Honorable Mentions Here are some other good speakers we’ve tested that didn’t quite make the cut for our top picks: Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (Gen 3) for $399: Gorgeously designed, flawlessly finished, and this is still one of the most covetable Bluetooth speakers around. The brushed aluminum puck has barely changed since 2016, which … Read more
Gemini did a pretty good job with more conversational commands, though you still need to be specific for some requests. For example, my three-story townhouse has two smart thermostats, one for the highest floor and another for the lower two. I asked to turn on the AC, which Gemini immediately did, but it didn’t ask … Read more
The last time Google released a smart speaker, the world was in the throes of a pandemic. Yes, it’s been six years since the company trotted out a dedicated speaker. However, this newest Google Home Speaker brings a big change with it: The device has been redesigned to showcase the new Gemini assistant instead of … Read more
The overall power output is not bad, though. On “Want Want” by Maggie Rogers, I was impressed by the grungy, guttural sound thanks to the sub. On “So Neurotic” by the band Ex-Vöid, I was expecting total mush as the guitars intersect, but it’s loud, jangly, and clear. “Spangled” by the band Fust had bone-crunching … Read more
Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen) for $180: This is a solid smart speaker with Amazon’s latest physical design and Alexa+ right out of the box, but it’s not a sound improvement over the older model, so I’d personally pick the third-gen option (see above) while it’s still available or upgrade to the Echo Show … Read more