robotic vacuums and mops for pet owners, especially for its ability to avoid pet waste. In fact, if the j9+ ends up making a poopy mess due to cat or dog droppings, iRobot will send you a replacement unit for free. (That offer only works for the first year, and it only applies to solid waste from cats and dogs, but it’s still a helpful guarantee for pet owners afraid of the havoc that a robo-vac might wreak.)

The Roomba Combo j9+ features home mapping and can accurately map your home far faster than any previous Roomba, and you can also use the iRobot app to specify room borders. You can also create cleaning routines and label objects to help it clean exactly where you’d like. The j9+ works with smart assistants from Amazon and Google as well, so you can just shout out cleaning requests to your smart speaker. While it’s not a completely magical cleaning robot – you’ll still need to clear up your floors to help it run well – it’s certainly the closest we’ve seen yet to the ideal robotic vacuum and mop for whole-home deep cleaning. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Reporter

$461 at Amazon

Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

Smart plugs are the easiest way to add a bit of connectivity to your home without spending a ton of money. Connect your regular non-smart lamp and voila, it’s internet connected and you didn’t have to spend a fortune. The best one we’ve tried is from TP-Link: the Kasa Smart Plug Mini. Out of all of the smart plugs we tested, this one was the only plug that provided a truly seamless experience from the jump. It was easy to set up, thanks in part to the Kasa mobile app’s clean and intuitive UI, and it supports all of the features you’d expect from a smart plug: timers, schedules, vacation mode and custom scenes. The updated version of the Smart Plug Mini supports HomeKit in addition to Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings, so it should fit into any existing smart home ecosystem you have.

$37 at Amazon

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

TP-Link’s Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6 router system strikes a good balance of user-friendliness and power. The three-pack contains a trio of unassuming white columns that provide up to 7,200 square feet of Wi-Fi 6 coverage, which should make it enough (and possibly even overkill) for most homes. The system offers try-band speed with a dedicated Wi-Fi 6 band that you can use as either a dedicated backhaul or a network for you to directly connect your Wi-Fi 6 devices. In our testing, we found the setup to be painless and the connection to be stable and reliable. On top of that, the tree-pack is adequately priced, especially compared to some overpriced and overpowered competitors out there.

$250 at Amazon

How to pick the right voice assistant before you buy smart gadgets

While plenty of the best smart home devices are platform agnostic, there are some — smart speakers and smart displays in particular — that require you to choose your voice control assistant. Currently, that means deciding if you’ll use the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa on a regular basis (I’ll address Siri in a moment.)

They’re both compatible with various smart home tech products from light switches and bulbs to robot vacuums, but there are certain devices that work best with either Google or Amazon. Nest products, for example, are more compatible and have more functionality with Google-powered speakers and displays. They can still work with Amazon devices, but certain features might be disabled. The same holds true with Amazon products: They work better if they’re in the same ecosystem.

Amazon Alexa

So how do you choose between Alexa and Google Assistant? It really depends on your personal preferences. Do you listen to Audible, watch Prime Video and tend to do a lot of shopping on Amazon? Then you might lean toward an Alexa-powered home automation setup. Alexa supports a wide range of devices — including smart locks, smart thermostats and motion sensors — and many of its speakers and displays include remote control functionality for lights, plugs and other smart gear.

Google Assistant

If you want a voice assistant that’s great at answering questions, Google Assistant tends to be better than Alexa. Amazon’s helper, on the other hand, currently supports more smart home products. The company’s smart speakers and displays also support the Zigbee smart home protocol, and some devices even have built-in smart home hubs. Both Google and Amazon devices can sync with your calendar, though Google’s tend to work better with Google services. Plus, if you already have an Android smartphone, you might be more comfortable with Google Assistant anyway.

Siri

But what about Siri? Apple’s assistant supports voice control as well, but it doesn’t have as many compatible devices as Google or Amazon. The HomePod mini and the full-sized HomePod are the only Siri-compatible speakers on the market at the moment, too. That said, it’s not too hard to find Apple HomeKit-compatible gear as more third-party companies add support for it, but you currently have a smaller pool of devices to choose from.

Nicole Lee,Valentina Palladino

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September 1, 2025
The Best Google Assistant Speakers for Your Home

There are several voice assistants locked in a tug-of-war over who controls the smart speakers in your home: Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. We prefer Google. Its Assistant answers questions more accurately, has a simpler setup process, and connects to a growing number of smart home devices. All the devices below have built-in Google Assistant, so you can ask it anything you’d search for on Google, or ask it to control smart home products like robot vacuums, smart plugs, lights, and TVs.

Be sure to check out our handy guide on how to maintain your privacy as much as possible while still enjoying the luxuries of smart assistants. We also have many other buying guides, including the Best Smart Displays, Best Smart Speakers, and Best Alexa Speakers.

Updated May 2024: We’ve updated this guide with details about Google’s AI script editor for Google Home, and we’ve added notes about using Google with Sonos.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Nena Farrell , Medea Giordano

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May 26, 2024
The Best Smart Speakers With Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri

Connects to Google Assistant.

Best Smart Soundbar

With a wireless subwoofer, room-filling virtual surround sound, and Amazon’s Alexa onboard, the Yamaha YAS-209 is the best smart soundbar you can buy right now. It’s compatible with Spotify Connect and has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, which makes it a great speaker for all-around listening in your living room.

Connects to Alexa.

★ Alternative: The Sonos Beam soundbar ($499) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is another good option. It isn’t our absolute favorite soundbar for the money, but it has Alexa, Google Assistant, and Airplay support (with some Siri) out of the box.

Best Google Assistant Smart Display

Smart displays are great in a few different parts of the home, like the kitchen or an entryway, but might go mostly unused. The Google Pixel Tablet (7/10, WIRED Recommends) fixes that by marrying a tablet and a smart display into one handy device. The 11-inch tablet sits on the included Docking Station to turn it into a smart display, appearing almost identical to the Google Nest Hub Max, and you simply pop it off the display to turn it back into a tablet. (There may be a slight learning curve to properly disengaging it from the magnet base.)

Popping it onto the dock activates the tablet’s Hub Mode, and you can customize the display to either show your Google Photos or select one of the fun clock designs. You can easily control smart home devices by tapping the Google Home icon on the lock screen, which will pull up an overlay of your favorite smart home devices to let you control them and and check camera feeds on doorbells and Wi-Fi cameras. This feature is only available while docked, so your camera feeds are safe from strangers if you take the tablet out and about with you.

The Pixel Tablet is now our current favorite smart display for a number of other reasons. The dock’s built-in speakers have robust sound with surprisingly decent bass, so you can jam while you’re in the kitchen or the living room. There’s also multiuser support that lets you add up to eight accounts, each of which can have custom apps, layouts, and wallpapers all protected by fingerprint, so the whole family can use this device without infringing on one another.

If you don’t want to splurge on getting both a tablet and a smart display, the Nest Hub Max (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is still a great option with similar features, a large screen, and pretty impressive speakers considering the slim profile.

Connects to Google Assistant.

Best Alexa Smart Display

The Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) keeps everything we liked about the previous model, but adds the features we like on Amazon’s pricier Echo Show displays. For the new kicks, the third-gen Show 8 gains a smart home hub that works with Zigbee, Matter, and Thread devices, and it has spatial audio capabilities (though not all music services can take advantage of this feature). It also gains widgets, which allow you to put little Post-It-sized shortcuts on your screen to things like your favorite smart home devices, calendar, or even a little digital sticky note. On the Echo Show 8 these don’t always show up, as they’re part of the display’s content rotation, but they’re fun and handy when they do.

Besides that, the Show 8 still has great sound and a perfect-size screen for seeing the weather and reading recipes without hogging too much counter or tablespace. It’s easy to control your music and smart home devices, watch videos, and get content like sports scores and weather alerts right on the screen. The 13-MP camera lets you take video calls and doubles as a security camera, or as a way to video call your family within the house.

Parker Hall, Nena Farrell

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May 25, 2024
The Best Speakers to Buy in 2024

If you’re looking to fill your life with more sound, there’s nothing like a good speaker. After thorough testing, we have a reliable list of the best speakers you can buy in 2024. Our list includes everything from $60 portable ones to $450 lounge speakers. It also covers a variety of use cases — from music production to easy listening in the shower.

The editorial staff of Gizmodo independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyer’s Guides. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, G/O Media may earn a commission. Affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.

Best Portable Speakers — Sonos Roam

Photo: Victoria Song / Gizmodo

If you’re new to Sonos and unsure about committing to this pricey speaker ecosystem, I’d say the Roam is the best option to see if the whole Sonos thing is your vibe. The $169 Roam may be the cheapest Sonos speaker. Not only is it relatively affordable, but even if the smart features aren’t your jam, at least you still have a great portable Bluetooth speaker.

At 6.6 inches long and 2.4 inches wide, the Roam is small enough to fit in your hand easily. Its triangular shape and matte finish also feel natural when you’re toting it around. It weighs in at slightly less than a pound, which feels substantial enough in your grip, but it’s not so heavy that you’re tempted to leave it at home. When you’re not moving around, you can stack it either vertically to save room or horizontally for more stability.

In terms of durability, the Roam is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. I stuck it in a bowl of water for 30 minutes, and while it sprayed water all over my kitchen counter, it still worked afterward. It’ll be fine if you get caught in a downpour or accidentally knock it into a pool. Just don’t dilly dally when retrieving it. Read More — Victoria Song

Best Budget Speakers — Sony SRS-XB13

Photo: Victoria Song / Gizmodo

The criteria for portable Bluetooth speakers are not complicated. They’ve got to be easy to carry, sound decent, and not get trashed if you have butterfingers or get caught in the rain. The Sony SRS-XB13 ticks off all these boxes. It’s not without flaws, and you’ll have to compromise. But considering it’s only $60? It’s easy to forgive its shortcomings.

The XB13 is actually portable. It’s a tiny, squat lil guy, measuring 3.43 by 3.43 by 4.41 inches. In-person, the speaker is way tinier than I thought it would be when Sony initially sent over the official images. It also weighs a mere 11.7 ounces, which is noticeably lighter than the Sonos Roam (15 ounces). It also has a removable strap so you can easily hook it onto a bag or off a tree branch—whatever, I’m not judging. Also, it fits in a cup holder for road trips!

It has an IP67 rating and did not die when I purposefully dropped it into a pool. So there’s that. Long story short, this speaker is ideal if you’re on a budget, spend a lot of time outside, or are particularly clumsy. Read More — Victoria Song

Best Smart Lounge Speakers — JBL Authentics 300

Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo

Considering this is the first-ever speaker to feature both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s probably the smartest speaker you can get your hands on. Not only does it feature both assistants, it does it incredibly well. It’s impressive how seamlessly the Authentics 300 manages to juggle both while some speakers struggle to get even a single assistant to work flawlessly.

This speaker is gorgeous and justifies its $450 price tag. You get a premium leather-coated body with subtle golden accents on the front. There’s also a helpful handle for easy portability. Though, at around 11 lbs, it’s better suited as a lounge speaker that lives in one place. It lasts around 8 hours on a full charge, though, so if you ever need to move it for an event briefly, you can do that without having an ugly cable sticking out of it.

This speaker means it when it claims that it will fill your space with music. Its sound carries immense power and is always more than enough for my two-bedroom apartment. It never sounds muddy, even at higher volumes, and retains that strength regardless of how much pressure you put it in.

I saved the best for the last. You can (low-key) DJ on this by tweaking your music in real time. Thanks to a pair of huge bass and Treble dials on the top of this speaker, you can customize exactly how much low and high end you want and on which track. My friends and I sometimes like to constantly play around with them during tracks for a fun and hands-on listening experience. I can promise you that the dials work and aren’t just a marketing gimmick. In fact, maxing out the bass will make your entire floor vibrate.

Best Studio Speakers — Pioneer DJ VM-80

Photo: John Biggs / Gizmodo

These speakers scream that they’re studio monitors. They have an 8-inch woofer and standard tweeter ensconced inside an unusual oval cone that works to shape the sound. Bass response is excellent and the resulting stereo projection of having two of these in a close position to your mixing desk or computer is amazing. They are big at 15.5 inches high and 13 inches deep and weigh a hefty 21.38 lb.

I tested it using a number of song genres, from techno to jazz. Playing these songs through the VM-80 was like running a DJ booth in my attic office. I had excellent reproduction through most volume levels, and even at max volume, the sound wasn’t muddy or confused. Read More — John Biggs

Best Speaker for Apple Households — Sonos Era 300

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The Sonos Era 300 is an impressive speaker, even at its eye-popping price point. But don’t think about it unless you’re in an Apple-dominant household.

It has one forward-firing tweeter routed through what the company calls a “custom waveguide” and one tweeter firing upward so that sound bounces off the ceiling. There are also two side-firing tweeters, one on each side, plus two woofers underneath those. I was impressed by the speaker’s ability to thump through deep bass while listening to techno with the volume up high.

I compared the Sonos Era 300 to the discontinued Google Home Max. I also listened to it against the second-gen Apple HomePod, which is not as loud as the Era 300, though it has similar specs (five tweeters and one woofer vs four tweeters and two woofers). In almost all cases, I preferred the way the Era 300 sounded to the aging Home Max and the second-gen HomePod.

But with no Google Cast integration, this speaker doesn’t make a lot of sense in a Google-led household. I would have to rebuild my entire smart ecosystem to integrate the Sonos Era 300—and even then, it would only work with the few AirPlay-capable devices rather than the mass of Google cast devices I have throughout my abode. Read More — Florence Ion

Best Shower Speakers — Kohler Moxie Showerhead + Wireless Speaker

Photo: Victoria Song / Gizmodo

Suppose you’re willing to splurge just a little bit or can split the cost with roommates/a significant other. In that case, the Kohler Moxie is actually a convenient way to get a nicer showerhead and a good quality shower speaker in one easily installed package.

Initially, I was nervous about installation, but it was so easy that even a disaster-prone klutz could do it. All you have to do is unscrew your current showerhead and screw this one on. That’s it!

The speaker’s sound quality was also pretty good, which, in retrospect, shouldn’t have been super surprising as it’s the result of a partnership with Harman Kardon. Once I enabled Amazon Alexa, asking Alexa to play a certain artist or playlist was very easy. Sometimes, it struggled with less common names, but for the most part, Alexa got the job done. It was also nice that I could ask what events were on my calendar or opt for a little news update.

However, if it creeps you out that some Amazon stooge is listening to you in the shower, know you can use this speaker without ever enabling Alexa. Read More — Victoria Song

This list is updated regularly with new recommendations and product forecasts.

Want more of Gizmodo’s latest consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best laptops, best TVs, and best headphones. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 16.

Dua Rashid

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April 17, 2024