

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. It's the best of both worlds, but it's spendy.
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However, you can also take it off the dock and use it as an Android tablet. When it's placed on its included speaker dock, you can talk to it and get visual responses like a smart display. If you're liking what you hear about the Nest Hub Max, it's worth taking a look at Google's new Pixel Tablet ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends). 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 dance 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.
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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. 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.
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With the new Bluetooth connectivity offered by the Era 100, you can even wirelessly connect a turntable (I know, blasphemy!). 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.
