10 best smart speakers, 2019 ranking * Technics

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Remember when the idea of a fully automated smart home seemed like science fiction? Well, maybe we don't have butler robots yet, but many have at least a few smart home products. And one of the most popular of them are smart speakers (they are also smart speakers).

These are speakers with built-in smart features and AI-based voice assistants.

In this rating, we will talk about all the advantages and disadvantages of smart speakers on the Russian market, and help you choose the best one.

10. Sonos One (Amazon Alexa)

The average price is 18 390 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
Amazon Alexa's built-in voice assistant
Interfaces: AirPlay, Wi-Fi, LAN
dimensions (WxHxD) 120x161x120 mm

The debut smart speaker Alexa Sonos is a multifunctional device that combines the best of both ecosystems.

On the one hand, you will have an ever-improving Amazon Alexa assistant, and on the other, Sonos with its unrivaled sound quality.

The mixing device also has a new feature that promises to change the game in the market for smart speakers: AirPlay 2. With it, Sonos One can communicate with Siri and form a multi-room connection with Apple HomePod, which makes it the most versatile speaker in the list.

You will need to use English to interact with the voice assistant. This may be a problem, but small. After all, this device is mainly focused on playing music, and it’s easy to remember the list of basic commands, for example “Play Spotify” or “Stop Music”. Yes, and with the help of the mobile application Sonos One is effortlessly integrated into the smart home system by the user.

pros: in the mobile application there is a sound calibration depending on the room, the best sound from all smart speakers, you can connect streaming services or index music from a cloud or local storage.

Minuses: high price, Alexa features are slightly cut compared to other Amazon smart speakers.

9. Amazon Echo Dot 3nd Gen

The average price is 5,490 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
Amazon Alexa's built-in voice assistant
Bluetooth
headphone output
dimensions (WxHxD) 99x43x99 mm

This small and inexpensive smart speaker is designed primarily for playing music. Like the previous participant in this rating, this model does not “know” the Russian language, but it can be used to train your English (as well as German, Spanish, French and even Chinese).

The third-generation Amazon Echo Dot allows you to select a radio by music genre and country, receive calls from your smartphone and send messages. To do this, you need to bind your phone number to the smart column.

And this model sounds incomparably better than the second-generation Echo Dot, and much better than you might expect from such a baby.

pros: There is a 3.5 mm jack Audio Jack, to which you can connect external speakers or headphones. Can be paired with another Echo Dot column.

Minuses: Of the streaming services in the Russian segment, only Spotify is available, which in Russia is not yet available. But you can listen to the radio and control smart sockets.

8. JBL Link 20

The average price is 10,000 rubles.
Specifications:

portable stereo speakers
power 2 × 10 W
battery powered
Wi-Fi, AirPlay
waterproof housing
dimensions (WxHxD) 93x210x93 mm
Google Assistant Feature Chromecast support

Given the wide range of smart speakers, it is surprising how few are portable among them. Fortunately, the JBL Link 20 model has everything you need to be considered a good smart speaker and at the same time runs on battery power. It has a decent battery life (up to 10 hours) and excellent sound quality.

Moreover, it is completely waterproof and can connect to the Wi-Fi network in your home. Or you can connect to the speaker via Bluetooth from a smartphone.

pros: withstand a half-hour dive to a depth of 1 meter, stylish design.

Minuses: Does not support Russian, only English, no analog audio input.

7. Google Home

The average price is 8,990 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
built-in voice assistant Google Assistant
microphone mute button
dimensions (WxHxD) 96x143x96 mm

Amazon used to be the undisputed ruler of the world of smart speakers, but Google has done a wonderful job to catch up.

The Google Assistant currently has almost as many features as Alexa, making Google Home a reliable alternative to Amazon Echo. Plus, the Google Assistant is a little smarter than Alexa. It responds more flexibly to commands if you cannot remember the exact name of your smart home devices, and grouped Google teams called routines work with more types of devices than similar Amazon routines.

The Google Assistant can recognize multiple votes, so it will give you and your spouse different answers if each of you asks about their calendars. However, Alexa can do it too.

pros: can play music from your Google Play Music account, supports a large number of devices, convenient controls, strong and clear sound.

Minuses: no support for the Russian language. However, it may appear in the near future, while Google is testing this feature.

6. Google Home Mini

The average price is 3,250 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
built-in voice assistant Google Assistant
Bluetooth
dimensions (WxHxD) 98x42x98 mm
Support for Nest, Philips Hue, Google Chromecast and Samsung Smart Home

At the moment, the choice between the cheapest models of the two companies - Amazon Echo Dot or Google Home Mini - comes down to whose design you like more.

The Google Home Mini combines all the features of the Google Assistant in a small and compact device. This smart speaker sounds surprisingly good for its size and has a colorful design that can fit into the interior of your home.

The Home Mini does not have physical buttons, but there is touch control. To adjust the volume, touch the sides of the device or press and hold the sides to play and pause music.

But in terms of the sound quality of the “pebbles” (namely, the Mini looks like it), it loses to its older brother Google Home. But not much. This model has one audio channel and does not have a microphone, while Google Home has two microphones at once, and also a stereo audio format.

pros: you can connect to Google Play Music, understands different voices, you can create your own teams using IFTTT. One of the users recommended to do this in Russian, but in transliteration.

Minuses: all communication with the device is conducted only in English, there is no line output, like Amazon Echo Dot.

5. Irbis A

The average price is 3,290 rubles.
Specifications:

smart speaker with voice control
built-in microphones 2 pcs
Alice, voice assistant from Yandex
output for external speakers and headphones 3.5 mm
built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi module
dimensions (WxHxD) 88x52x85 mm

And from English-speaking smart speakers, we move on to Russian-language speakers with Alice. One of the cheapest models with Alice inside is Irbis A. This device is compatible with Android version 5.0 and iOS version 9.0, and with it you will also receive a Yandex.Plus subscription for 6 months.

With this smart speaker, you can not only control devices in the “smart home”, but also chat heart to heart, find out the answer to the question and listen to music. The sound according to user reviews is quite decent, although do not expect deep bass.

pros: nice design, low price, aux.

Minuses: low microphone sensitivity, it is possible to connect to the TV only through a set-top box Yandex.Module, which must be purchased separately, is heated during operation.

4. Elari SmartBeat

The average price is 4 989 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
Alice's built-in voice assistant
total power 5 W
frequency range: 40 Hz - 18 kHz
Bluetooth
battery powered
audio input
working time 8 hours

Another good and inexpensive smart speaker built by assistant Alice. Its feature is portability: having its own 3200 mAh battery allows you to take Elari SmartBeat with you on a trip or to work.

Together with the device you will receive three months of a free subscription to Yandex.Plus. This will give access to the Yandex.Music service, a number of films on Kinopoisk, a discount on Yandex.Taxi and several other bonuses, a list of which is on the official page of the service.

pros: low price, good microphone sensitivity, excellent speech recognition quality.

Minuses: Charging slowly, there are wheezing and sound distortion at a high volume level.

3. LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK7Y

The average price is 9 989 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
Alice's built-in voice assistant
total power 30 W
Bluetooth
woofer diameter 89 mm
dimensions (WxHxD) 135x211x135 mm

This presentable smart column will delight the user with a clean and balanced sound, which was worked out by the specialists of the English company Meridian, convenient touch control, two microphones and, of course, voice assistant Alice from Yandex.

The assistant not only remembers the owner’s musical preferences, but can also advise what to listen to when the old track list gets bored. It will also allow you to create reminders and wake up in the morning using the built-in alarm clock. And for children's entertainment, you can ask Alice to put on children's songs or turn on a fairy tale.

It is worth considering one fact: in order to listen to music, you will have to get a paid Yandex.Subscription.

pros: beautiful appearance, excellent speech recognition, good sound quality, very sensitive microphone.

Minuses: If the music plays at high volume, then to get through Alice will have to scream.

2. Yandex.Station

The average price is 9,990 rubles.
Specifications:

entertains you with good music and movies
easy to control: inside - voice assistant Alice
helps with chores and answers questions
makes friends with children: tells fairy tales, plays, chatters
pleased with the quality of music and movie playback
runs a smart home
1 year Yandex.Musics as a gift as part of Plus subscription
smart speaker with voice control
total power 50 W
frequency range: 50 Hz - 20 kHz
Bluetooth
HDMI jack
design: audio fabric, aluminum top

This is the most popular smart speaker with Alice, and the point here is not only in the annual free subscription to Yandex.Music and beautiful design, but also in the rich functionality of the device.

For 10 thousand rubles you will get the opportunity:

listen to a large number of radio stations and music with good sound quality;
Search for video content on Amediatek and YouTube;
read useful information from online encyclopedias;
work with smart devices (for example, ask Alice to turn on the air conditioner, put the apartment on an alarm or turn down the sound on the TV).

And this is not all, but only the main features of this model.

pros: you can disconnect the power cord from the speaker, there are very few false alarms, it hears well and recognizes the speech of the owner.

Minuses: cannot distinguish between voices of different users, there is no sound output via HDMI (solved by purchasing Yandex.Module system) and control via CEC.

1. Apple HomePod

The average price is 25 740 rubles.
Specifications:

voice control
Bluetooth
built-in voice assistant Apple Siri
dimensions (WxHxD) 142x172x142 mm
touch surface for control
support Wi-Fi MIMO
integrated Apple A8 processor

This is the best smart column of 2019, according to user reviews. It is not easy to earn a five-star rating on Yandex.Market, but the Apple HomePod did it. Let's take a closer look at the main advantages of this gadget.

The obvious advantage of Apple HomePod over Echo or Google Home is that this smart speaker will work well with other Apple products. So if you're a fan of Apple, HomePod might be your preferred choice.
HomePod weighs like a premium speaker and looks like the center of a smart home. In the first category, the HomePod is excellent, as it boasts incredible sound with rich and deep bass, and an intuitive tuning. But in the case of a smart home, it is important to take into account the fact that you can not get out of the Apple ecosystem for many key functions.
Assistant Siri understands the commands in English, even if you do not pronounce them very clearly.
It is possible to create a stereo pair with another smart HomePod speaker.
You can play music from any iOS device (even from a different account) connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the HomePod.
AirPlay technology allows you to wirelessly stream data to any external source (TV, stereo, etc.).

It is important to remember that Apple HomePod will not replace Yandex.Station and vice versa. These devices operate each in its own ecosystem. But if you have the Apple technique, then the choice of a smart speaker is obvious.

pros: Nice design, integration with Apple Music, convenient to use for voice calls.

Minuses: there is no support for the Russian language, you can not output sound via Bluetooth, you need to use a smartphone with iOS 11 to set up a smart speaker.