Best smart speakers for 2026: powerful sound and more

Why I like it: Amazon has a lot of Echo speakers, and it can be difficult to determine which are the latest and greatest. My personal pick for 2026 is the new Death Star-shaped Echo Studio. It includes notable speaker upgrades for Dolby Atmos support, and while it doesn’t reach the heights of our favorite Sonos speakers, it’s still enough to fill a room with music and even add a good amount of bass.

The Alexa app is generally intuitive to use and connects very easily to music services as well as smart home devices, which you can control with voice commands. Alexa Plus, if you like, is a more conversational and generally smarter version of the voice assistant, albeit with occasional response delays.

Finally, note that there are additional services you can add to your Echo speaker for a fee, including Alexa Emergency Assist, which costs around $6 per month and can listen for alarms or broken glass while connecting you to a live emergency assistant on demand. Alexa Plus, Amazon’s big AI upgrade, is gradually rolling out to users and is free if you have a Prime membership (otherwise, it’s $20). Along the way, Amazon also removed some privacy features that let you block Echo from processing your voice data.

Who is it for: Those looking for a versatile smart speaker, capable of streaming music in a larger room while benefiting from plenty of smart voice assistants, and especially appealing to Prime subscribers.

Who should not buy it: People who don’t like Alexa or Amazon’s latest privacy practices and those who are willing to spend even more to get truly top-notch sound – or, conversely, those looking to stay under a $100 budget.

Why I like it: High-end smart speakers need to offer serious audio performance to justify their prices. The Wiim Sound impressed me here, especially with streaming services like Spotify, which it’s designed to work well with. While it may not reach the heights of Apple’s large music files played on a HomePod, if you’re streaming from a more typical online source, the audio is superb thanks to the high-quality dual silk dome tweets and 4-inch paper cone woofer.

Although the Wiim Sound offers its own app and app connections with streaming services, there’s also a small touchscreen that acts like a clock and displays album artwork, while also allowing you to change streaming services or settings. You can program multiple presets to serve as starting points for a Spotify radio station, for example.

Inside the app, in-depth controls exist for creating your own EQ balance profiles and other customizations that, frankly, almost no other smart speaker supports. There is also an auxiliary audio cable connection on this speaker, although it is more than capable of standing on its own. The remote even has a built-in voice assistant, although with so many other control options, I didn’t find myself using it as frequently.

Who is it for: Buyers willing to pay a little more for a standalone speaker with great sound and perfect compatibility with streaming services including Spotify (although it supports Tidal, Qobuz and many other options).

Who should not buy it: People who already own a HomePod or Sonos speaker that they’re happy with – the Wiim’s sound is amazing, but paying $300 for minor differences probably isn’t your jam. Additionally, buyers who don’t use streaming apps and prefer to download and manage their own library can use the Wiim Sound, but it really shines with streaming.

Why I like it: I initially chose the Echo Dot with the LED clock for this pick because it’s a versatile smart speaker that works great on a desk or nightstand. But since it was released in 2022 and might be phased out soon, I’m replacing it with the newer Echo Spot.

The Spot has the same speaker as the Echo Dot but adds a small screen that shows more information when you ask questions or control smart home devices. It also serves as a convenient alarm clock, capable of answering questions, showing the weather, and running your smart home morning routines.

Support for Alexa Plus and other Echo Show capabilities are all included on this little speaker, and the sound is matched to nearby music, even if it doesn’t fill an entire room. Just note that you won’t be able to stream any video on this small screen: that’s what full smart displays are for.

Who is it for: People looking for a smaller, cheaper smart speaker that can serve as an alarm clock and other small tasks around the house. People who want a small speaker for their children.

Who should not buy it: People who want really powerful sound, people who worry about a smart speaker listening in the bedroom (while the Echo Spots have mute buttons, that also means you won’t be able to use the voice assistant features).

Why I like it: Google’s 2026 Home Speaker is the first smart speaker the company has launched in years, now dropping the Nest name and shifting its focus to Gemini for Home. It’s also a significant jump in audio quality. It retains a vaguely Nest-like design, but delivers improved bass and sound clarity that beats even the similarly priced HomePod Mini, making it the $100 speaker to beat.

The Google Home speaker controls are hidden until you press to reveal light spots to control volume and playback. Everything is managed through the Google Home app, which makes setup easy and connects to a variety of music services and TV streaming apps like Disney Plus.

Gemini for Home, on the other hand, is an improvement over Google Assistant, but still struggles a bit compared to other voice assistants. You can pay a subscription to make it more conversational or add more features, but I don’t think it’s worth it at the moment.

Who is it for: Everyone who uses Google devices, those looking for the best sound for $100, and those who generally want the latest awesome smart speaker design, regardless of platform.

Who should not buy it: If you’re not a fan of Google and don’t like Gemini for Home, there’s no reason to buy this speaker.

Why I like it: The first HomePod was an eclectic Apple machine with incredible sound, but otherwise a bit disappointing, especially with its high price. The HomePod 2 is better in almost every way, but still expensive at $300. The HomePod Mini, however, is a compromise: a smaller unit at a much more affordable price of around $100.

The HomePod Mini offers Siri functionality, the ability to connect to other minis, a temperature and humidity sensor for smart home control, and retains some of the great sound quality of the larger HomePod, making it a solid option for a nearby music player. It also includes some iPhone tips, if you want to stream music, etc.

Keep an eye out for this one: Apple is upgrading Siri intelligence later this year, and we’re not sure what advanced features will be coming to the HomePod line. Additionally, there are rumors that a HomePod Mini 2 could arrive this year, as Apple plans to launch a smart display and other home technologies.

Who is it for: People who love Apple and people who want a smaller speaker that still produces quality sound at their fingertips.

Who should not buy it: People who don’t like using Siri and don’t have an iPhone, as well as people who want smarter home and entertainment compatibility than Apple Home currently offers.

Why I like it: This 300-watt speaker is a master of sound and streaming options, delivering incredible six-speaker acoustic sound that can fill your entire home. Connection options include both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as well as the ability to pair with other Sonos speakers. There is also a USB-C line for wired connections.

It’s no surprise that this speaker also supports Dolby Atmos for enhanced environmental sound and top-notch performance on supported audio.

To get the best sound in its class, you will have to pay a premium price. Additionally, while this speaker supports Alexa, Sonos has dropped support for Google Assistant and is now focusing more on its own Sonos voice commands. But you won’t find better sound, whether you want to pair it with your entertainment system or add a center speaker to stream music throughout your home.

If you like the idea of ​​Sonos but can’t stomach the price, take a look at the more affordable Sonos Era 100, which can’t match the sound of the 300 but is available for $250.

Who is it for: Buyers who can pay top dollar for premium sound and want a speaker that can do a little bit of everything.

Who should not buy it: People who need Google Assistant/Gemini, people who want to save even a little money.

Why I like it: We have a comprehensive list of the best portable Bluetooth speakers, but the Bose Smart Speaker (latest model) stands out as a particularly smart option with its ability to link a built-in microphone to your Wi-Fi so you can talk to your voice assistants and control your music streaming. The excellent Bose sound quality certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Battery life on this model is around 12 hours, and at 2.3 pounds, it’s easy to carry. With limited IPX4 resistance, this speaker can be taken outdoors for short periods of time, but is most at home in the home, office, or garage.

If you’re looking for a cheaper option, the latest Bose SoundLink Home has many of the same features but is more affordable.

Who is it for: People who want a smart speaker can also carry it around the house or on the patio.

Who should not buy it: People who prefer to save money on a simpler Bluetooth speaker, or who already own one.

Yes, provided you can pair two speakers together. Almost all Amazon Echo smart speakers can be stereo paired with another Echo speaker. The list is quite long, so take a look at the one on Amazon . You will find a list of speakers that can pair with each other for stereo sound.

All Google smart speakers can be stereo paired, as long as they are identical models. Google’s Nest Audio speaker is the best choice for stereo pairing, and a two-pack of these speakers often offers a discount off the MSRP of $99 per speaker.

You can configure the speakers in your Google Home app and tell Google which speaker is on the right and which is on the left. Bass and treble settings are also adjustable from the Home app.

Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini can be paired with identical speakers for stereo listening on both left and right channels. You can also pair your HomePods with your Apple TV for surround sound cinema. The smaller speakers won’t wow you, but it’s a nice added feature.

If creating a great home theater system is your biggest priority when it comes to smart speakers, Sonos offers, in our opinion, the best audio quality. Two Sonos speakers (of the same model) can be stereo paired, or you can swap for its excellent selection of smart soundbars (Beam or Arc) or general soundbars.

Generally, we consider Google to have the best internet-related answers as well as smooth scheduling options. Google also has the big advantage of switching to Gemi AI nor, more conversational, while big AI updates to Alexa and Siri have been significantly delayed.

Otherwise, Alexa works great with smart home control questions and basic tasks, but can be a little lost when it comes to specific internet questions.

Siri, on the other hand, is very fast and excels at friendly, helpful responses (like questions about the weather, etc.), but doesn’t always have the same access to data as other voice assistants. Ultimately, it all depends on what you prefer.

For fun, here’s our deep dive into the “personality” of each assistant.

In our testing of Apple, Amazon, and Google smart speakers, we found that the Amazon Echo Studio offers the most in terms of volume. The Sonos Era 300 follows closely with powerful sound, and it’s currently our top pick for the best sound quality in large rooms, especially if you plan to use it in a stereo pair or as part of a home theater setup.

Amazon smart speakers can play music from free or paid subscription tiers on Pandora, Spotify, and other popular music streaming platforms. Plus, if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can listen to music from the extensive Prime Music catalog at no extra cost.

Google’s smart speakers offer similar music streaming options, but while Amazon requires a paid Prime membership for ad-free listening through Prime Music, Google favors YouTube Music and sometimes offers free tiers for use on Nest devices.

No, you don’t need Amazon Prime to use an Echo speaker. However, you need an Amazon account to use the Alexa app. When Alexa Plus is released, you will need a Prime membership or a separate subscription fee to use this advanced version.

Yes, smart speakers rely on internet connectivity for most of their functionality.