12/24/2023 0 Comments Voice command macbook pro![]() ![]() The pint-size Sonos Roam ( 9/10, WIRED Recommends) has become our new favorite portable speaker. ![]() Plus, it presents an easy way to get a smart assistant into the places in your home where you don't normally listen to music. You can also ask it the weather, have it answer random questions, and play white noise at bedtime to help you sleep. That makes it a better bedroom and kitchen companion. It can tell you when your timers are going to expire in the kitchen or when your alarm is set for the morning. The tiny display on the Echo Dot With Clock comes in handy. We used to prefer the Nest Mini for this reason, but now that Amazon has added a simple clock to the front of the Echo Dot, we like it a bit more. The sound is very similar between models, and they have nearly identical footprints, so you can argue that one is better than the other based on the ecosystem alone. If you aren’t in it for the music, the Amazon Echo Dot With Clock (5th Gen) and Google's Nest Mini ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends) will give you most of the perks of owning a smart speaker, and you can use them to make existing speakers smarter on the cheap. We plan to test it for this guide as soon as possible. The upcoming third-generation Echo Show 8 ($150) will fix that, adding spatial audio and a hub, along with a responsive screen, plus a centered camera. ★ New Echo Show coming: We're also big fans of the Echo Show 8, but it hasn't had as much audio power or a smart home hub in the past. Voice and video calls are supported, with Amazon recently adding Zoom support. It can also play Amazon Prime videos and has a video version of Alexa’s daily flash news briefing. The screen lets you see what music is playing, pause the audio, skip to the next song, and view lyrics on some Amazon Music tracks. This version looks much nicer than the first few generations of Echo Shows you may have seen, with a full-size 10-inch screen that swivels nearly 360 degrees to follow you with its cameras while you're on a call or reading a recipe-like a cool robot assistant. It's more usable than third-party Alexa devices because it can call and network with Amazon's other Echo speakers. The Echo Show 10 is a great Alexa-powered alternative to the Nest Hub Max. Google also added support for group video calling through Duo, Zoom, and Google Meet, making this an even better pick if you regularly connect with friends or coworkers using those services. We like that it can use its camera to identify individual members of the house, only showing information pertaining to each, and the larger display makes it great for watching YouTube tutorials. The Nest Hub Max is our current favorite smart display for a number of other reasons too. Plus, you can use a stop hand gesture to pause music without having to touch the screen or use your voice. You won't get the same fidelity as you'll get from stand-alone smart speakers, but it's enough to have a small dance party while the lasagna bakes. That's why we like the Google Nest Hub Max ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends), which boasts a pair of pretty impressive speakers below its 10-inch display. Smart displays are great in the kitchen, but they often have speakers too weak to help you shimmy your way through meal prep. Sonos smart speakers, however, have a track record of lasting longer than anything else we've tested, and that will likely continue in the Era era.Ĭonnects to Alexa, Sonos App, and AirPlay 2. Unlike their analog predecessors, you can't expect them to last forever. There is now a fix to support legacy hardware, but unfortunately, this is a reality for computer-powered speakers. It's worth noting that Sonos was in a bit of hot water in 2020 over the fact that its older speakers weren't going to get software updates. (I know, blasphemy!) If you want to keep things wired, the USB-C port on the back of the Era 100 lets you connect other devices with a dongle.Īs with its predecessor, you're able to use a couple of Era 100s as surround speakers with Sonos soundbars in your home theater, and you can pair two Era 100s for use as stereo speakers. With the new Bluetooth connectivity offered by the Era 100, you can even wirelessly connect a turntable. It's just so easy to integrate them into your space. Multiroom audio support, as well as support for nearly every audio streaming app around, are what really set Sonos apart from other major smart speakers. ![]()
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