5 Smartest Speakers (2026): Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri

The easiest way to choose a smart assistant to add to your home is to consider the environment you are already using. If you’re a heavy Google or Android user, for example, adding a Google Assistant speaker to your home is a no-brainer. It’s not always easy, though. Apple and iPhone users will also benefit from choosing HomeKit-enabled devices, but Apple’s ecosystem is limited so you may want to choose another provider for the devices you want. Amazon’s Alexa has a lot to offer, but Google Assistant’s features keep me coming back again and again.

Here’s what you should ask yourself to decide:

• What provider are you already using, if any?
• What products do you want to use in your home, and what accessories are compatible with them?
• What features do you want in a smart speaker? What nature can give you these things?

There are many reasons to love Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa, and it works well. If you want to use your voice assistant to buy or use Amazon services such as Prime Music or Prime Video, the Alexa speaker is perfect for you.

Google Assistant has fewer capabilities and is compatible with fewer home devices than Alexa, but Google Assistant can do enough to be relevant — plus, Google adds new skills regularly. Speakers with Google Assistant work well when you interact with them, and are compatible with various Google apps and services. Google is good at answering random questions and telling you where to eat, because it can access and send information to your phone through Google apps.

Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube Music are great options playing music and Google Assistant. This service can also stream Netflix movies and TV shows to your TV if you have a Chromecast.

If you’re using a smart display, I also prefer Google’s smart display devices over Amazon’s because the Alexa Show devices provide you with enabled content while Google’s do not. Amazon’s Show listings are already loaded with the content you’ve chosen to remove. (To do that, go to Settings on the device, and then click Home Content. Now you’ll find more than 40 options that you can turn on and off.) But you can’t remove all enabled features unless you’re in Photo Frame mode. Meanwhile, Google’s displays create better frames thanks to Google Photos and don’t have screens full of distractions. I’d stick to the Nest Home Hub unless you really want the Alexa feature and don’t mind the usual ads.

My top tip for smart speaker enjoyment is to make sure you put it somewhere you’ll use it often. I like to have a small speaker in my bedroom to ask me about the weather while I’m getting ready for the day, and then I make sure there’s a smart speaker somewhere near my desk and sitting area (usually several, but I’m the odd one out since I try this for a living) so I can make requests while I’m working, cooking, and watching TV.

The next big thing you can do to increase your smart speakers is to invest in some similar products for the home. Smart speakers work best when they have other devices to control and talk. Do something else smart lights, smart lock or two, home videoseveral security cameras– you name it! Then control your smart speaker to help you control or monitor your home.

Sometimes! This varies depending on the type of TV and what you have connected to your TV. You can find TVs with built-in voice control, although some can control the sound via a remote instead of a smart speaker. Apple’s smart speakers and Apple TV sync the best from what I’ve tested, if you’re looking for a single system. But otherwise, I didn’t find it as painless as I had hoped.

If you are looking for music entertainment, smart speakers are ideal. You can connect multiple smart speakers to a stereo system, or connect your smart speakers to an existing system. Depending on the system in question and what you already have, you may need to choose a smart speaker with a 3.5 mm cable connection or a speaker that is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Adding microphones to your home (and sometimes cameras) is an important concern. Smart speakers always listen professionally, even if they have to listen to their wake-up call and ignore all other audio until they are asked a question. But there have been cases where police have requested tapes from psychics to use as evidence, including two separate murder cases. 2018 and 2019.

Most speakers I recommend have a way to mute the speaker, either by turning it off or the camera screen, but it’s annoying to turn it on and off if you want to use your speaker frequently. Alexa no longer allows local editing, so everything you ask Alexa is sent to the cloud support Alexa + running.

Ultimately, you should be concerned about your privacy, and it’s important to consider whether you need microphones in your home. In my years of testing, I’ve never heard any of my smart speakers become distracting, and they do a good job of volunteering when they’re turned on (turning them on and asking “Hmm?” if they don’t understand the question), so it doesn’t feel like my speakers are eavesdropping on me. But of course it’s a personal choice.

The smart speakers in this book are made by a major brand—Amazon! Google! Sonos! -and it’s unlikely that any of them will suddenly disappear or become a useless talking brick on your desk. There are even first-generation Amazon Echos still working that are ten years old (mixed results, based on what users have said online).

But a UK law which passed in April 2024 adds protection here. The law mandates three important principles: more secure privacy practices, clarity on how to report bugs and security issues, and that manufacturers and vendors inform customers how long the product will receive support and software updates.

The last point is very important for users of good speakers, since the fear is that you will buy a speaker that will suddenly stop receiving updates and become unusable. I’ll be watching to see how much of this is offered to consumers as it rolls out, but so far, we haven’t seen any changes. But it’s a rule we like. Although there is no similar law in the US, I will review the changes here.

I use different tests and smart speakers. I do microphone tests, assess how the speaker can be heard and answer the question, when the music is playing and when the music is not. I also play a variety of music to see how well the speaker performs on everything from chill lo-fi to our metal band and beyond. I also sync it with smart devices to see how it communicates and controls those devices, and what capabilities it has. If there is a screen, I also test the features it has. Finally, I also have these speakers for at least a week (if not like months!) to see how they perform in daily use and long-term use.

Most of the smart speakers I test are offered as models by the companies that make them. These samples are obtained with the understanding that no coverage is promised, nor are there any agreements regarding how the coverage will appear. Sometimes I also buy my own speakers.

After testing, most smart speakers are kept for long-term testing or storage for future comparison tests. If a smart speaker is considered unnecessary, I usually use this device locally, as it may not receive many updates or support from the company. If it still speaks well, I will give it a replacement.