Remember when the idea of a fully automated smart home seemed like science fiction? Well, maybe we don't have robotic butlers yet, but many have at least a few smart home products. And one of the most popular of them is smart speakers (aka smart speakers).
These are speakers with built-in intelligence and AI-based voice assistants.
In this rating, we will tell you 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.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant
- interfaces: AirPlay, Wi-Fi, LAN
- dimensions (WxHxD) 120x161x120 mm
The debut Alexa Sonos smart speaker is a multifunctional device that brings together the best of both ecosystems.
On the one hand, you'll have the ever-improving Amazon Alexa, and on the other, Sonos, with its unrivaled sound quality.
The mix device also has a new feature that promises to change the game in the smart speaker market: AirPlay 2. With it, the Sonos One can talk to Siri and form a multi-room connection with an Apple HomePod, making it the most versatile speaker on the list.
To interact with the voice assistant, you will have to use English. This can be a problem, but small. After all, this device is mainly focused on playing music, and the list of basic commands, for example “Play Spotify” or “Stop Music”, is easy to remember. And with the help of the mobile application, Sonos One seamlessly integrates into the smart home system.
pros: the mobile application has a sound calibration depending on the room, the best sound of all smart speakers, you can connect streaming services or index music from cloud or local storage.
Minuses: high price, Alexa is a bit slimmer than other smart speakers from Amazon.
9. Amazon Echo Dot 3nd Gen
The average price is 5,490 rubles.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant
- Bluetooth
- headphone output
- dimensions (WxHxD) 99x43x99 mm
This small and inexpensive smart speaker is designed primarily for music playback. 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 radio by music genre and country, receive calls from your smartphone and send messages. To do this, you need to link your phone number to the smart speaker.
And this model sounds incomparably better than the second generation Echo Dot, and much better than one would expect from such a baby.
pros: there is a 3.5 mm Audio Jack, which can be used to connect external speakers or headphones. Can be paired with another Echo Dot speaker.
Minuses: from streaming services in the Russian segment, only Spotify is available, which is not yet available in Russia. But you can listen to the radio and control smart sockets.
8. JBL Link 20
The average price is 10,000 rubles.
Characteristics:
- portable acoustics stereo
- power 2 × 10 W
- battery powered
- Wi-Fi, AirPlay
- waterproof case
- dimensions (WxHxD) 93x210x93 mm
- Google Assistant function; Chromecast support
Given the wide range of smart speakers, it's surprising how few are portable. Luckily, the JBL Link 20 has everything you need to be a good smart speaker and still run on battery power. It has a decent battery life (up to 10 hours) and excellent sound quality.
What's more, it's completely waterproof and can connect to Wi-Fi in your home. Or you can connect to the speaker via Bluetooth from your smartphone.
pros: withstands half an hour diving to a depth of 1 meter, stylish design.
Minuses: does not support Russian language, only English, no analog audio input.
7. Google Home
The average price is 8,990 rubles.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- built-in voice assistant Google Assistant
- microphone mute button
- dimensions (WxHxD) 96x143x96 mm
Amazon used to be the undisputed ruler of the smart speaker world, but Google has done an admirable job of catching up.
For now, Google Assistant has almost as many capabilities as Alexa, making Google Home a solid alternative to the Amazon Echo. Plus, Google Assistant is slightly smarter than Alexa. It's more responsive to commands if you can't remember the exact name of your smart home devices, and Google's grouped commands called routines work on more device types than Amazon's similar routines.
Google Assistant can recognize multiple voices, so it will give you and your spouse different answers if each of you asks about your calendars. However, Alexa can do it too.
pros: Can play music from your Google Play Music account, supports a wide variety of devices, convenient operation, strong and clear sound.
Minuses: no Russian language support. However, it may appear in the near future, Google is currently testing this feature.
6. Google Home Mini
The average price is 3,250 rubles.
Characteristics:
- 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 which design you like best.
Google Home Mini brings all the power of Google Assistant into a small and compact device. This smart speaker sounds surprisingly good for its size and has a colorful design that can blend in with your home decor.
The Home Mini lacks physical buttons, but has touch controls. 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 sound quality, the "pebble" (and the Mini looks like it) loses to its older brother Google Home. But not by 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 doing it in Russian, but in transliteration.
Minuses: all communication with the device is conducted only in English, there is no line-out, like the Amazon Echo Dot.
5. Irbis A
The average price is 3,290 rubles.
Characteristics:
- smart speaker with voice control
- built-in microphones 2 pcs
- Alice, voice assistant from Yandex
- output for external acoustics and headphones 3.5 mm
- built-in Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
- dimensions (WxHxD) 88x52x85 mm
And from the English-speaking smart speakers we are moving on to the Russian-speaking speakers with Alice. One of the cheapest models with Alice inside is Irbis A. This device is compatible with Android 5.0 and iOS 9.0, and with it you will receive a Yandex.Plus subscription for 6 months.
With this smart speaker, you can not only control devices in a smart home, but also have a heart-to-heart chat, find out the answer to a 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, availability of aux.
Minuses: low sensitivity of the microphone, it is possible to connect to the TV only through the Yandex.Module set-top box, which needs to be purchased separately, heats up during operation.
4. Elari SmartBeat
The average price is 4,989 rubles.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- built-in voice assistant Alice
- total power 5 W
- frequency range: 40 Hz - 18 kHz
- Bluetooth
- battery powered
- audio input
- working time 8 h
Another good and inexpensive smart speaker with built-in assistant Alice. Its feature is portability: the presence of 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 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, the list of which is on the service's official page.
pros: low price, good microphone sensitivity, excellent speech recognition quality.
Minuses: Charging slowly, wheezing and sound distortion at high volume.
3. LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK7Y
The average price is 9,989 rubles.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- built-in voice assistant Alice
- total power 30 W
- Bluetooth
- woofer diameter 89 mm
- dimensions (WxHxD) 135x211x135 mm
This presentable-looking smart speaker will delight the user with a clean and balanced sound, worked on by the specialists of the English company Meridian, convenient touch controls, two microphones and, of course, the voice assistant Alice from Yandex.
The assistant not only memorizes 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 with a built-in alarm. And for the entertainment of children, you can ask Alice to play 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 acquire a paid Yandex.Subscription.
pros: beautiful appearance, excellent speech recognition, good sound quality, very sensitive microphone.
Minuses: If the music is played at high volume, then Alice will have to shout to get through.
2. Yandex.Station
The average price is 9,990 rubles.
Characteristics:
- entertains you with good music and films
- easy to operate: inside - voice assistant Alice
- helps with business and answers questions
- is friendly with children: tells fairy tales, plays, talks
- pleases with the quality of music and movie playback
- manages smart home
- 1 year Yandex.Music as a gift within the Plus subscription
- smart speaker with voice control
- total power 50 W
- frequency range: 50 Hz - 20 kHz
- Bluetooth
- HDMI connector
- design: audio cloth, aluminum upper
This is the most popular smart speaker with Alice, and the point 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 terrestrial radio stations and music with good sound quality;
- search for video content on Amediatek and YouTube;
- get acquainted with useful information from online encyclopedias;
- work with smart devices (for example, ask Alice to turn on the air conditioner, put the apartment on the alarm, or turn down the sound on the TV).
And that's not all, but only the main features of this model.
pros: You can disconnect the power cord from the speaker, very few false positives, hears well and recognizes the owner's speech.
Minuses: cannot distinguish voices of different users, no sound output via HDMI (solved by purchasing Yandex.Modul system) and CEC control.
1. Apple HomePod
The average price is 25,740 rubles.
Characteristics:
- voice control
- Bluetooth
- built-in Apple Siri voice assistant
- dimensions (WxHxD) 142x172x142 mm
- touch surface for control
- Wi-Fi MIMO support
- embedded Apple A8 processor
This is the best smart speaker of 2019 according to user reviews. A five-star rating on Yandex.Market is not easy to earn, but Apple HomePod did it. Let's take a closer look at the main advantages of this gadget.
- The obvious advantage of the Apple HomePod over an Echo or Google Home device is that this smart speaker will work well with other Apple products. So, if you're a die-hard Apple fan, HomePod might be the first choice.
- HomePod weighs like a premium speaker and looks like the hub of a smart home. In the first category, HomePod excels, boasting incredible sound with rich and deep bass, and intuitive setup. But in the case of a smart home, it is important to consider the fact that you cannot leave the Apple ecosystem for many key functions.
- Siri can understand English commands even if you don't speak 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 work each in their own ecosystem. But if you have Apple technology, then the choice of a smart speaker is obvious.
pros: Cute design, Apple Music integration, convenient to use for voice calls.
Minuses: no support for the Russian language, you cannot output sound via Bluetooth, you need to use a smartphone with iOS 11 to set up a smart speaker.
Yamaha New of the Year - MusicCast 20
In September 2019, Yamaha introduced its new smart speaker MusicCast 20. Watch the video for a detailed overview.