In October 2025, Google teased its next Google Home speaker, but declined to provide any release or pricing details. However, thanks to new listings on Best Buy we may have both.

The original Google Home speaker released in 2020, which we described as great if you're in the Google system, but it lacked key features compared to competitors. The new version makes an aesthetic leap that appears more similar to the Apple HomePod Mini and the Echo Dot.

We found a Best Buy listing for the Google Home speaker that reveals a price of $99. It also appears to come in four colors: berry, hazel, jade and porcelain.

The new speaker is "engineered for Gemini," which includes Gemini Live. This version would be able to control your smart home, set up automations and play media. Apparently, it will also be able to detect sounds like alarms going off and breaking glass — responding by sending alerts to your phone.

Earlier today, the Canadian version of Best Buy listed a release date of June 25, 2026. It appears that was a mistake since that information has been scrubbed from the listing as of this writing. Both listings now say "coming Spring 2026."

How it compares to the HomePod mini and Echo Dot

Apple is expected to launch new Gemini/Siri-powered versions of its HomePod devices later this year at which point this comparison will have to change.

Right now, the HomePod mini costs $99. By comparison, the newest model of the Echo Dot costs $49. Though unlike the HomePod and Google's speaker, it comes in a variety of versions including kids and sports-themed ones that have slightly higher prices but still not $100. The larger Echo Dot Max is $99 and works great with Alexa+ but isn't really that much of an upgrade over the Dot.

We took an in-depth look at the Echo versus the HomePod mini and the current Google Nest Audio in October last year. Check out for more concrete details.

Simply, the Echo combined with Alexa Plus works great with Amazon devices like the Ring Doorbell. The audio is a downfall but good enough.

The HomePod mini, meanwhile, has easy setup isn't as compatible with smart devices. The juice is in the sound, which is excellent. The issue is that Apple doesn't have as robust a smart home ecosystem like Google and Amazon, though that is something Apple reportedly wants to change.

Once Google does release its new Home speaker, we'll give it a full test to see how it stacks up. Hopefully, we'll actually have it in our hands at the end of June.

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What took so long? It’s pretty remarkable that, for all its other products, it has taken Bose this long to come out with an in-home smart speaker. But the Bose Lifestyle Ultra is finally here, and it looks like the company has not only taken lessons from its own rich history of designing audio products, but also from what’s worked — and what hasn’t — from its competitors.

Apart from delivering excellent audio, this is the first smart speaker not made by Amazon that supports Alexa+; it supports AirPlay, Google Cast, and Spotify Connect, and you can even plug it directly into a turntable.

But, having used it for a week, I have a few reservations. So how does the Bose Lifestyle Ultra stack up against the best smart speakers? You’ll have to read the rest of my review to find out.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: Price and availability

The Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker went on sale May 5 2026 at Bose.com, and is more widely available at other retailers. The speaker comes in three colors: the black and white models cost $299, while a limited-edition Driftwood Sand model costs $349.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: Design

Stylistically, the Bose speaker falls between the all-plastic Sonos Era 100 and the completely cloth-covered Apple HomePod 2. The body of Bose’s speaker is made primarily of plastic, but the front and sides are wrapped in an acoustic cloth, which softens the overall look.

The top of the device has a speaker grille towards the front, and a circular indentation towards the rear with volume controls. In between are additional touch-sensitive controls for Bluetooth and muting the speaker’s microphone. With all the little icons, it feels a bit busy, but that’s just me.

I saw all three color options in person, and the limited-edition Driftwood Sand model definitely stands out, especially with its white oak base. If you have wood decor, it might be worth springing the cash.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: Audio quality

As you might expect from a Bose product, the sound quality from the Lifestyle Ultra speaker is superb. To test its performance, I streamed a number of tracks through Spotify.

One thing I noticed in my hands-on — and confirmed in my home — is that the Bose speaker has much brighter mids and highs compared to the Sonos Era 100. As a result, female vocals were especially more pronounced and defined. I could really hear the personality of Carole King singing “I feel the Earth Move,” Dua Lipa in “Dance the Night,” and Kristen Chenoweth belting out “Popular.”

In fact, the mids were forward sometimes to the point of them sounding a bit too harsh. It was especially evident when I cranked “Tom Sawyer,” Geddy Lee’s falsetto cracked a little bit on the higher lines.

Lower tones also came through loud and clear; on that same track, the bass line and drums were so crisp that I could hear every bang and thump cleanly. The thumping bass line on the Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere” also rang through like the silversmith running through Massachusetts warning of the British.

When played on the Sonos Era 100, those same vocals weren’t as present — things felt a bit rounder and pulled back — but the soundstage also was a bit wider, if not as tall as the Bose.

Ultimately, choosing between the Bose and the Sonos really comes down to a matter of preference. Both offer superior audio quality, and it’s hard to pick a winner based on sound alone.

The upward-firing speaker also added a bit more height to music, which, in the absence of Dolby Atmos support, is a nice little extra. Still, both the HomePod 2 and Amazon Echo Studio support spatial audio, so Atmos’ absence is felt.

Unlike some of the other smart speakers I’ve tested — most notably the Sonos Era 100, HomePod 2, and even the Amazon Echo Studio — the Bose Lifestyle Ultra speaker does not support Bose’s room-tuning feature, CustomTune.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: App and home theater capabilities

Maybe Bose learned from Sonos’ lesson, because its app is pretty minimalistic — but in a good way. You really only need it to set up the speaker, connect it to Wi-Fi, Alexa+, and tweak EQ settings. It has a 3-band EQ (treble, mid, and bass) plus a fourth for height. Overall, it has one of the clearest guides to walk you through the setup process that I’ve ever seen.

After that, there’s little reason why you’d need to use the app, as Bose has designed it to work within the music app of your choice. It’s compatible with Google Cast, Apple Airplay, and Spotify Connect; when I opened Spotify, the Bose speaker was listed there as a music source.

If all else fails, you can also simply connect to the speaker via Bluetooth, or just plug in a 3.5mm cord in the back. At a time when physical audio connections seem to be disappearing, it’s nice to see Bose keeping this legacy connector around.

You can also pair two Bose Lifestyle Ultra speakers for stereo sound, group them in different rooms of your house, or add them as part of a home theater surround system. One bummer is that, while the Lifestyle Ultra Speakers can be paired with a Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar, they’re not backwards-compatible with other Bose equipment. So, if you already have a Bose soundbar, you won’t be able to use these as surrounds.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: Smart home features

The Lifestyle Ultra is the first third-party smart speaker that’s compatible with Alexa+, Amazon’s AI-improved voice assistant. However, unlike the HomePod and Echo Studio, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra lacks presence, temperature, or any other sensor of that ilk which would allow you to create automated routines

Bose Lifestyle Ultra review: Bottom line

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra is a very capable and well-designed smart speaker. Its audio quality is superb, it’s easy to set up, it works seamlessly with all the major music streaming services and it’s the first third-party smart speaker that can access Alexa+.

All that being said, it’s sandwiched between some well-established competition. At $299, it’s the same price as the Amazon Echo Studio and Apple HomePod 2, but those models both support spatial audio and have extra sensors to take fuller advantage of their smart home capabilities.

Bose’s other chief competitor in this market, the Sonos Era 100, has now been out for three years, costs $80 less, and offers similar audio quality. (Sonos also sells the Alexa-free Sonos Era 100 SL for $189, so I suspect that not as many use voice controls as the company originally thought.)

In addition, all three rivals offer some sort of room-tuning capability, while the Bose does not.

On the basis of its performance as a speaker to play music from your turntable or streaming service of choice, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra will not disappoint. However, it falls a little short when it comes to the little extras you get with its rivals.

It's taken a minute, but Bose is finally coming out with a smart speaker that will rival the likes of the Sonos Era 100 and Apple HomePod 2. Last week, I had the opportunity to listen to the Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker, a new device that will not only let you stream music from Spotify, Apple Music and more, but also connect to your home theater system — including your record player.

But how does Bose's new product compare to the best smart speakers? I checked out the Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker; here's my early impression of a device that could be the next addition to your entertainment system.

TL;DR

• What is it? A new smart speaker from Bose
• How much will it cost? $299 for the black or white model
• What does it work with? Any streaming service that supports Google Cast, Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth

Price and availability

The Bose LifeStyle Ultra Speaker goes on sale today (May 5) at Bose.com — we can only imagine that it will be available at other retailers shortly after. The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker will come in three colors: the black and white models will cost $299, while a limited-edition Sandstone model will cost $349.

At launch, Bose's speaker will cost $80 more than the Sonos Era 100 and Amazon Echo Studio, but is the same price as the Apple HomePod 2.

Also going on sale today is the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar ($1,099) as well as the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer ($899). Unfortunately, the soundbar is only available in black or white, so you can't get one to match your Sandstone-colored Speaker.

Design

Bose's smart speaker is roughly the same size as its main competition, but has some nice design flourishes to set it apart. As viewed from the top, it has an oval shape, with a fabric wrapping around the front and sides, to give it a softer look. The majority of the rest of the speaker is made of plastic, but the base of the Sandstone model is made of white oak, which looks most visually distinctive.

On the top are the speaker's touch-sensitive controls; there's a large circular indentation for volume controls, which you can adjust either by tapping or spinning your finger around.

Also on the top, you'll see a grille for an upward-firing speaker, which Bose says will help give your music more vertical depth.

Around back is the power plug, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack; the bottom of the speaker has a screw mount should you wish to place it on a pedestal.

Audio

Inside the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker are three drivers; a forward-facing woofer and tweeter, and one more tweeter that's directed upwards. There's also a rather large resonance chamber that exits out the rear of the speaker, to add additional passive bass to your music.

During my hands-on session with the speaker, the music I heard ("Man I Need by Olivia Dean, "Bad as I Used to Be" by Chris Stapleton, "Peaceful Place" by Leon Bridges," and "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan) was definitely impressive for its size. Bass was powerful without being overwhelming, and vocals came through crisply.

I will say that the highs sounded a bit too bright for my tastes, but I'll have to listen to it more before I can render an official verdict.

The upward-firing speaker definitely added height to the tracks I listened to, but this is a speaker you'll want to have placed fairly close to a wall, so that the music has something to bounce off. However, keep in mind that unlike the HomePod 2, it does not support Dolby Atmos.

Home theater capabilities

Like most other smart speakers, you can pair two of Bose's together for stereo, and you can also create a multi-room setup.

Similar to the Sonos Era 100, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker can be used as rear-channel satellites with the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, should you want to create a more fully immersive home theater setup. However, the Ultra Speakers struggle to interface directly with a TV, unless you were to run RCA cables from your TV to each speaker.

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has a 3.5mm jack, which lets you connect it directly to a turntable — a nice touch for those who want to listen to records with as little fuss as possible. (With the Sonos, you need to purchase a USB-C adapter, and the HomePod and Echo Studio lack this capability entirely.)

Smart functions

Bose takes a very light approach when it comes to the app that controls the speaker. While you need the app to set it up, connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and adjust things such as treble and bass, you won't use the app to when using your music streaming service of choice.

Rather, you'll go through that company's app — be it Apple Music, Spotify, or whatever — and select the Bose speaker there. The speaker supports Google Cast, Apple AirPlay, and Spotify Connect, so you should be well-covered.

In the U.S., the Bose speaker will also support Alexa+, and in fact will be the first third-party speaker to support Amazon's upgraded smart assistant. (The Sonos Era 100 supports the older Alexa, but not the newer version.)

Outlook

Bose finally has a smart speaker that rivals those of its biggest competitors: The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker certainly ticks all the necessary boxes with strong audio capabilities, as well as support for the major streaming protocols — and it has an audio jack in the back.

At $299, it's priced to compete with the established names out there, so we can't wait to get one in to test out and see how it fares in our home.

I’ve been waiting for the Sonos Era 100 SL for a long time, I just hadn’t realized I’d been waiting for it. See, I use a pair of old Sonos Play:1 speakers as the left and right surrounds in a home theater setup in my back room. They’ve been overdue for an upgrade for years, but Sonos never made a speaker that fit the bill in terms of price-to-performance ratio — until now.

The Sonos Era 100 SL is the company’s most cost-effective speaker with an MSRP of $189/£169 — a tidy saving on the £199/$219 Sonos Era 100. In a year where everything simply seems to be going up in price, more affordable releases like this and Apple’s recent MacBook Neo are refreshing.

To keep the cost down, Sonos has trimmed the fat in a couple of ways. First, there’s no mic on the speaker and therefore no voice control. You can’t ask Sonos Voice Control or a third party like Alexa+ to set timers or answer questions for you. That suits me just fine — I need these speakers to round out a passive sound system, not to be an active participant in my smart home. However, if you pair the Sonos Era 100 SL with a voice-enabled soundbar you can still benefit from voice control that way. Getting rid of a feature I would never use anyway to save me more money is a win-win in my book.

Because of the lack of microphone, there’s no Trueplay technology for Android phones. Instead, it’ll only work with an iOS device. If you’re using one of the best Android phones, this could be a deal-breaker —or at least a reason to pay more for the regular Era 100. But since I have access to an iOS device, this also isn’t a problem for me. Another tick in the plus column for the Era 100 SL.

If you lift the lid, the Era 100 SL has the same sonic architecture as the regular Era 100. When we reviewed that speaker in 2023, we gave it 4.5 stars, saying Sonos “Elevates the sound performance for its new entry-level home speaker with twin tweeters for stereo sound from a single cabinet, and a larger woofer for richer-sounding bass.”

Our reviewer said it was a noticeable step up from the Sonos One, and I can confirm it's absolutely streets ahead of my tired old Play:1 speakers. Bass at lower volumes is noticeably improved which works exceptionally well when you want to use it as part of a larger setup where the soundbar is doing the heavy lifting.

So Sonos is giving me better sound at a lower price by cutting features I either don’t use or aren’t affected by. Sign me up!

Setup is a dream

In the past, I’ve been critical of Sonos’ app and the general frustrations encountered in its software. The company has promised that those are a thing of the past and this is my first time setting up a new speaker on my system since the crisis of the new Sonos app back in 2024. The process couldn’t have been smoother and achieves almost Apple-levels of simplicity.

Once the speakers were plugged in, all I had to do was add them in the Sonos app and, once they were updated and linked to the Wi-Fi network, I was automatically asked if I wanted to group them in with my existing soundbar and mini sub.

It took all of about five minutes to add both speakers through the app, and there wasn’t a single hiccup during the entire process. Technology can all too easily become a rabbit hole of settings and configurations, but adding a pair of Era 100 SL to my setup was handled entirely in the app in a matter of minutes.

If you’re someone who doesn’t want to tweak and fiddle with a setup but would prefer to get on with watching your content with surround sound, I definitely recommend this.

Bottom line

Sonos is pitching the Era 100 SL as the entry to a Sonos home theater and I agree with that wholeheartedly. For example, the speaker doesn’t support Dolby Atmos spatial audio for music but does support Dolby Atmos and surround channels in a home theater setup. So, if you’re in the same boat as me and looking to build out a (or upgrade an elderly) Sonos system, you should stop reading right now and buy this speaker.

On the other hand, if you’re on the hunt for your first Sonos speaker primarily for music playback, it’s probably not the one to go for — even if it is affordable. For ultimate versatility, I would suggest looking at the brand new Sonos Play which gives you the benefit of both a home-based and portable Bluetooth speaker.

The Era 100 SL is a real return to form for Sonos, offering a really solid core performance whilst keeping the cost down by cutting away the window dressing. It would have been even nicer if the company had cut the cost even further through the double pack you can buy for $378, but perhaps that was one step too far.

More from Tom's Guide

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• Sonos launches Sonos Play and Era 100 SL speakers — specs, price and what’s new
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The Sonos Move is, hands-down, my favorite speaker Sonos has ever made. It has a big sound, big battery and Bluetooth support. My only complaint is that, at over 6.5 pounds, it’s slightly just not portable enough for most situations where you’d actually want to use a wireless speaker. Enter the $299 Sonos Play.

Sonos Play takes the same idea as the Move and scales it down into a sub-3-pound package that’s genuinely convenient to carry, complete with a utility loop and 24 hours of battery life. You still get Wi-Fi for streaming, voice assistants, multi-room listening and all the other core Sonos system features at home. It’s even line-in ready for my record player. But Bluetooth, and waterproofing means this speaker can join me on outings, too.

From someone who’s part of the company’s long-term user base, Sonos has far from escaped its series of software controversies unscathed. But Sonos Play is the kind of product that brings the focus back to what the brand does well — connected smart speakers that fill your space with great sound. And that’s the takeaway you can read more about in my full Sonos Play review below.

Sonos Play cheat sheet

• What is Sonos Play? A portable Sonos speaker that offers Wi-Fi multi-room audio as well as Bluetooth, designed for both home use and on-the-go listening.
• How much does Sonos Play cost? It costs $299.
• Can you use two Sonos Plays together? Yes, pair two for stereo sound over Wi-Fi, or group multiple speakers (including up to three additional Play or Move 2 units) over Bluetooth.
• Can you use Sonos Play with a record player? Yes, as long as you have the $20 Sonos Line-In Adapter. And yes, it has to be the Sonos one to work properly.
• Sonos Play vs. Sonos Move 2? The $399 Sonos Move 2 is larger and more powerful, but less portable. The $299 Play is lighter and easier to carry while still delivering strong stereo sound, plus it has more sophisticated Bluetooth pairing than the Move.
• Sonos Play vs. Sonos Roam? The $179 Sonos Roam is a smaller Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speaker and weighs under 1 pound, but without a charging base or line-in, it’s less appealing for in-home sound system use.
• What is Sonos Play battery life? Up to 24 hours, plus it doubles as a power bank to charge your phone.

The ups

Practical, portable design

While I’ve always sung the praises of the Sonos Move, I’ve never felt the same way about the Sonos Roam. It’s a perfectly fine Bluetooth speaker, but at its price, it’s hard to ignore how many comparable options are out there for less. It doesn’t quite justify itself in the same way something like the Play does.

The Play feels unmistakably like a Sonos speaker, with intuitive controls and a large enough audio presence to complement any Sonos system. But much like the Move, it lives on a wireless charging base at home, then seamlessly transitions into a travel speaker designed for everyday carry. It even has a removable utility loop that makes it easy to grab and go. It’s also IP67-rated, so dust and water aren’t a problem.

To sum it up, the Move is too big of a home speaker to be truly portable, while the Roam is too much of a portable speaker to be practical at home. The Play strikes the perfect balance between them within Sonos’s battery-powered options.

Balanced, room-filling sound

For a speaker this size, the sound is impressively well-rounded. Vocals, whether I was listening to podcasts or stripped-down tracks, come through crisp and clear, thanks to that dedicated midwoofer.

At the same time, bass-heavy tracks (think Kendrick Lamar’s ‘m.A.A.d city’ or electronic playlists) still hit with enough depth to feel satisfying without overpowering everything else. The dual passive radiators do a lot of work here, while the Automatic Trueplay feature adapts playback in real-time to suit your listening space.

Like most Sonos speakers, though, I wouldn’t push it to max volume in most circumstances. It holds up well, but it’s clearly tuned for balance over brute force. The key to getting a bigger sound from Sonos Play is your pairing options.

Flexible pairing

There are lots of different ways you can play music with Play. First, you can listen to it solo over Wi-Fi, either casting (I use AirPlay) or using the Sonos app with your synced streaming services. With the compatible Sonos line-in adapter, the Play can also hook up to a record player and cast to your other speakers.

If you have other Sonos speakers, you can also assign it for multi-device and multi-room playback, too. Better yet, you can stereo pair two Plays over Wi-Fi for a more immersive setup at home.

Over Bluetooth, you can connect one Play to your phone, then sync up to three additional speakers, including the Sonos Move 2, just by holding the pairing button. That’s a newer feature the Move doesn’t have.

24-hour battery life

Sonos rates the Play for up to 24 hours of battery life. I left it off the charging base for about 3 days, and my hours of active listening landed just around that estimate. Comparing the other battery-powered Sonos speakers, the Move 2 lasts 24 hours as well and the Roam lasts up to 10 hours. Both the Play and Move 2 have replaceable batteries, which I think is a meaningful factor for speakers you’d want to last in your home for a long time.

What’s more, the Play doubles as a USB-C power bank. Being able to top off my phone while I was out made this speaker feel even more multi-purpose.

The downs

Pricey depending on what you’re looking for

I’ll be honest, I struggled to find much fault with the Sonos Play. For what it offers (Wi-Fi streaming, multi-room audio, voice control, strong battery life and portability) it actually delivers a lot of value.

That said, you don’t need to spend $299 for a Bluetooth speaker of this size and with solid sound. For example, the UE Everboom can usually be found for $199 and it’s pretty similar in dimensions. I also like the JBL Charge 6, which tends to go on sale for about $170. I’d recommend these if you’re not looking for any “smart” features via Wi-Fi.

Verdict

The Sonos Play takes everything that makes the Sonos ecosystem great and packages it in a design that provides comprehensive versatility between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Unlike past attempts, the Play doesn’t feel like you’re compromising in either direction.

That balance is what makes it stand out against both the Sonos Move 2 and Sonos Roam. One leans too far into being a home speaker, the other too far into being ultra-portable. The Play sits right in the middle, offering enough power for your living room and enough practicality for a park day, weekend trip or if you're like me, concert in the shower.

$299 is a lot if all you want is a Bluetooth speaker. But if you’re even slightly invested in the Sonos ecosystem, or want a speaker that can grow into one, this is easily one of the most well-rounded options the company has debuted in years.

It's been nearly a year, but Amazon is finally taking Alexa+ out of Early Access and making it available to everyone, both Prime and non-Prime members alike. Alexa+ is Amazon's new-and-improved voice assistant, which uses AI to deliver a richer and more personalized experience over the original Alexa.

Up until now, Alexa+ has only been available in what Amazon called Early Access —while that was a bit of a misnomer, as it's already in use in tens of millions of devices — Alexa+ will now be available to anyone, regardless of whether you have a Prime membership, or own an Echo device.

Alexa+ pricing and availability

For Amazon Prime members, Alexa+ will be included as part of your subscription. If you're not a Prime member, you can subscribe to Alexa+ for $19.99/month, which is in line with the price for other AIs, such as Gemini.

However, Amazon is also offering a free tier of Alexa+, which the company says will have all the same features as the paid tier, but with limits; for starters, you will only be able to use it on Alexa.com and the Alexa app, and it will be limited by use, though the company would not provide details as to the number of tokens or activity.

How to get Alexa+

You'll be able to access Alexa+ in one of three ways: Through an Amazon Echo device, via the Alexa app on your phone or tablet (for Android and iOS), or via Alexa.com.

Alexa+ will work on Amazon Echo devices up to eight generations old, which includes not just smart speakers and displays, but Echo Buds, Echo Auto, and Amazon Echo Frames. Pretty much anything except first-generation Echo speakers can access Alexa+.

Additionally, Alexa+ is also available on Fire TV streaming sticks as well as Amazon Fire TVs, and Amazon Fire tablets.

Upgrading to Alexa+ is voluntary; you'll receive prompts on your devices, but you can also say "Alexa, upgrade to Alexa+" to start the process.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve been using Alexa+ for 3 months — here are my 5 favorite features (and one I’m not a fan of)
• I tested Alexa+ and liked it so much I put my Echo Auto back in my car — now I can’t imagine driving without it
• Alexa+ — here's everything you need to know

Sonos has been quiet for about a year. It's been working in the background, improving the controversial app and ensuring users get the best possible experience. When I put together my living room's Sonos surround setup, I learned that there are still some kinks — but we're otherwise there.

It looks like the firm has also been working on something new to give the world. It's called the Sonos Amp Multi, and instead of the loud-and-proud Arc Ultra soundbar or the Era 300 smart speaker, it is designed to be the wired-in center of a whole-home audio system. Let's dive in.

For all the speakers

The Amp Multi isn't going to work on its own — it's an amplifier that needs speakers to make the sound. There are eight different stereo channels on the back of the amplifier, which you then need to wire to speakers around the house.

That's going to be done by an installer, so it's unlikely to be something you'll do yourself. Unless you're a Sonos installer with a house that needs speakers.

Once you've wired up all the speakers around the house (through the walls and the floors), you can create rooms for each channel. You can put multiple channels in one room for more sound as well.

All running through the Sonos app

The amp and all the speakers you attach to it are going to be powered by the Sonos app — and depending on your viewpoint, that could be either a great thing or some of the worst news you've ever heard.

For the most part, current experiences with the Sonos app are positive. It seems like the alarm and playback issues have been ironed out, and users of the Era line and other smart speakers are not experiencing anywhere near as many issues as they did when the app was relaunched.

But things aren't perfect, even now. I recently set up a full Sonos surround system in my living room, and I had to spend days troubleshooting before disconnecting everything from the internet and starting completely from scratch. I even had to disconnect my router before TruePlay would work, and the surrounds would make noise.

Despite these issues, the Amp Multi seems to be evidence that Sonos is now ready to leave them in the past. This is a device that relies entirely on the app, with no controls on the device at all. You choose your channel in the app, and then play your tunes/podcast/whatever audio thing you want.

Volume? App. Playback? App. It looks well featured for connection standards, as you might expect, including "Apple AirPlay, Spotify Direct Control, and more." It'll get wired into your house's cable internet for better stability, making for fewer potential app issues. You can still connect to Wi-Fi, if you wish — but if you're wiring in speakers, it would be a waste not to get an ethernet cable plugged into the back.

There are physical connections as well, including a USB-C port and a pair of RCA inputs. You won't be short of ways to plug in — although I'm sure some will miss an HDMI port.

With ProTune, you can dial in the sound for each room (or channel) individually. There's a Parametric EQ for fine adjustments to room acoustics, giving more granular control than TruePlay. This is likely going to be a part of the install, sorted out by your installers.

Still, there's a lot of faith here for a new product to rely on an app that's previously been troubled. It's also a lot to ask of potential consumers, considering that this is going to be permanently wired into your house. Or, at least, wires traipsed around the house. Either way, it's a larger investment than a soundbar or smart speaker.

Simple design that you're not supposed to see

Sonos has made the Amp Multi look as attractive as a permanently situated box could ever be. But given that it's supposed to be tucked away in a media console or even placed in a rack, it's still very much just a black box with some speaker interconnects on the back.

Price is available when you book yourself an install — it's all paid at once. So the box on its own doesn't yet have a price. If you're interested in picking up (or getting one buried in your wall), you can enquire on the Sonos website.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I ditched music streaming for my CD collection for a month — and I can't believe how much I missed it
• Your TV is watching you — how to turn off data collection on LG, Samsung, Roku and more

Could 2026 be the year that Amazon’s AI-powered assistant really comes into its own? While Alexa+ is still technically in its early-access phase, it’s now available in millions of Echo smart speakers and displays, and Amazon recently updated both its smartphone app and launched Alexa.com last week, which allows users to access the company’s AI assistant through a web browser.

Since the launch of Alexa+, engagement with the assistant has jumped by scores over the older Alexa, with customers using it two to three times more frequently. In particular, Alexa+ users are interacting with smart home devices — such as creating routines or even just turning their lights on and off — more than 50% more than before.

So what has Amazon seen over the past year with the rollout of Alexa+, and what could this year bring for its assistant? To find out, I sat down with Dan Rausch, the Vice President of Alexa and Fire TV, at CES 2026 to ask him where Alexa+ has come, and where it’s headed.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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Alexa+ has been available to Early Access members for some time on smart speakers, smart displays and your phone, but now Amazon is rolling it out to yet another platform: your web browser.

Starting today, Early Access members will be able to access Alexa+ at Alexa.com, which will let you do everything you can with the AI assistant through Chrome, Edge — or any other web browser — that you could do through the Echo Show or your phone. And, in some cases, it's actually easier.

Here are five things to try with Alexa+ on your browser.

Ask it pretty much anything

The Alexa.com home screen is pretty uncluttered; use the large search bar in the middle of the page to type any query into Alexa+. At this time, it doesn't look like you can use your computer's microphone to speak your queries, but hopefully that will be changed in the future so that differently abled individuals can also use the browser.

Below the bar are a few tabs to help provide some guidance on what you can ask Alexa+: Plan, Learn, Create, Shop, and Find. Mouse over any one of these, and a bubble with suggestions will appear.

For example, I asked "what should I make for dinner with leftover cauliflower," and was presented with several recipe ideas. You can read the recipe list and instructions right on Alexa.com, but annoyingly, it doesn't provide a link to the site where it got the recipes. That not only feels like a miss, but a disservice to the person who actually created the recipe.

Control your smart home devices

Along the left side of the screen is an array of icons: Home, Recent Chats, Smart Home, Calendar, and lists. Click on the icon that looks like a light bulb, and a panel will open on the right, showing all of your connected smart home devices. From here, you can control them individually, such as turning your lights on and off, or adjusting the temperature on your thermostat.

However, you can't add or remove any devices, nor can you view your smart home routines. For that, you'll have to use the Alexa app. You can, however, use Alexa.com to create a new smart home routine.

Review and delete your chat history

The second icon along the left lets you view your entire chat history with Alexa+; each interaction is listed, along with the device used to chat with Alexa+. Clicking on each item expands the chat to see it in its entirety. If you want to delete a particular chat, just click the three dots in the upper right of each entry.

By default, Alexa.com will only show conversations you've personally had with Alexa+. However, if you toggle the "Show All" slider in the upper right corner, you will see every interaction individuals on your account have had with Alexa.

While you can delete individual chats, you can't mass-delete them from Alexa.com.

Manage your calendar

If you use Alexa's calendar, you can also view it on Alexa.com, as well as add, modify, and delete events. In addition, you can also type in a query to ask Alexa+ what your schedule looks like for the week.

Select the Calendar icon on the left, and a calendar view will appear on the right side of the screen. Any day with an event will be denoted with a small dot underneath the day. If you select an event, the window will show additional details, such as start and end times, location, and any notes. It will also display the calendar in which it's listed in a drop-down menu; if you select this, you can then add it to additional shared calendars.

View all your saved files

If you click the three dots in the left-hand menu, you'll be shown two options: one for Reminders and Tasks, and the other for Files. The latter will let you view every file you've uploaded to Alexa+, and let you either download or delete it. Being able to see everything on a larger screen such as your web browser makes it a lot easier to manage.

Alexa+ can also analyze all of the files that you've uploaded. For example, I uploaded my school district's calendar and asked how many vacation days there were in January. Alexa+ said that there were two vacation days, January 1 and MLK Day, but those were District Closure days, rather than vacation days.

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One of the features announced when the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio launched was the ability to use multiple smart speakers to create a surround-sound setup with your Fire TV device. While this concept isn’t new — you could do something similar with older Echo devices, as well as other some of the best smart speakers, like the Apple HomePod — I was curious to see how it would work with Amazon’s newest devices.

So when Amazon sent me four Echo Dot Maxes, four Echo Studios and a Fire TV Stick 4X Max, to try it out, I wanted to see how it might stack up against the best soundbars. Here’s how it went.

What you’ll need — and how much it’ll cost

In order to use the Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio for a home theater setup, you’ll need either a Fire TV Stick 4K (2^nd gen), Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2^nd gen), Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, or Fire TV Cube (3^rd gen). Strangely, this setup doesn’t work with any of Amazon’s new Omni TVs not its Fire TV soundbar, which would seem to be a natural fit for this type of application.

You can connect up to five smart speakers (Amazon recommends at least three), but they have to be all the same device. I had hoped that I could use two Echo Studios as my front channels and two Echo Dot Maxes as my rear channels, but sadly, I could not. And, if you want Dolby Atmos, you’ll need to spring for the Echo Studio, as it’s not supported by the Echo Dot Max.

So, if you don’t need or care for Atmos, you’re looking at a $440 investment if you want four Echo Dot Maxes plus the Fire TV Stick 4K. If you happen to still have an Echo Sub (Amazon stopped selling it a few years ago), you can pair it as well for deeper bass.

if you want Atmos, it’ll cost at least $926 — four Echo Studios and the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus. At that price, you’re not too far away from some of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, like the Sonos Arc Ultra.

Of course, as I write this, both the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio are currently on sale for $20 and $30 off, respectively, so your total cost for four Maxes would come out to $316, while four Studios would run you $756.

Getting things running

Setup was fairly easy, and was completed all through the Fire TV interface. After I positioned the speakers around the room, I opened “Display & Sounds,” then selected “Alexa Home Theater.” From there, a short video gives you a brief explanation as to how it works, and then you next select the speakers you want to add.

After that’s done, the Fire TV runs a test whereby it plays a series of tones out of each speaker, so as to calibrate them for your room. In all, it took around 10 minutes.

One thing to note: Because of their spherical shapes, the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio are a lot taller than most soundbars. If your TV is sitting on a console (as mine is), you may need to raise your set up a few inches, or else the tops of the speakers will block part of the picture. It's not as big an issue if you're watching a letterboxed movie, but for all other content that fills the screen, the tops of the speakers will be noticeable.

How it sounded

While the four Echo Dot Max speakers don’t support Atmos, they still managed to provide a subtle improvement, giving scenes greater depth and more immersive experience. The dogfighting scenes “Top Gun: Maverick” gained a bit more oomph as the F/A-18s flew across the screen. When I watched “Avatar 2: The Way of Water,” I heard the ambient sounds of wildlife around me as the Na’vi traipsed through the forests of Pandora. In all, it was a pleasing, if not overwhelming, improvement.

When I swapped out the Echo Dot Maxes for the Echo Studios, things changed — in a big way. Now, when I watched “Top Gun,” it felt like I was in the cockpit, and could really hear and feel the fighters as they whooshed through the sky. The extra bass offered by the Studios also helped to increase the depth of the experience in a more visceral way. I could feel my couch trembling beneath me.

Similarly, when I streamed movies from Disney+, like “Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker,” it really felt like I was back in the movie theater as TIE fighters and X-Wings roared all around my head. The Emperor’s voice echoing through the cavernous halls of Exegol was truly creepy.

Plus, the larger speakers in the Echo Studios really let me crank things up to the max, so much so that by wife — two stories below me and through a closed door — told me to turn it down.

Would I recommend it?

If you're paying full freight for a set of four Echo Studios, I would steer you instead to one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars like the Sonos Arc Ultra, which goes for $1,099 at its regular price (though right now it's just $879 on Amazon).

However, at their discounted price, the Echo Studios can make for an effective Dolby Atmos home theater. The two major trade-offs are that you're committed to using a Fire TV stick (among the best streaming devices, Amazon's ad-laden interface is our least favorite), and if your TV sits on a table, you'll have to raise it up a few inches or move the speakers to either side so that they don't block the picture.

Bear in mind that you can create a surround-sound system with as few as three speakers, so you could bring the cost down even further. But where's the fun in that?

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Welcome to the first smart speaker made for the AI era. While the Amazon Echo Dot Max isn’t a huge departure from the company’s previous devices, it’s a part of the first generation of smart speakers to be released after the launch of Alexa+, Amazon’s AI-enhanced assistant.

The Echo Dot Max takes the place of (and is the same price as) the 4th-generation Echo, Amazon’s now-discontinued midrange smart speaker. Why is it called the Echo Dot Max and not just the Echo? Most likely because the Echo Dot Max is closer in size to the Echo Dot than the device it’s replacing.

But what’s changed with the first smart speaker that Amazon has released in a few years? I used the Echo Dot Max for a little under a week to see how it stacks up against the best smart speakers, and, perhaps more importantly, to see if Alexa+ is really worth it.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Price and availability

The Echo Dot Max went on sale October 29, 2025, for $99. At the time of its release, it was available in three colors: graphite, Glacier White, and amethyst (a shade of purple).

Among Amazon’s smart speaker lineup, the Max is $50 more than the Echo Dot 5th gen, but significantly less than the new Echo Studio ($219).

The Echo Dot Max is also the same price as the Apple HomePod Mini, as well as the Google Home Speaker, which will be released in the spring.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Design

That’s no moon…it’s a smart speaker! The design of the Echo Dot Max and its larger counterpart, the Echo Studio, immediately invites comparisons to the Death Star. Like the previous few generations of Echo devices, these speakers have a spherical shape, but now, the volume controls are housed in a circular indentation that makes the whole speaker look like the Empire’s ultimate weapon. It’s an apt comparison, considering how Amazon has used its smart speaker to spread Alexa throughout the galaxy.

Ringing the controls is an LED that turns blue when Alexa (or in this case, Alexa+) is listening. It’s more prominent than on the Echo Dot, where the ring is towards the bottom. If you press the center mute button, the ring will turn red, letting you know that Amazon isn’t listening to you.

The fabric and its pattern on the Echo Dot Max is also more prominent than on the Dot, but because of this, it also invites comparisons to two other devices - in this case, the Apple HomePod Mini and the Google Home Speaker.

Size-wise, the Echo Dot Max (4.27 x 4.27 x 3.9 inches) is slightly bigger than the Echo Dot (3.9 x 3.9 x 3.5), and slightly smaller than the 4th-gen Echo (5.7 x 5.7 x 5.2 inches). It should still fit nicely on your nightstand.

Around the back of the Echo Dot Max is is proprietary power port; gone is the audio jack that was on the 4th-gen Echo.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Audio quality

Compared to the Echo Dot, which has a single 1.73-inch speaker, the Echo Dot Max has a 0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer that Amazon says will deliver “room-filling audio.” That’s basically the same as the 4th-gen Echo, but that device had a larger 3-inch woofer.

Giving the Max some more cred, it has Lossless High Definition, and Automatic Room Adaptation, so it can tailor its audio to the room in which you place it. The latter feature is something that’s also found on the 4th-gen Echo, as well as the HomePod Mini.

To test the Echo Dot Max, I spun up a bunch of lossless audio tunes on Spotify. Indeed, the Max can punch above its weight. Even given its size, it was able to fill my living room with the pumping sounds of “Golden” from “K-Pop: Demon Hunters.” Audrey Nuna’s soaring vocals rang out, while the bass line thumped cleanly, yet powerfully.

In a side-by-side test with the HomePod mini, the Echo Dot Max was louder overall and delivered more bass, which is not surprising given that Apple’s device has a smaller, single driver.

However, when listening to Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” from the Electric Nebraska album, the Boss’ vocals sounded more compressed and less forward than on the HomePod mini.

The difference was even more pronounced when I spun up “Defying Gravity.” Cynthia Erivo’s voice was much sharper and clearer on the HomePod mini than on the Max, which made her, and the underlying music, sound much flatter.

While not available at launch — Amazon said it would come in November — the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio can be used as an output device if you have a Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen), or Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen). It’s similar to what Apple offers with the HomePod and HomePod mini with Apple TV, as well as existing Echo smart speakers with older Fire TV devices (here’s a full list of what pairs with what).

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Alexa+

At the time of the Echo Dot Max’s launch, Amazon’s AI-enhanced Alexa+ was still in its early access phase, as the company is still working out the kinks and building out its next-gen assistant. To make sure Alexa+ gets into more homes, the Echo Dot Max gets you, well, early access to the service (then again, so does almost all Echo smart speakers). Alexa+ is free for Amazon Prime customers, but will cost $19.99/month for those who aren’t subscribers once it leaves its early access phase.

Using Alexa+ on an audio-only product like the Echo Dot Max is a bit different than using it on an Echo Show.

When I interviewed Daniel Rausch, Amazon's vice president of Alexa+ and Echo, he explained that answers on a speaker-first device would be shorter than those on a smart display.

Alexa+ is indeed much better than Classic Alexa. I’ll give you two examples.

I asked for pizza places near me, and Alexa+ accurately told me the three top places near me. However, while it was able to tell me the address, it couldn’t give me turn-by-turn directions. Cheekily, it responded “It’s so close, you can probably find it by following the pizza aroma.”

Creating smart home routines is worlds easier with Alexa+. For instance, I asked it to “Create a routine that turns on Family room lights if the Echo Dot Max detects motion.” Alexa+ responded that the Max couldn’t yet be used for this (it was before the device was officially launched), but it could use the living room motion sensor instead. Later, when I was sitting in my living room, I could simply say “Alexa, turn off all lights in this room,” and it automatically knew I was referring to the living room.

The real trick will be in getting consumers to use it more than they did the old Alexa, which I think will be a hard habit to break.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Smart home

Similar to the last generation Echo smart speakers, the Echo Dot Max has a bunch of smart home goodies packed inside. For starters, it can act as a satellite for eero Wi-Fi routers; Amazon says it can provide up to 1,000 square feet of additional coverage, and speeds of up to 100 Mbps for 10 or fewer connected devices in the 5GHz band. So, it’s not going to replace a bona fide satellite for one of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems, but it could help to clear up a dead zone in your house.

Additionally, the Echo Dot Max has an ambient light and temperature sensor, as well as presence detection, and you can create smart home routines using these sensors. It’s a great way to add more functionality to, say, the Amazon Smart Thermostat. If you have an Echo Dot Max in a room of your house that doesn’t get warm enough, you could tell the thermostat to keep the heat on until the temperature hits where you want it.

However, the Echo Dot Max has a new OmniPresence feature which, when paired with its newer processor, enables faster reaction times. So, it should turn your lights on faster when you enter the room, for instance.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: Bottom line

The Echo Dot Max (and the larger Echo Studio) both look and sound nicer than the previous generation of Amazon’s smart speakers — though not their competition. Thanks to an upgraded processor, the Echo Dot Max has some interesting new features like OmniPresence, which makes for more powerful smart home routines. And, Alexa+ is a marked improvement over Alexa — though not so essential that I’d fork over $20 a month.

However, it doesn’t do anything radically different from the previous generation. On top of that, Alexa+ will work on most legacy Echo smart speakers (though you won’t get the OmniPresence detection), so unless you have a first-generation Echo, there’s no real need to upgrade to use the newest version of Amazon’s assistant.

Smart home devices should have a longer shelf life than other consumer electronics — I’d be miffed if I had to swap out my light bulbs every other year — so in some ways, Amazon is a victim of its own success. Its last generation of smart speakers already does a pretty great job, so what’s the point in switching if you don’t have to?

Six years is a long time to wait. Of all its smart speakers, Amazon’s premium device, the Echo Studio, has gone the longest without an update. First released in 2019, the Echo Studio was designed to compete with the Sonos One, Apple HomePod, and Google Home Max. Since that time, the first two of those devices have been updated, and the latter has been discontinued.

So what does half a dozen years of development get you? For starters, a new design: The 2025 Echo Studio has adopted the same orb-like shape as Amazon’s other smart speakers. And, it has a slew of smart home features, like the ability to act as an eero Wi-Fi satellite, as well as temperature and presence sensors.

Most significantly, it’s also designed to work with Alexa+, Amazon’s AI-boosted smart assistant. While not exclusive — Alexa+ will also work on the original Echo Studio — the 2025 model has an upgraded processor to deliver faster performance.

So how does the 2025 Echo Studio compare to the best smart speakers? I’ve been testing it to find out.

Amazon Echo Studio (2025): Price & availability

The Echo Studio will be available for sale on Nov, 2025, for $219. You’ll be able to get it in white or black.

The Echo Studio’s price is the same as the Sonos Era 100, another one of our favorite smart speakers, so you’ll be seeing a lot of comparisons between the two throughout my review.

Amazon Echo Studio (2025) review: Design

Where the original Echo Studio had a canister-like design similar to the Apple HomePod, the 2025 version of the Echo Studio looks like a larger version of the Echo Dot Max. It’s a spherical device, with a large circular indentation in the front for the volume controls. Ringing these controls is an array of LEDs that change to blue when Alexa+ is engaged. Measuring 6.1 x 5.6 x 5.8 inches, the Echo Studio feels like an oversized Magic 8 Ball, and is a substantial 3.6 pounds.

Wrapping the Echo Studio is an acoustic fabric that’s remarkably similar to that on the Apple HomePod mini. Unlike the original Echo Studio and the Sonos Era 100, the latest Echo Studio lacks an optical audio-in port, so you can’t hook it up directly to one of the best record players, for instance. It does have a screw mount in the bottom, though, so you can hook it up to wall mounts.

Amazon Echo Studio (2025) review: Audio quality

While I generally liked the original Echo Studio, which launched in 2019, it ultimately didn’t sound nearly as good as the Sonos One nor the Apple HomePod; it got plenty loud, but mids tended to get lost in the shuffle.

The same holds true for the 2025 version. While it delivers plenty of chest-thumping bass and quality audio, it falls short of the Sonos Era 100, specifically when it comes to vocals.

The original Echo Studio featured a 5.25-inch woofer, three 2-inch midrange speakers and one 1-inch tweeter. By comparison, the 2025 version has a single 3.75-inch high excursion woofer and three 1.5-inch full-range drivers.

Even with the smaller woofer, the Echo Studio was able to drive an impressive amount of bass, enough so that I felt it from across my living room. Everything from Rihanna’s “SOS” to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” was able to send small tremors through the floor to my feet. If you want to get the party started, this is the speaker for you.

However, when listening more closely to a variety of tracks, I found that the Echo Studio didn’t fare as well when it came to vocals. Norah Jones’ “Don’t know why” sounded great on the Studio, with lots of space around the instruments, but on the Era 100, everything felt a bit warmer, and her vocals were a bit more forward and captured more of that ephemeral quality to her voice.

Similarly, while the Echo Studio was able to make K-Pop Demon Hunters' “Golden” really bump with its driving bass, the Sonos Era 100 did a better job at bringing out EJAE’s soaring voice.

While not available at launch — Amazon said it would come in November — the Echo Dot Max can be used as an output device if you have a Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen), Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen), or Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen).

It’s similar to what Apple offers with the HomePod and HomePod mini with Apple TV, and what you can do with older Echo smart speakers and Fire TV devices. However, unlike the older Echo devices, where you were limited to pairing two, you’ll be able to link up to five Echo Dot Max and Echo Studios to create an ad hoc home theater with true surround sound.

Finally, the Echo Studio has spatial audio (something the Era 100 lacks), so it can play Dolby Atmos tracks, making it even more suited for your home theater setup.

Amazon Echo Studio (2025) review: Alexa+

While I cover this in greater detail in my Echo Dot Max review, Amazon’s voice assistant is much improved over the original. It speaks to you in a much more natural, conversational tone, and is better at interpreting your commands, especially when it comes to the smart home.

As someone who has way too many smart home devices in his house, I’m frequently naming things too similarly — I have a lot of things that are either called “living room lights or “family room lights,” for instance. In the past, getting Alexa to turn on the appropriate device would sometimes be a cause for frustration as it struggled to identify just what I wanted it to do.

Now, it’s much smarter at figuring out my intentions, to the point where it was a cinch to tell it to create a routine based on a variety of factors — such as turning on the lights if someone was in a room, but only after 9 p.m. — or simply by saying “turn the lights on in this room.”

Amazon Echo Studio (2025) review: Smart home

Of course, a smart speaker is about more than just cranking out music. Like the Echo Dot Max, the Echo Studio has an eero satellite, so if you have an eero mesh router, this can be a good way to fill gaps in your coverage. It’s not overly powerful (you only get speeds of up to 100 Mbps), but can help in a pinch.

In addition, the Echo Studio has an ambient temperature sensor, an ambient light sensor and presence Detection, which can all be used as triggers for smart home routines. So, you could tell Alexa+ to create a routine where it turns on the Echo Studio and your lights if you happen to walk into the room.

Amazon Echo Studio (2025) review: Bottom line

If you’re looking for the best smart speaker around $200, and audio is your primary focus, then the Sonos Era 100 is still your best bet. Not only did it edge out the Studio in my listening test, but it also has an optical audio port, so you can use it with older audio devices like turntables that don’t have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. And, while Sonos did not do itself any favors with its app redesign last year, things have improved.

However, the Amazon Echo Studio is a far more capable smart home device. Its suite of temperature and presence sensors let you better integrate it into smart home routines, and, if you have a newish Fire TV device, you can use the Studio as an ad hoc soundbar — something you can’t really do with the Era 100.

Then there’s Alexa+, which is currently only available on Amazon’s smart speakers. From my testing, Amazon’s AI-powered voice assistant is far better than the original; while I don’t think it’s worth upgrading to the Echo Studio just for this feature, it is a nice benefit.

We recently picked up a Ring Doorbell in Casa del Rogers. We wanted something easy to use that would avoid missed packages and send alerts to everyone who lives within the walls of our home when there's someone at the door.

But it raised an issue — our mish-mash of smart speakers around the house that have traditionally just been about music streaming no longer feel as high-tech. Or, indeed, as useful.

So now we're looking for a solution. We want something that will truly enrich our home, so that we can control our lighting, listen out for the doorbell, and look after the thermostat. Where does that leave us? Thankfully, we've got options. Lots of them.

The parameters

I've got a couple of different things that I need our new smart speakers to do. First up, we need them to be inexpensive. After all, we're going to be filling our home with them, so we can't go spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on each speaker for each room. There's space for a more premium option in a couple of rooms in the house, but for the most part, we need affordable. Parameter one.

We need wide compatibility with smart devices as a second parameter. We've got an assortment of different smart lights and other devices around the house, and there's our brand-new Ring doorbell that needs to work. A smart speaker, and indeed, a voice assistant, that works with all of them, is paramount.

Thirdly, we need something easy to use. I am relatively technologically competent, so setting up and using devices is fairly easy. My parents are older, so they need something that's easy to use.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly to me, I want something that's going to sound good. I want something more than just a simple smart speaker, given that it's likely to be the only way to listen to music in certain rooms around the house.

So, with our criteria set out, let's go through our options — and whether I'll be adding them to our house.

Option 1: Amazon Echo and Alexa

We've all heard of the best Alexa speakers (and now Alexa+), and the Echo speakers that power it. They're a well-known system of smart devices that works with, as far as I can tell at least, just about every lightbulb, thermostat, blind opener and smart doormat under the sun. They're a popular choice for many users, whether they wield an iPhone or Android.

It's all thanks to Alexa at the core of the experience, which has only been improved by Alexa+ and all of its AI updates that have recently dropped. As for how useful it'll be in the Rogers household, there are a couple of different points that might make us choose Amazon's smart system.

It's effortless to use. We've loved using our Ring Doorbell, our first introduction to Amazon's smart environment, and it was simple enough to set up that it took less than half an hour from drilling holes in the wall to fully working. Echo devices are similarly simple, so they'd be perfect for my less-technologically-minded parents.

The wide device support would work wonders for our disparate system, and their lower price and sheer range of available devices would be a massive boon.

Where do they fall down? The sound quality. From my experience, they sound fine, but no more than that. Still, that's 3/4 different parameters filled — making them a very viable option for our villainous lair.

Even better, Amazon has just launched the new Amazon Echo Dot Max and a new Echo Studio — our choice just got a bit wider.

• Final Rogers Home Score: 3/4

Option 2: Google Nest and Google Home

Google Home is one that I'm also familiar with after my year with a Pixel device in my pocket. It's helped me play around with different speaker systems and projectors as I build a home movie center, and it worked pretty seamlessly with the Android device that lived with me.

That said, I wasn't a massive fan of the Gemini settings, which served to irritate more than actually help. It was responsive, but I'm not sure I could see myself using it all that much to control the various devices around the house.

I also found setting devices up more annoying than it perhaps should have been. Compatibility would also be an issue, with some of our devices around the house not working with the best Google Home speakers or needing an extra hub to get working.

At least the cost would be kept down, always a bonus — and one criterion fulfilled.

Finally, the sound. Like the Echo speakers, the Nest speakers sound fine, but not exemplary. I'm not entirely sure that, given our household's reliance on iPhones, Google Home is going to be all that useful — so no Nest speakers for us.

• Final Rogers Home Speaker Score: 1/4

Option 3: HomePod and Siri

The HomePod line is one that I'm more familiar with than any of the options on the list. I've had a (now broken) HomePod, and there's an aging HomePod mini that lives in the kitchen for timing duties and the odd musical accompaniment. That means that my parents would find it easier to use than some of the other options — after all, they've been asking Siri questions for years now.

Setup would be relatively straightforward as well, although compatibility with devices around the house wouldn't be quite as widespread. There are devices that wouldn't work as seamlessly with Siri as they might with, say, Alexa.

Price would be a consideration as well. While the HomePod mini isn't expensive, it's more than some of the cheaper options out there — adding one to each room would very quickly become rather expensive indeed.

The advantage here , though, is that we'd get some lovely sound quality in return, thanks to Apple's well-judged sonic engineering. Compatibility with the iPhones around the house would be a bonus as well.

• Final Rogers Home Speaker Score: 2/4

Option 4: Sonos and... Sonos?

This is one we'd get a leg up on — we've already got plenty of Sonos devices around the house. None of them are connected to a voice assistant, however, with the Sonos option only really used to change the volume on the Sonos Arc Ultra that lives in the lounge.

One of the big boons here is that we could easily link our Sonos speakers to Alexa, so we could use them along with some Echo speakers for a whole-home setup. Setup would still be easy (beyond the irritating application), and we've had them around for so long they're part of the furniture already. Unfortunately, there's no Alexa+ support, which is a shame, but no great loss.

Price would hold us back from adding more, though. They're very expensive devices, with the cheapest costing $200. Still, sound would be more than enough for me — Sonos speakers always sound excellent.

• Final Rogers Home Speaker Score: 3/4

What are we going to add to the house?

It sounds like there are two that we're going to avoid — Google and Apple. Neither are bad smart home systems, but they're not going to work with our specific use case. Still, if you want Gemini or Siri in your home, the corresponding smart system is going to work best for you.

For us, though, it's looking like a blend between Echo speakers and Sonos devices running Alexa. We've got plenty of the latter already, and buying a few of the former won't set us back very much, especially if we buy them during the upcoming Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales.

Check back to see how I get on with our new smart home — and whether it was the right choice after all.

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Spooky season is about to reach its apex with Halloween on Friday (Oct. 31), and Google Home may be getting in on the action. Reportedly, Google's smart home devices have started inventing fake people and events.

A couple of Reddit users claim that their devices started acting up this week. The initial post on the r/googlehome subreddit concerned the poster's Nest camera, giving an active summary that said "Michael was seen taking out trash," even though they say that no one by that name lives there.

The user, jpro1001, asked about it and Google's assistant reportedly said that the camera “can identify faces even if you haven’t explicitly named them." It was supposed to add that it spotted the mysterious "Michael" between October 26 and 27.

The user went on to say they'd never put Michael into their system and that Google Home was describing actions he had done. "That was pretty creepy who the heck is Michael!?"

Several commenters joked that horror slashers like Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees were stalking the user's house.

Another commenter had a similar story about Google Home lying about trash day. They said it prompted them about trash day. They told the assistant it wasn't trash day and it apparently denied it.

"When I said that it told me that just a minute ago, it doubled down on the denial and said that I must be mistaken," Wordyplayer said. "Because there is no record of it, and it never said that to me."

A third person reported that their device claimed that their friend David had come over and vacuumed the living room. Which, again, was not true.

A sudden trend?

Last week, a different Redditor posted about Google Home providing a summary of their day but identifying them as a woman named Sarah. The problem, as they wrote is "I am a man, live alone, and don’t even have a friend named Sarah."

Apparently, Google Home got sassy when asked about it. "You told me that Sarah is actually {my name} today, but that I invented the name Sarah yesterday. How can both of these things be true?" their device was supposed to have responded.

He added that the assistant also claimed there were two dogs in the house, when he owns only one. A couple of other people responded in that thread with similar experiences.

It's not clear if this is a widespread trend. Though multiple reports in the last week is concerning. There is a common thread though.

Gemini to blame?

Starting on October 1, Google Assistant began phasing out in favor of Google's AI chatbot, Gemini. The AI assistant is supposed to enable more natural language prompting thanks to Gemini Live.

Outside of language, Google Gemini is supposed to provide better automation for Home devices. Gemini brings a lot to the table as it replaces Google Assistant.

Google tends to rollout updates like this meaning that not everyone had access on October 1. Instead, Gemini would slowly appear over the coming weeks.

It's possible that more people are starting to see Gemini on their Home devices as we get closer to the end of the month. User jpro1001 confirmed in a response that they were using Gemini in their device. The user from last week also said they were suing Gemini.

AI bots are known to hallucinate. Google's own AI was caught making up idioms earlier this year, and a recent study found that OpenAI's chatbot is wrong one in four times.

Silence from Google

Tom's Guide has reached out to Google for comment on possible Gemini hallucinations. Otherwise, we haven't seen any official response from Google about this issue.

Though, it's possible that Google is aware of it. Under the post from last week a GoogleNest moderator responded saying that the "team would like to look into this." They asked the poster to send a clip of the "Sarah" incident in. The user said responded saying they sent information in.

If Google responds, we'll update this story.

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Last week, Amazon's 2025 devices event debuted two new Echo smart speakers with Amazon's latest Alexa Plus (Alexa+) voice assistant. Now, Echo Show owners are reporting that its AI-powered updates brought with them a tidal wave of ads that make the device practically unusable.

Previously, Amazon's Echo Show smart displays showed ads mostly through the Shopping Lists feature or Alexa's "By the way" features. It also occasionally played audio ads when using Alexa to listen to Amazon Music. However, several reports on the Alexa subreddit and from The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, who owns more than one Echo Show, found that the number of ads has skyrocketed in recent months.

Full-screen ads marked "sponsored" now pop up between photos in the Photo Frame mode slideshow as well as between content cards for music, recipes, and news. Some Reddit users reported ads showing up alongside the alarm clock and other basic functions as well. To add insult to injury, the displays have also started showing ads for Alexa Plus itself, even though it's still in early access.

The ads are so pervasive that many users said their smart display feels more like a billboard for Amazon these days, and some are considering returning the product outright. It really shouldn't come as a shocker, though. CEO Andy Jassy has promoted the revamped AI-powered voice assistant Alexa Plus, as a new revenue driver for the company's hardware division.

"We have over 600 million Alexa devices out there today, and expect Alexa+ to play an even more vital role in the lives of these hundreds of millions of customers in the future," Jassy said in his annual shareholder letter back in April.

Amazon’s Devices division has long struggled to turn a profit, so it's no surprise that Amazon's pushing ads, one area where it is making money, so hard on them. According to Amazon, the Echo Show is designed to show home screen ads if someone even so much as gets close to the device.

Unlike with the best Kindles, there's no option to buy an ad-free version of the Echo Show. But there are some settings you can tweak to make the ads on your Echo Show a little less obnoxious.

How to limit ads on your Echo Show

To make the Echo Show's ads less obnoxious, users on Reddit have shared two workarounds. For the first, you'll need to set a routine in the Alexa app. Tap the More option at the bottom (the icon with the three stacked lines), select Routines, and tap the plus icon. Select Add an event to choose when your trigger will start, tap Add action, select Custom, and type in: Alexa, start Photo Frame.

Alternatively, changing the language on your Echo Show device to English/Canada also seems to do the trick. Just swipe down from the top of the device, select Settings, scroll down, tap Device Options, then Device Language.

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At Amazon’s Devices & Services event yesterday (September 30), the company introduced the first generation of products designed to take full advantage of Alexa+’s capabilities. From new Echo smart speakers and displays to new Fire TV devices and Ring cameras, the increased processing power in these gadgets allow for deeper integration with Amazon’s AI-powered voice assistant.

To learn more about what these devices could do, as well as where Amazon is heading with other Alexa+ enabled devices — such as the next generation of smart glasses and how ordering a pizza is about to become a lot easier — we sat down with Daniel Rausch, Amazon's vice president of Alexa+ and Echo.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Amazon's 2025 devices event has now drawn to a close, and we've got a clear picture of what 2026 is going to look like in terms of upcoming equipment. Most importantly, I've seen the future of Amazon's speaker line — and it's coming in the form of the Amazon Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and the Echo Show 11.

We're looking at smart speakers powered by Amazon's latest Alexa+ AI voice assistant, so they're going to be more responsive and helpful than ever. So what's new with Amazon's latest speakers, and are they shoe-ins for the best smart speakers?

Amazon Echo Dot Max

Let's start with the smallest speaker that Amazon announced at the launch event. It's called the Echo Dot Max, and it's a larger and improved version of the popular Echo Dot line. First on the list — bass response. Amazon says that there's now 3x the bass of the 5th-gen Echo Dot, with "room-filling sound" that's going to adapt to your space.

The Dot speakers have never been sonic heroes, so it's nice to hear that this one is putting more emphasis on sound quality. There are two speakers inside — a high excursion woofer and a tweeter. That should mean more rounded sound than before, as each is able to focus on its own part of the frequency range.

It'll support Amazon's Alexa+ (like all the other speakers here), and it's going to cost $99. That's not a bad price at all — as long as it sounds good. Otherwise, you may well be better off picking up the non-Max Echo Dot speaker.

Echo Studio

This larger speaker packs in some serious specs for audio fans, while being, apparently, 40% smaller than the outgoing studio model. I think it looks pretty smart with its spherical shell and flat controls across the front, which also hides the Alexa light ring.

Amazon says that "you can’t find any smart speaker that sounds this amazing at this size." Strong words, but the audio specs might just back it up. It's going up against the likes of the Sonos Era 100 at its price, although the Dolby Atmos inclusion does give the Sonos speaker a run for its money.

Inside you'll find a woofer and three "optimally placed" full-range drivers. That's how you're going to get that Dolby Atmos spatial audio for a more immersive listening experience.

It's not a cheap speaker, but compared to the competition, it's pretty well priced. It's $219.

Something I'm looking forward to with both speakers is that you can connect up to five Studio or Dot Max speakers to your Fire TV sticks to create a Dolby Atmos setup without the need for one of the best soundbars. Now that's very cool — and I can't wait to test it out.

Echo Show 9 and Show 11

The Amazon Echo Show speakers are slightly different again. For one, you've got those screens on the front to tell you what's going on in your world. Then, around the back, you've got some audio spheres to give you solid sound quality for listening to music.

Let's start with the audio stuff built into the speakers. They've got completely redesigned internals, including front-facing drivers and a "custom woofer." They'll also support spatial audio, which is something that I wasn't expecting, given how much space the front screen takes up. It's because Amazon has made the displays float over the speaker portion, giving more space for audio bits and bobs. I'll reserve judgment until I've tested them thoroughly.

As for the smart bits and the screens, you're looking at 8 and 11-inch HD screens for super crisp information and readouts. You'll be able to control your Alexa-powered smart home too, just like the slightly older models.

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Want to listen to your music wherever you are in your home? There are a couple of solutions. You could have one, big speaker in one room and pump the volume as loud as you possibly can. That's a bad idea. Or, you could hang one of the best Bluetooth speakers from your belt, and wander around the house listening to tinny tunes. This is also a bad idea.

So what is a good idea? One of the best smart speakers is a start. You'll get better sound thanks to the Wi-Fi connection and generally higher quality audio internals. You'll also get voice control and other smart features, like simple audio streaming from your phone to the speakers. One of the most common manufacturers of smart speakers is Sonos — and they're very good.

But I don't use Sonos — or at least, not Sonos's whole home solution. Mine is a mad Frankenstein that's made up of a couple of different systems, built around some of my favorite devices. Here's how it works.

If you have a large, multi-room house, you need a different audio device in each to be able to hear your music wherever you might find yourself.

If you're like me, you'll want to use different speakers in each room that serve a slightly different purpose but can, should I need them to, all play the same music simultaneously. Or, if I'm sharing my space with someone, each speaker can play something different, but still be controlled by a single app.

That's where Roon comes in.

I've written about Roon before. It's a kind of all-in-one music streaming service, bringing together all your smart speakers and streaming devices so that you can stream music from both a home music server and services like Tidal and Qobuz. I've now been using it for the better part of six months, and it's completely changed the way my music listening at home works.

Say, for example, that I want to listen to Cannibal Corpse in the living room, while someone else listens to some garbage some pop music in the kitchen, I can use the Roon app to choose one of the living room speakers. Their music won't get stopped, and we can even listen to the same source service.

Even better, I have a music server built into Roon. See, I have a device called a Roon Nucleus One, which has a hard drive filled with my music collection so that I can listen to music at a much higher quality than you'd find on a streaming service. It also means I can listen to tunes you simply won't find on anything, be that Spotify, Tidal, or Qobuz. The music of Wendy Carlos is simply impossible to find, for example, unless you have her full CD back catalog ripped onto your hard drive. Like me.

It's easy enough to use. Plug in the Roon Nucleus One server, create an account, and log in with the Roon app. Then you can add all your streaming services, connect your devices (which are listed the moment you connect Roon to the WiFi — chef's kiss,) and you're off.

Any drawbacks?

So Roon itself doesn't have any kind of voice control support, which for some is going to be a contentious problem. I'm not bothered at all, given I only use voice controls to create timers in the kitchen (which still works with our kitchen HomePod), but some potential users aren't going to like that they can't ask the system to play music without pulling out their iPad or phone.

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As the Autumn semester of college gets into the swing of things, you may be looking to add the final touches to your dorm room. When I moved into my college dorm, I forgot to bring my Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) Alexa speaker from home, so I ended up ordering a Google Nest Mini.

My Amazon speaker eventually made it to college with me too, but after using them both for years, I know which one to recommend to everyone else.

Both of the speakers are pretty tiny, and won’t take up much space in your small dorm. Like most smart devices, they can both help with daily tasks like making lists, setting alarms and provide help from a smart assistant.

I’m going to go through what I love about both speakers and let you know which one is best to get the most out of your college dorm setup.

Amazon Echo Dot

The Amazon Echo Dot gives all of the perks of larger Echo models at a fraction of the size and price. As I mentioned, Alexa has always been my go-to device at home. This is because of the simple access to third-party apps such as Spotify.

The speaker is also great for keeping on top of your Amazon orders and deliveries. This really came in handy when I was at college, as I could re-order essentials simply by asking Alexa.

Amazon now only sells the new version of the Echo Dot speaker, and while its functions and performance are pretty much the same, the design is very different. The new version of the speaker is shaped like a sphere and is therefore quite a bit bigger than the 3rd generation I was using at the time. This redesign also makes the speaker a lot bigger than the Google Nest Mini.

The speaker is still bound in cloth over the speaker with tactile buttons on the top to control the volume, voice commands, and to mute the speaker. Of course, you don’t need to use the buttons, as you can simply ask Alexa.

The sound of the Echo Dot packs quite the punch if you need it to, but to make sure you get on with your roommate and neighbours, the speaker can also be used at very low volumes. I often used the low volumes to just have some background noise while catching up on work, and found the Echo very easy to control when doing this.

Google Nest Mini

The Google Next Mini added a lovely textured look to my dorm room, but it’s also small and discreet enough that it’s not going to get in the way if you are short on space. It is far more compact than the Echo Dot.

Since the smart speaker is so small, it can sound tinny at higher volumes and won’t give much depth to songs. But when I was at college, I listened to music at low levels at all times because I was living in such close quarters with others.

I think the Google Nest Mini is a great option for anyone who uses Google organization apps like Google Calendar, as you are able to access the information on these instantly with the Google Voice Assistant. By just saying “Hey Google”, I was able to stay completely organised with all of my plans.

The controls of the Nest Mini are touch sensitive and are only the cloth over the speaker. They light up to guide you to the controls. I sometimes missed the controls as I much prefer a tactile button like the Echo Dot has, but the ultrasound sensing built into the Nest Mini made it easier to locate the buttons each time.

In my opinion, the design of the Nest Mini is more convenient for saving desktop space. It is pretty flat, and I never felt it got in the way.

Which one is my winner?

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Last week, at Apple's 'Awe Dropping' event, we were treated to the latest products joining the Apple family, such as the iPhone Air and the new AirPods Pro 3. While everyone was awed at the thinnest iPhone ever being revealed, I noticed the omission of a certain smart home product — one we all thought would be unveiled but wasn't. You guessed it: I'm talking about the HomePod 3.

The HomePod 3 — the natural successor to the HomePod 2 — was a no-show at the iPhone 17 event, but the current model will be getting new features.

So, what do you do now, if you've been meaning to upgrade from the second-gen model and the third-gen isn't even close to being launched? Why not get the Denon Home 150 instead?

Okay, it isn't a first-party product, so Apple purists are going to wonder why I'm recommending a third-party speaker — but the tradeoff is super sound quality, excellent smart home and multi-room integration, and for a lower price. In fact, I created a multi-room system in less than 10 minutes using two Denon speakers, and it sounded phenomenal. So forget the HomePod 3 — here's why you need the Denon Home 150 instead.

All the right connectivity smarts

What are the best smart speakers good at? Reminding you of daily tasks, fuelling your productivity, and everything in between. The Denon Home 150 excels at all of it, thanks to voice assistant support, which includes Siri (as long as you have a HomePod in the vicinity) and Alexa. It's really the only smart speaker you need if you use both Apple's and Amazon's voice assistants.

But that's not all. The best music streaming services are also integrated, including Spotify, Apple Music, Qobuz, etc. There's Bluetooth connectivity too, and you can stream music wirelessly (hi-res streaming at that). If you're old school, there's a 3.5mm aux port as well as a USB-A port to play music stored on a thumb drive.

Still with me? Good, because we ain't done yet. The Home 150 can also be paired with another HEOS-compatible speaker — like the Denon Home 350 — to create a multi-room system. You can then use the Home 150 synchronized with the Home 350 (as an example) or create a left and right channel for stereo sound. Extremely cool and very easy to do!

Small speaker, big sound

Now that we've covered the connectivity side of things, let's talk about sound quality. Smart speakers can, of course, be used to listen to music, like regular speakers. While the Apple HomePod 2 sounds good and I have no doubt the HomePod 3 will do too (when it eventually comes out), I believe the Denon Home 150 is in a league of its own.

There's really no second-guessing whether you should buy it if you really want hi-res wireless streaming. As someone who reviews audio gear for a living, I was blown away by the Home 150's sound — I wasn't expecting much from such a small speaker. It's fitted with one 1-inch tweeter and one 3.5-inch woofer as well as two class D amplifiers. It also features a DTS Neural:X upmixer, which helps produce immersive, lifelike, three-dimensional sound — stand anywhere in the room and you'll hear the same sound.

Regardless of what I listened to, the Home 150 left me with a pain in my neck because I was headbanging so much. Lows, mids and highs are extremely well-tuned to provide a balanced sound, but I could still appreciate the rich, deep (and funky) bassline in Twenty One Pilots' 'Center Mass' and 'Tally.'

I don't say this lightly, but the Home 150's sound profile is very close to the pricier Home 350. You can read all about the audio quality in our in-depth Home 150 review and Home 350 review.

You NEED a multi-room system

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Apple's iPhone 17 event came and went with no mention of the rumored HomePod 3 or even a HomePod mini 2. Instead, the company is pushing out a software update next week (as per 9to5Mac) that'll bring some new features to its existing smart speakers.

The HomePod 26 software update will land alongside Apple's other OS updates on September 26 for both the regular HomePod 2 and the HomePod mini. We should see some expansion to voice controls for multi-room audio and the ability to use Crossfade.

Crossfade can already be found within Apple Music and lets you add a smooth transition from one song to the next. You can set your preferred fade duration to between one and 12 seconds. Once the update has been installed, you'll find the option to add Crossfade within the Home app. Just go to Home Settings > People > [You] > Apple Music > Crossfade to toggle on the feature and alter the duration.

When it comes to multi-room audio, Apple is expanding voice controls for multi-room audio beyond just Apple Music. You can already ask Siri to do things like "play music in the living room" or "play music everywhere", but now you'll be able to request that with any AirPlay stream on the HomePod. If you prefer one of the other best music streaming services to Apple's own service, you can ask Siri to play it in whichever room you want. Handy if you're planning to start using Spotify now that lossless audio is coming down the pipe.

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I listen to music a lot. Like, a lot. I listen to music on my commute to work, in the shower, while cooking, while working on my laptop, sometimes while playing video games — whenever I can, really. As does my partner, who plays her favorite tunes as and when she can, helping me discover new music.

And sometimes, we work in different rooms of our apartment, but we still want to listen to the same songs. Sure, we can use two of the same Bluetooth speakers and sync them up, but the music isn't always hi-res. Thankfully, I get to test some outstanding audio gear as part of my job, and I discovered a simple solution while testing the Denon Home 350 smart speaker: create a multi-room, whole-home audio system.

As a complete beginner to the whole-home scene, creating a multi-room system couldn't have been easier. If you want to do the same but are overwhelmed by the number of smart speakers out there, fret not. Let me take you through how I did it, and how you can do it too.

All you want for Christmas is these two speakers

To get started, you'll need to buy a couple of things. To create a multi-room system, you'll need at least two speakers, and there's no better choice than Denon's Home lineup. There are four speakers to choose from, ranging in price, so I chose the Denon Home 150 and the Denon Home 350.

The Home 150 is Denon's entry-level smart speaker, and its compact size means you can place it on your TV stand or coffee table without sacrificing too much space. For such a small speaker, it's extremely powerful and it reproduces basslines accurately, so much so that I can feel my coffee table shake when the Home 150 is playing.

Then there's the Home 350, which costs a pretty penny. It's Denon's most expensive smart speaker but it's so worth the premium. Its versatility is unmatched with plenty of options for wired and wireless connectivity, as well as 10/10 sound across genres. Both the Home 150 and Home 350 are easy to setup and control, and you can set up a multi-room system via the HEOS app (Android or iOS).

The app enables you to customize the speakers and assign them to different rooms. You can create either a left and right channel for stereo sound or have the same sound play through both (or multiple) speakers. You can also synchronize any and all HEOS-compatible speakers together; they don't necessarily need to be Denon-branded.

Earth-shattering sound

But why is it that I'm recommending the Denon Home 150 and the Denon Home 350 when there are so many other smart speakers out there, and some that are cheaper? The answer is simple: hi-res streaming over Wi-Fi. If you're an audiophile or someone who thoroughly enjoys listening to music, you'll know that you can't put a price on the best sound quality — and the Home 150 and Home 350 will have you appreciating music in new ways.

The Home 150 is fitted with one 1-inch tweeter and one 3.5-inch woofer as well as two class D amplifiers. Meanwhile, the Home 350 is fitted with two 1-inch tweeters, two 2-inch mid-range drivers, two 6-inch woofers, and six class D amps.

Both speakers also feature a DTS Neural:X upmixer each, which helps produce immersive, lifelike, three-dimensional sound — stand anywhere in the room and you'll hear the same sound.

The upmixer works in conjunction with each speaker's amplifiers and drivers. The result? Powerful bass, crystal clear vocals, outstanding mids, and earth-shattering sound. Regardless of what I listened to, it sounded phenomenal. I'm a tough critic, so praise doesn't come lightly.

Whether I was jamming to the heavy 'Holy Mountains' by System of a Down or the mellow 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' by Lana Del Rey, the Home 350 and Home 150 didn't let me down. I was even surprised that in 'Love Love Love' by Of Monsters and Men, which doesn't have a strong bassline. The bass still made the floor vibrate!

Forever holding on

I test a lot of products as a reviews writer, and I don't usually get attached to the them... but I'd be lying if I said the Denon Home 150 and the Denon Home 350 hadn't weaseled their way into my heart. They just sound. Too. Darn. Good. Regardless of where you're standing in the room, the sound quality is mindblowing through either speaker.

I never knew I needed a multi-room setup until I tried Denon's Home lineup. I now love having whole-home audio because it means my partner and I can listen to the same songs even though we're dong our own thing. It's also nice having Alexa around as I can just ask her to remind me of menial tasks.

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There’s a lot to love about the best smart speakers; nifty devices that can not only let you jam to your favorite tunes, but also help you with everyday tasks. There’s a whole range of smart speakers beyond Alexa, Google and Siri, and some that enable you to stream high fidelity audio, such as the Denon Home 350.

This premium-looking speaker produces three-dimensional audio, which sounds ridiculously good. Bass response is powerful while vocals are clear and detailed. The responsive touch controls and user-friendly app make controlling the Home 350 extremely easy. You can also pair it with any other HEOS-compatible speaker to create a multi-room setup.

But the speaker costs an arm and a leg, so should you pay the premium? Read my full Denon Room 350 review to find out.

Denon Home 350 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A smart speaker for multi-room streaming
• Who is it for? Anyone who wants whole-home audio and outstanding sound quality
• How much does it cost? It’s not the cheapest — the Denon Home 350 retails for $749 / £599
• What do we like? The premium design, easy setup, responsive touch controls, powerful sound across genres, and voice assistant support
• What don’t we like? It costs an arm and a leg!

Denon Home 350 review: Specs

Denon Home 350 review: Price & availability

The Denon Home 350 is part of the Japanese brand’s lineup of hi-fi smart speakers powered by HEOS, a proprietary wireless ecosystem. Retailing for $749 / £599, the Home 350 is the most expensive speaker in the Home family. It’s also pricier than the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin ($559) and the Sonos Era 300 ($449), two of its closest competitors.

While the Home 350 costs a premium, I think it’s well worth it. It sounds great, it looks lovely, it’s easy to control, and there are plenty of connectivity options.

Denon Home 350 review: Design & controls

• Premium, minimalist design
• Responsive touch controls

The Denon Home 350 shares design traits with other speakers in the Home lineup. Just like the Denon Home 150 ($249) and the Denon Home 250, the Home 350 is covered in soft fabric which wraps around its entire body, covering the front, rear and side speakers. The Home 350 looks smart and like you’ve paid big bucks for it, and it adds a premium touch to any space.

This is not a portable speaker at all, though, and it’s meant to stay put in one place (near a power socket). It measures 14.96 x 8.85 x 7.08 inches and weighs 13.88lbs, making it heavier than the Sonos Era 300 (9.9lbs) but lighter than the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (14.33lbs).

Keeping with its minimalist design, the Home 350 doesn’t feature any fancy or reactive lighting, but you get a small LED light at the bottom, which changes colors depending on connection status.

As for controlling the speaker, there’s a touch panel that illuminates when you hover your finger nearby. There are six numbered buttons that you can customize via the app. By default, for example, 1 switches input to aux. Next to these numbers are the play/pause and volume up/down buttons, all of which are extremely responsive.

You’ll find a pair of Bluetooth and power buttons around the back, located between the input ports. Again, easy to reach and responsive. No notes, really. This is a well-designed speaker with an intuitive control scheme.

Denon Home 350 review: Features

• Easy to create a HEOS multi-room system
• Fantastic synchronization between speakers
• Compatible with Alexa and Siri

Unlike the best Bluetooth speakers I’ve tested, the Denon Home 350 is a smart speaker that can’t be used wirelessly, so you need to plug it into a wall outlet. This also means that it’s designed to stay put in one place, whether that’s a corner in your bedroom or on your living room’s coffee table. Denon doesn’t specify any IP rating so I’d recommend being careful with any liquids.

But similar to other Bluetooth speakers, you can pair the Home 350 with another HEOS-compatible speaker to create left and right channels of a stereo pair. What’s even better is that it works with another speaker that isn’t a Home 350 — so I did it with a Denon Home 150 and it worked like a charm.

It’s also extremely easy to set up a multi-room system, but you’ll need to download the companion app for that (more on that in a minute). Once finished, there’s fantastic synchronization between speakers with zero lag. Controlling the playback was seamless and instantaneous too — I’d press pause on the Home 350 and it would pause music on the Home 150 too.

If you use a voice assistant around the house, you’ll be pleased to know that the Home 350 supports Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri via AirPlay 2. I own an Amazon Echo Dot Gen 3 but I don’t use it a lot. However, I loved being able to ask the Home 350 for simple tasks, like checking the time and setting reminders. It also meant that I could go hands-free and not rely on my Google Pixel 7 Pro every time, especially if I was playing video games or cooking.

Denon Home 350 review: Connectivity & app

• Extremely user-friendly app
• Bluetooth and 3.5mm aux input
• USB-A port for thumb stick playback

One of the best things about the Denon Home 350 is its versatility when it comes to connectivity. Whether you want to listen wirelessly or you want to go old school with some good ol’ fashioned aux input, you can do so easily. The Home 350 utilizes Bluetooth to seamlessly connect to your smart devices, including Bluetooth-enabled turntables. As I mentioned in the previous section, there’s built-in 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi support for creating a multi-room system.

For wired playback, you get a 3.5mm aux input as well as a USB-A port if you want to plug in a thumb drive to listen to music stored on it. See? Old school, and I love it. Also located around the back is an RJ-45 Ethernet port. All of these are missing from the Sonos Era 300 and the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, neither of which feature as many physical ports.

Accompanying the Room 350 — and other speakers in the lineup — is the HEOS smartphone app, available for free on Android and iOS. The app is extremely user-friendly and sports a clean interface, and you’ll need it to create a multi-room system with other HEOS-compatible devices (such as the Denon Home 150). You can use the app to adjust the speaker’s equalizer too.

The best music streaming services are also embedded within the app, including Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, Pandora, Tune-In, and SoundCloud. Your Bluetooth device doesn’t need to be constantly connected to the Home 350 either, so you can listen to music without having your smartphone in range.

Denon Home 350 review: Sound quality

• Powerful bass response
• 10/10 performance across the board
• Sound fills rooms very well

Having tested many, many Bluetooth speakers and other kinds of audio gear, I don’t say this lightly, but the Denon Home 350 is, hands down, one of the best-sounding speakers out there. It features a well-balanced, full sound that fills rooms very well. Having used the Home 350 in my living room and our testing lab, I was highly impressed by the speaker’s loud volume and ability to flood the rooms with powerful sound, even when it was playing at just 45% volume.

In terms of its specs, the Home 350 is fitted with two 1-inch tweeters, two 2-inch mid-range drivers and two 6-inch woofers. It’s also equipped with six class D digital amplifiers that power the drivers, making the Home 350 a well-endowed speaker — and it shows when you listen to literally any tune.

To test the Home 350’s sound quality, I listened to songs I’m familiar with on Qobuz over Wi-Fi — as is the speaker’s intended use. The Home 350 offers gapless high-resolution playback up to 192KHz/24-bit using files in FLAC, WAV, ALAC, and DSD 2.8/5.6MHz formats. What’s even better is that regardless of where in the rooms I stood, I heard the same sound. That’s thanks to the DTS Neural:X upmixer which helps produce immersive, lifelike, three-dimensional sound.

The first song I listened to was ‘The Chain’ by Fleetwood Mac, and I was immediately impressed by how expressive each guitar note sounded. Each note plucked was clear and sharp, and the kick drum at the beginning sounded warm. As soon as the bassline kicked in during the chorus, it added plenty of depth to the song, and I felt fully immersed in the track. Also, that solo bassline in the instrumental bridge? I felt like I could feel it deep within my soul.

To test how the Home 350 handled high-pitched notes, or falsetto, I listened to ‘Cradled in Love’ by Poets of the Fall (a very underrated band, by the way). Marko Saaresto’s notes in the verse and especially the chorus never sounded piercing, and the transition from a low to high pitch and vice versa didn’t sound unpleasant either.

I then listened to heavier tracks. First up, ‘Holy Mountains’ by System of a Down. The switch-up from Serj Tankian’s soft vocals to powerful belting was seamless and the speaker handled it very well, and the song sounded downright amazing. Similarly, in 070 Shake’s ‘Elephant,’ the bass sounded powerful and her vocals were just as scratchy as she intended (in the best way possible), as there was enough room for me to appreciate their distortedness.

Finally, I thought I’d listen to some nice, relaxing music, the kind I turn to when I want to be transported to another world, so I listened to ‘Lumiére’ from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and ‘Main Theme Pt. 3’ from Baldur’s Gate 3. In the first track, Alice Duport-Percier’s vocals sounded absolutely magical, and I loved the soft yet detailed acoustic guitar. In ‘Main Theme Pt. 3,’ I was able to fully appreciate just how well the flute, oboe, French horn and other instruments harmonized, making an already stunning track sound even better.

Denon Home 350 review: Verdict

If you’re after top-notch sound quality over Wi-Fi and need a voice assistant at the same time, I can’t recommend the Denon Home 350 enough. It’s a very capable and well-endowed smart speaker with six drivers, including two large woofers, and every song sounds highly detailed through it. The speaker also creates three-dimensional, immersive sound that fills most rooms.

The Home 350 is easy to control too, either via touch controls or the app… or your voice! It also synchronizes well with other HEOS-compatible devices, or any other Denon Home smart speaker. You can use it as a left or right channel when using stereo sound.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Home 350 is one of the finest-sounding speakers I’ve had the pleasure of testing. It’s my new favorite way to enjoy my playlists.

If you were watching closely during the Made by Google event earlier this week, you may have noticed something totally new that Google didn't announce. In all the hubbub surrounding the launch of the Pixel 10 series and the Pixel Watch 4, Google snuck in a brief look at what seems to be a new Google Home speaker without adding any other details.

Now, more information about the speaker has leaked, courtesy of Android Headlines. That includes details on what this speaker can apparently do, colors that will be on option and how Gemini will operate.

While Google didn't tell us anything about this new speaker, we did get a good look at it during the event. The speaker looks like a cross between an Echo Dot and an Apple HomePod Mini, with a large bulb sitting atop a thin LED light ring.

It's very mushroom-esque, and it's almost like the old Google Home Mini speakers decided to do some growing into the speaker we see before us. Hopefully, it doesn't suffer nearly as many problems.

What will this new Home speaker do?

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• Apple’s new ‘Charismatic’ smart home OS is getting set to take on Alexa and Google
• Google apologizes and promises 'major improvements' in response to Home speaker debacle

Amazon is removing a key privacy feature from its Echo smart speakers — and Alexa+ is to blame.

On March 28, Amazon will remove the ability to have Alexa process your voice requests locally, and will start sending all of your recordings to the cloud to be processed there, rather on your Echo device itself.

The update, first reported by Ars Technica, comes from an email Amazon sent to Echo owners who had local processing enabled. In the email, Amazon states that the increased processing power required of the generative AI tools of Alexa+ necessitates the change.

What Alexa devices are impacted?

This change only affects those who have an Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10, or Echo Show 15, as those were the only devices that supported local Alexa, and was only available to customers in the U.S. with devices set to English.

"Starting on March 28th, your voice recordings will be sent to and processed in the cloud, and they will be deleted after Alexa processes your requests," reads the email from Amazon. "Any previously saved voice recordings will also be deleted. If your voice recordings setting is updated to ‘Don’t save recordings,’ voice ID will not work and you will not be able to create a voice ID for individual users to access more personalized features."

Amazon's email also stated that it will delete every recording after it's processed, and that "Alexa voice requests are always encrypted in transit to Amazon’s secure cloud, which was designed with layers of security protections to keep customer information safe."

Currently, you can opt for Amazon to delete any voice recording immediately, but doing so also removes Alexa's ability to create voice profiles for your account, which means you won't be able to get personalized recommendations for such things as music and calendar events.

Amazon sounds off on the change

Though it's not alone among tech companies, Amazon has had issues surrounding data privacy. In 2023, it was fined $25 million for not deleting recordings of children and location data, even after it was requested to do so.

Ring, which is owned by Amazon, was also fined $5.8 million for allowing third-party contractors access to customers' videos.

"The Alexa experience is designed to protect our customers’ privacy and keep their data secure, and that’s not changing," said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement to Tom's Guide. "We’re focusing on the privacy tools and controls that our customers use most and work well with generative AI experiences that rely on the processing power of Amazon’s secure cloud.

"Customers can continue to choose from a robust set of tools and controls, including the option to not save their voice recordings at all. We’ll continue learning from customer feedback, and building privacy features on their behalf."

What about Google and Apple?

While their smart speaker offerings are much more limited than Amazon's, both Apple and Google have stated that at least some of the processing that's done for their AIs happens on-device, rather than in the cloud.

Apple in particular is taking a privacy-first approach to Apple Intelligence, though it is lagging far behind its competitors. To be sure, this is done not just for privacy, but also to speed up the responses delivered by AI.

However, the latest iPhones as well as Pixel devices have much more powerful chips than your typical Echo Dot, so it's a lot easier for Apple and Google to enable on-device processing for AI than it is for Amazon to do so on its smart speakers, all of which cost hundreds less.

If you do not want to set your voice recordings setting to ‘Don’t save recordings,’ please follow these steps before March 28th:

• Open the Alexa App on your Mobile Phone
• Go to Settings > Device Settings and select the device where this feature is enabled
• Select 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' from the menu
• Disable the setting

More from Tom's Guide

• Best Alexa compatible devices
• Alexa+ devices — here's the gadgets it will work with
• Alexa+ — I have 4 big questions about Amazon's new AI assistant

Amazon has finally unveiled its upgraded Alexa Plus virtual assistant which features a more conversational tone, better personalization and AI smarts to help you get even more done.

While we initially thought all of this extra functionality might be locked behind yet another subscription service, Alexa Plus will be available for free for everyone with an Amazon Prime membership. Alternatively, if you don’t have Prime, Alexa Plus will cost $19.99 per month.

Amazon also revealed that you won’t have to wait too long to try out Alexa Plus for yourself as it will be released in the coming weeks. The initial rollout will be U.S. only and in order to get access, you’ll need to own or purchase an Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15 or an Echo Show 21. But what about the rest of your existing Echo devices and the best Alexa compatible devices?

If you’re wondering which of your Alexa-powered smart speakers, smart displays and other smart home gadgets will work with Alexa Plus, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about which Amazon devices are compatible with Alexa Plus and which ones won’t support this new AI-powered virtual assistant.

Alexa Plus supported devices

Although you’ll need an Echo Show 8, 10, 15 or 21 to get access to Alexa Plus as part of the initial rollout, it will be available on all Echo devices with a few exceptions I’ll cover below.

These are the Echo devices you already own that will support Alexa Plus with a voice-only experience:

• Echo (second gen and later)
• Echo Dot (and Echo Dot Kids) second-gen and later
• Echo Pop
• Echo Spot (second gen)
• Echo Show 5 (and Echo Show 5 Kids)
• Echo Hub
• Echo Studio
• Echo Auto
• Echo Buds

At the same time, you will also be able to access Alexa Plus through your web browser, using the Alexa app and on compatible Fire TVs and Fire tablets.

Alexa Plus unsupported devices

With over 600 million Alexa-enabled devices sold so far, it’s understandable that the new Alexa Plus experience won’t be available on all of them. Many of them are close to a decade old or even older, so chances are, you might not even be using them anymore.

Here are all of the Echo devices that won’t support Alexa Plus:

• Echo Dot (1st Gen)
• Echo (1st Gen)
• Echo Plus (1st Gen)
• Echo Tap
• Echo Show (1st and 2nd Gen)
• Echo Spot (1st Gen)

What about Alexa Built-in devices?

At its Devices event today unveiling Alexa Plus, an Amazon spokesperson explained to Tom’s Guide that its upgraded virtual assistant isn’t currently supported on Alexa Built-in devices.

These include products like the Sonos Era 100 smart speaker and the Ecobee Smart Thermostat as well as the company’s own Amazon Astro home robot. The good news though is that Amazon is looking to bring Alexa Plus to these devices in the future.

Standard Alexa still works (for now)

Another great thing about Alexa Plus is that at least for now, it will be an optional upgrade and if you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to. In addition to those unsupported Echo devices, in the Alexa Plus FAQ on its site, Amazon explains that “if you prefer using the original Alexa, it will remain available on your devices.”

There are plenty of exciting new smart home features to try out in Alexa Plus but not everyone uses Amazon’s virtual assistant this way. For instance, you might have an elderly relative that you bought an Echo Dot or an Echo Show to check up on that’s using Alexa Emergency Assist for help in case of emergencies. Adding an AI-powered virtual assistant to the mix might overcomplicate things for them.

Amazon also hasn’t said when or even if the original Alexa will be discontinued in favor of Alexa Plus. Likewise, we don’t know yet if you’ll be able to easily switch back and forth between the two if you end up favoring one experience over the other.

Alexa Plus has been in the works for years and now that it’s finally here, we can’t wait to test it out for ourselves so stay tuned to Tom’s Guide for everything you need to know about this brand new Alexa experience along with when it will arrive on your Echo devices.

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• I bought an Echo Dot to help cool down my garage — here's how
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The next HomePod is believed to be the biggest redesign of the smart speaker since its inception in 2018. That's because all the rumors suggest Apple will be adding a display to the device that'll allow it to compete with the likes of the Amazon Echo Show 15 or the Google Nest Hub.

Unfortunately, it seems like the development process has suffered a setback and we won't see the new product until at least after WWDC next year. That means it could be late June or early July at the earliest.

This comes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacObserver) who claims Apple has postponed the device until the third quarter of 2025. Kuo puts this down to ongoing software development challenges related to the device. That could be to do with how it interacts with other smart home devices since Apple will surely want this to function as a smart home control center.

The next generation HomePod is believed to feature an A18 processor with a 6.7-inch display. Back in October, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed it will be priced around $1,000 and the screen will be “positioned atop a swivelling robotic limb” with the speaker at its base.

He added the HomePod will shift away from being a music player to “focus on home security monitoring, advanced videoconferencing and media playback with high-quality audio.”

Based on tvOS

This pivot into home security is likely where some of the aforementioned software struggles have come from. Gurman also claimed Apple is “building a new Home Ecosystem team” with some of the engineers left over from the closed Apple Car project.

The software plan for this will also expand to include a new operating system called homeOS, which will apparently be built on the tvOS software which powers Apple TV (itself based on iOS).

If that's the case, then it makes sense for Apple to lay the groundwork for the device at next year's WWDC and follow up with a hardware release soon afterwards.

Apple certainly has a lot of catching up to do in the smart home space against the likes of Google and Amazon, but the company is famous for disrupting the status quo when it does finally decide to jump into a new market category.

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Traditionally, my living room has been loaded from top to bottom with different audio equipment. There’s a Sonos Era 300 in the corner for Spatial Audio duties; a soundbar nestled under my TV for movies; and a pair of floor-standing speakers for dedicated music-listening duties. I have more speakers in my living room than most people have in their whole house.

Until now.

In an attempt to replace everything, I set up the Cambridge Audio Evo One, a singular speaker system finished with walnut wood and equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen. It’s a music streaming all-in-one, connecting to your Wi-Fi and playing your music from Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music. It doubles up as a Bluetooth speaker as well thanks to a Bluetooth 5.3 connection, and it connects with the Cambridge Audio Streammagic app for easy customization and use.

How did the Evo One do in its attempt to dethrone an entire home audio armada? It fared a lot better than you might think.

Clearing up the audio clutter 

Beyond the wireless connectivity options, the Evo One has a massive number of ports on the back: There’s an HDMI-eArc connector on the back so that it can do the job of my soundbar. It has a built-in Phono pre-amp so that you can hook up your turntable without a separate device. There’s an optical input so that you can connect digital devices, alongside an Ethernet port for rock-solid internet, and an RCA port for legacy devices like CD players or tape decks. Finally, there’s a USB port in case you’ve got an HDD filled with hi-res music files and want to listen locally rather than over the Wi-Fi.

Controlling it is easy. The app is simple and it lets you turn the speaker on and off, change different settings like EQ, power modes, and more. It’s AirPlay-compliant so you can play directly from your streaming app of choice, but it also works with Tidal Connect for a higher-resolution connection. There are controls on the front of the Evo One to control it as well, including play/pause, forward and backward skip buttons, and buttons to turn the volume up and down.

It’s a very simple device to use, and the fact that it brings everything together is a big bonus of the fragmented controls I had to use with my multiple solutions.

So it’s replaced my soundbar, and my Sonos Era 300 streaming speaker thanks to its incredible amount of ports and connections. But how has it managed to replace my dedicated listening, floor-standing speakers? By sounding really, really good.

Unbeatable sound 

My previous speakers were no slouch. While they’re not quite as potent as the Kef LS50 Metas that hold court in my listening room, they are still some excellent-sounding powered speakers.

The Cambridge Audio Evo One absolutely blows them out of the water.

Upon first connection to Tidal and playing Arch Enemy’s Nemesis, the hit of the kick drum reverberated around my body. Taken aback, I sat down to get really engaged. The twin guitar solos soared like I hadn’t heard from similar devices. The distorted rhythm guitar was perfectly crunchy, yet effortlessly defined. Cymbals crashed, snares biting in their ferocity. Angela Gossow’s signature, terrifying growl dominated the room for the whole listening session.

Aghast, I took a moment. Surely not. It’s not that big, how could it fill the room so well? It’s thanks to the sheer number of drivers that Cambridge Audio has packed in, along with its excellent sound profile tuning. There are 14 drivers behind its fabric grille, with 700W of power driving the show. To put it in perspective my (still excellent) Sonos Era 300 is 200W, and your average Bluetooth speaker is generally around 15-30W. The Evo One oozes power from its walnut-coated pores.

“There’s no way it can do that again”, I thought to myself. Chet Baker’s Always You will trip it up. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were elements to the drum line that you’d only hear in more expensive setups. A surprising restraint made the piano smooth and pleasant. You could almost hear the breath going into the trumpet, each not clear and well-defined. The double bass bounced with buoyancy, all the while Chet crooning over the top with signature swagger. I closed my eyes, and I was there. I was with Chet in the recording studio.

The rest of my initial listening session decided the fate of the rest of the speakers in my living room. The Sonos Era has taken pride of place in my bedroom, the soundbar has gone in a box, and my floor standers await final judgment. There’s a new speaker in town, and it takes up no more than a small cabinet

Is there anything wrong with it?  

The Evo One isn’t perfect, of course. It’s heavy, so you won’t want to move it around too much. My advice is to find its home, put it there, and leave it there. Its sound profile is weighted to be slightly warmer than some might like, although I found it made for a more engaging and energetic listen.

The biggest drawback is the price — at $1,499 (£1,299 in the UK) it is extremely expensive, and while it reduces the overall price of audio equipment in my living room, it might not do the same in yours. It’s well worth the price if you’ve got the dollars to afford it, but it’s still a lot of money to ask for a speaker unit.

That being said, I genuinely feel like this one of the few all-in-one speaker systems worth buying, as it provides the sound quality I’d expect from a multi-channel bespoke system with easy-to-use controls that are often not provided.

It has earned a spot in my living room for years to come and while I might need to occasionally take it offline to test another speaker or soundbar — that is part of my job, after all — it’s the system I’ll return to time and time again.

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I've tested dozens of the best smart home devices since joining the Tom's Guide home section a few months back. Amazon's Echo Dot with Clock has proven to be the most useful of the bunch. This all-in-one gadget sounds phenomenal, can trigger my automated smart home routines, and adds calling capabilities to any room. That's not just my opinion, my colleague Kate Kozuch gave the compact round speaker a full five-star rating in her review.

Overall, the Echo Dot with Clock's sound-centric shape and built-in sensors offers the best performance for the price. So it's a real shame when you can't even buy it on Amazon. There hasn't been an official statement as to why it's currently unavailable whether it's production issues or if Amazon is phasing it out in favor of the Echo Spot. One thing is for certain—Amazon not stocking the Dot, especially so during Prime Day, is a big mistake. Here's why.

The Dot has the best sound of any smart speaker under $100

I've only recently discovered that the Echo Spot is currently unavailable after spending the past week reviewing Amazon's new Echo Spot alarm clock. I'd argue that the Spot is the best-looking Echo smart speaker yet. The Spot has a similar design to Amazon's most affordable smart speaker, the Echo Pop, but with a sleek glass touchscreen. Aside from the three vibrant body colors it comes in, you can customize both the clock face and color theme to make it match a room's aesthetic on the fly. 

So the Echo Spot has a better design, offers improved visual info compared to the limited pixel text displayed on the Dot, and can control smart home devices with a tap. However, when I compared the Echo Spot against the Echo Dot with Clock in a faceoff, I preferred the richer sound and advanced smart sensors found on the cheaper Echo Dot. The Dot's rounded design fills the entire room with immersive audio whereas the Spot's front-facing speaker needs you to sit in front of it.

The Dot has sensors the Echo Pop and Spot lack

While it's nice to see album artwork, I use a smart speaker for the listening experience, not the eye candy. The richer vocals and deeper bass on the Dot give it a leg up over the new Echo Spot. But beyond sound, the Dot has two other features I use regularly that the pricier Spot lacks. The first is the built-in temperature sensor which detects the exact climate of the room it's placed in. This has been a game-changer in my bedroom routines because it kicks on my air conditioner or electric fireplace when a room is too hot or too cold.

If you own an Eero Wi-Fi system then the Dot also acts as a beacon for your network to expand and strengthen the Wi-Fi signal around your home or yard. At $60 it costs less than adding a standard beacon, plus you're getting smart speaker and temperature sensor functionality. If Amazon was going to phase out the clock in favor of the Spot then the extensive feature set should've remained.

The Dot is affordable

At $59, the Dot is half the price of the HomePod Mini or the larger Amazon Echo. It makes for a great gift and can be used in any room, sounding better than most smart displays. Its focus on maximizing sound in every space and less distracting text display has a place, especially for those who aren't crazy about the Spot's always-on screen. During last year's Prime Day you could grab one for only $30, which is an absolute steal. 

If the Echo Spot is expected to replace the value that the Dot with Clock offers it really needs to incorporate the sensors and antennas it had. As it stands, the Echo Dot remains the best way to easily and cheaply add core smart home functionality to your space. Let's hope they go back on sale.

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Whether you're a parent or expecting, the likelihood is you've put some thought into what your little one's nursery (or bedroom) will be like.

Modern technology has made strides in making put-down time as streamlined as possible, with smart bulbs that can be put on timers, smart speakers that can read your kids their bedtime stories, and a whole host of baby monitoring software that will put your mind at ease while they sleep.

Unfortunately, as with any Wi-Fi enabled technology, this technology can be hacked into and used to access your home network – or even spy on you. With a predicted 29 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices across the globe by 2027, this presents 29 billion opportunities for hackers to get on various different networks.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your home, like using the best VPNs to encrypt your data. Read on to learn more about the potential risks these smart devices pose and what you can do to lower these risks.

Protect your smart speakers

Smart speakers and home assistants undoubtedly make our lives easier. Whether it's putting on your favourite song without lifting a finger, setting reminders or even ordering urgent groceries or things for the home, these handy helpers can really make your life a little less stressful. For parents in particular, these time-saving, stress-reducing methods all work together to make their lives a little easier.

In nurseries and children's bedrooms, these speakers can help soothe your little one(s) to sleep by reading them bedtime stories, or enhancing playtime with nursery rhymes and other songs for kids. 

However, whether you have a home assistant and multiple speakers, or just use one speaker around your home, they do still present a cyber security risk. 

In fact, in December 2022, a cyber security researcher called Matt Kunze managed to exploit a software vulnerability that turned a Google Home Mini speaker into a wiretap. Another smart speaker software vulnerability discovered in March 2022 enabled hackers to instruct Amazon Alexa speakers to essentially hack themselves by taking control of an Amazon Echo's speaker and commanding it to make malicious instructions to itself.

While these hacks may sound scary, it is important to recognise that they are not super common. However, it is always a good idea to protect yourself from these potential hacks. To do this, we recommend updating your speaker/home assistant's software regularly, to make sure any important patches are on your device.

Protect your smart bulbs

Having lightbulbs that turn on when you want to wake up and off when you want to go to sleep used to be the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but now with smart technology, it's a (very convenient!) reality for a lot of people.

Smart bulbs can lend a hand with childrens' bedtimes, offering them a slowly-darkening, warm-toned space to snuggle up and drift off quietly in.

Unfortunately as a smart device, smart bulbs can also be another avenue into your home network that hackers can use. Researchers from University of Catania in Italy and the University of London in August 2023 discovered that TP-Link smart bulbs could be hacked in order to steal the owners' Wi-Fi passwords.

Multiple security flaws in the smart bulbs meant that hackers could gain access to the user’s account details from within the Tapo app used to operate the smart bulbs. After gaining access to the app, they could then extract the SSID and Wi-Fi password from a user’s home network, meaning they could gain access to all of the devices connected to it.

This is why it's important to update your smart device's software regularly, so patches for any security flaws can be implemented and you can be kept safe.

Protect your baby monitor

Baby monitors are an almost crucial bit of tech for parents who are ready to have their children sleep in another room, but still want to keep an eye on them. Many smart baby monitors come with cameras, speakers and microphones enabled so you can see and communicate with your child.

Unfortunately, all this useful tech can be taken advantage of by unscrupulous hackers. In a chilling TikTok, Adele Kurin explained that her son had told her he didn't want the camera for her Owlet baby monitor switched on at night, claiming that someone was using the monitor's speakers to wake up, talk to and scare him.

When Adele went to secure the account, she found that the login information for her account had been exposed in a data leak, meaning the device could have been logged into by anyone who had access to the leaked details.

With this being said, the maker of the baby monitor said that it "reviewed all available data" regarding Kurin's baby monitor, "including firmware, mobile, and server logs" and were "very confident" no suspicious activity had been logged. Owlet also noted that there had been "zero confirmed cases of [its] cameras being compromised" and it had not identified any failures in its security protocols.

Regardless, this underlines the importance of using unique, strong credentials for each account login you create, as well as enabling two-factor authentication as this will alert you if anyone is trying to gain access to your accounts.

How to protect your smart devices from hackers

While the risks outlined above can seem scary, there are simple and easy steps to take to protect yourself. Read on to discover how to keep yourself and your devices safe.

Use a VPN

Installing a virtual private network, or VPN, is another simple yet effective way to secure your Wi-Fi enabled devices. VPNs work by encrypting your internet traffic and connection, giving you an extra layer of security on your Wi-Fi. 

If you use multiple smart speakers, it's a good idea to use a router VPN. The best router VPNs will encrypt all connections to and from your router, meaning all devices connected to your home network benefit.

Keep your smart devices on a separate network

If you're worried about hackers gaining access to your home devices via your home network, then one solution is to simply take them off said home network.

This may sound complicated, but it's actually relatively simple. The best Wi-Fi routers and best mesh Wi-Fi systems will give you the option to set up a Wi-Fi network for your smart devices, but if this isn't available to you, you can always just set up a guest network.

Once all your devices have been connected to the separate network, they won't be able to be used to access your home network.

Use 2FA on your smart devices' apps

Another way to make sure you and your devices stay secure is to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on any apps you use to operate your smart devices. 

This will not only add an extra layer of security, but it will alert you if anyone is attempting to login to your account, allowing you to change the impacted account's passwords and keep intruders from logging in.

The HomePod is hardly the jewel in Apple’s crown, but the company’s smart speaker may soon be in store for a big upgrade. Code references in the tvOS 17.4 developer beta 3 seen by 9To5Mac refers to a new device called “Z314” that could be the next HomePod. Rumors are heavy that the next iteration will arrive with a seven-inch display, akin to the Amazon Echo Show 8, that’ll effectively merge an iPad with a HomePod.

Apple issued the developer beta 3 on Tuesday and made an intriguing inclusion. Although HomePod runs tvOS (the same as Apple TV) it doesn’t include any UI functionality since the screenless speaker doesn’t require it. But the developer beta now includes SwiftUI frameworks and a tool for UI debugging iOS apps for HomePod. Which is strange unless you consider the fact Apple is preparing to release a new HomePod with a display attached.

Digging further into the code, it appears the “Z314” product will be running on an A15 Bionic chip. It’s believed both internal and production versions of the product are already being tested inside Apple, meaning things are in the latter stages of development.

That would jive with predictions from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who predicted in a Medium post last year that Apple planned to unveil a HomePod with a 7-inch screen in the first half of 2024. “I predict that Apple will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch panel in 1H24, with Tianma as the exclusive panel supplier," Kuo wrote. “The HomePod, which equips a panel, could enable tighter integration with Apple's other hardware products, marking a significant shift in the company's smart home strategy."

Understandably a HomePod with a screen would have a myriad of benefits for users. It would be capable of acting as a smart home hub thanks to the Home app and, if it had a camera on board, serve as a useful way to FaceTime friends and family. Media playback could be handled hands-free if you wanted to follow along with a recipe in the kitchen or integrate it with Fitness+ during an at-home workout.

Amazon and Google have been offering smart displays for years so displacing them will take some work. But thanks to HomeKit and the Matter standard, not to mention the ubiquity of iPhones, a display-equipped HomePod could find a willing audience. It may be the case that we hear more about this device at WWDC 2024, but for now we’ll have to wait and see.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best smart displays in 2024
• HomePod mini vs. Amazon Echo vs. Google Nest Audio
• Apple HomePod vs. HomePod 2: What's different?

As any parent will tell you, babies cry a lot. In times gone by, the solution was to interrupt your precious sleep (yet again), to go and sing them a lullaby.

Well, it's 2024 now, which means that tech is here to help. Specifically, Amazon Echo devices, which have a feature that will detect when your baby cries and automatically play soothing sounds like lullabies to send them back to sleep. That way, if it isn't serious (which as a parent, you'll know best) you can get back to your own vital rest.

This is very similar to Alexa's ability to detect your dog barking while you're out and play sounds to soothe them. Just like that feature, it's easy to set up baby crying detection, although there are quite a few steps which we'll guide you through here. It's features like these — designed to make your life easier — that help make Echo devices some of the best smart speakers around.

Without further ado, let's look at how to set up baby crying detection on your Amazon Echo device.

How to set up baby crying detection and automatic lullabies on Amazon Echo devices

This feature uses your Echo device's microphone, so it should work on pretty much all devices, from the Echo Pop to the very latest Echo Show 8.

If you want to read more Echo-themed tutorials, check out our guides on how to use Alexa as secret security camera, how to set up motion detection on your Echo device and how to see and delete your Alexa recordings.

Dog owners, rejoice! Your Amazon Echo device comes with a built-in way to soothe a stressed-out pooch when you're away from home.

Using the Routines function, you can utilize the microphone and sound detection feature of your Echo device to automatically trigger Alexa to take action and stop your dog barking. It can do this by playing soothing music that your dog loves, audiobooks or even specialized dog-calming podcasts. Your dog will be much happier and your neighbors less annoyed as a result. It's a win-win. 

Better yet, you can even set your device to send a notification to your phone when it happens, to keep you in the know about what's going on in your home. It's awesome automations like this that help make Echo devices some of the best smart speakers around.

This feature should work with all Echo devices, as it utilizes the microphone which they all need to function as smart speakers. So, whether you have an Echo Dot or an Echo Show, this one's for you.

Ready? Here's how to use Alexa to stop your dog barking while you're out.

How to set up an Alexa Routine to stop your dog barking when you're out

Note: you need to enter the exact wording of the podcast, audiobook song you'd like. In some of the steps below, I used the U.S. word "favorite" instead of the U.K. "Favourite". The podcast I wanted is British, so used the U.K. spelling, which caused issues. Once I got the spelling correct, we got our dogs to bark and the feature worked perfectly!

I was a bit sceptical about this feature at first, but it actually worked for me! It isn't perfect, because not all dogs will respond to music or podcasts etc, but mine do, so it's super handy. When I was testing the feature, I couldn't get my dogs to bark (they only do that when you don't want them to), so I stood there mimicking a dog bark near my Echo Dot and, hey presto, it triggered the podcast to run. I must do a good barking impression. Eventually one of my dogs barked, and set off the podcast again.

If you'd like to read more Echo and smart home guides, we have you covered. Check out our guide on how to use your Echo device as a secret security camera, how to use your Echo as a motion detection security device and how to delete Alexa recordings.

If you just received a new set of smart light bulbs or want to unlock the full potential of your existing setup, then you've come to the right place. Smart lights are some of the most popular smart home devices—they're affordable, easy to install, and streamline your everyday life. However, there's a lot more you can do than simply power them on or off with your voice or schedule what times they should be in use.

Hop into your smart home platform of choice and you can program your lights to respond to certain triggers. For example, you can have your lights automatically flash or change colors as a response to someone walking past a motion sensor. Dive a bit deeper and you can even have your lights react to live information such as the progress of a football game. Below you'll find five bright ideas to get more out of your smart lights.

Wake up to a gentle sunrise effect

Using your smart home platform's automation tool — such as an Alexa skill — create a routine that turns on your bedroom's smart light bulbs at one percent a few minutes before you normally wake up. Next, set their brightness to gradually increase to full power by the time your alarm goes off. For example, if you wake up at 8 A.M. you can have your lights turn on at their minimum brightness level at 7:45 A.M. and ramp up to 100 percent by the time you need to get up. This gentle lighting effect mimics a natural sunrise and slowly eases you into your day. It's far more pleasant than a blaring alarm and is cheaper than buying a sunrise alarm clock. At night you can even create a wind-down routine that slowly turns your lights off with a sunset effect.

Sync your smart lights to sporting events

You can use live sports games as a trigger to switch colors when a game is about to begin, at halftime, or when a game ends. For example, when a game starts you can have the lights all over your house flash your team's color or have your smart speaker blow a whistle at halftime. The Alexa app makes this as easy as selecting the "Sports" trigger, picking the team you want to follow, and deciding on what points of the game you want your lights to act on. If you really want to dive into the weeds, you can use an advanced smart home platform like IFTTT to program bulbs and light strips to flash or change colors when a team scores. For example, the NHL has an open API that can act as a trigger to tell your lights to fade in and flash colors when a goal is scored in real-time.

Turn lights on and off while you're away to appear home

If your smart home platform or lighting app has an away mode, you can activate it to have your smart lights automatically cycle on and off in different rooms to make them appear occupied. This security feature is an excellent deterrent to ward off potential thieves while you're away from your property. You can also use your smart home's scheduling features to manually control each light.

Visualize your notifications

You can work your lights into your existing notification routines. For example, I've created an automation that plays a sound, sends me a notification, and turns my lights green when my laundry machine completes a cycle to tell me to take out the wet clothes. Or if you stick a motion sensor in your mailbox you can have your lights turn colors and flash to let you know mail has arrived.

Set the mood for the holidays with festive colors

One of the easiest ways to celebrate the holidays is to adjust the color of your lighting to match. While it's easy to set and forget your smart lights in an ambient white light mode, even today's budget bulbs are multicolored for a variety of options. During the winter you can give rooms a warm green and red glow. Or for the Fourth of July, you may have red, white, and blue lighting throughout your home.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best smart speakers
• Best Alexa skills
• Best smart lights

The best smart speakers add music, calling capabilities, and smart home controls to any room. They work by using built-in microphones to passively listen out for a wake word such as "Hey Google" or "Alexa" to activate. Once triggered, you have a brief time window to speak a voice command or ask a question. For example, you can tell an Amazon Echo device "Alexa, turn on my bedroom lights" to turn on a set of connected smart lights.

From serving as my everyday assistant that reminds me of events on my calendar to boasting cool features like linking music between multiple speakers, there's a lot that I like about these devices. This extensive functionality is one of the reasons I have a smart speaker in each room of my house. Still, between privacy concerns and the occasional glitch, there are some things to consider before you go gung-ho on buying one. Here are 5 things I wish I'd known before adding a smart speaker to my home.

Most have built-in smart home sensors

From Amazon's budget Echo Dot to Apple's Homepod, the latest smart speakers have different kinds of sensors weaved into their body. These can be used in automation routines to trigger actions when changes in motion, sound, or temperature are detected. I have my bedroom Echo Dot tell my smart thermostat to reduce the heat when it detects that my room is too hot (over 68 degrees). Thoroughly read what features your smart speaker comes with to maximize its value. In the case of my Echo Dot with Clock, I not only got it on sale but it eliminated the need for me to purchase a separate alarm clock or smart temperature sensor.

Privacy and data handling

You should be aware that you're adding an always-listening microphone into your space and familiarize yourself with its physical mute button if this concerns you. Smart speakers work by recording what you say after using their wake word and then sending your audio to the cloud for processing. You should look into what data your specific smart speaker collects, where it stores its audio recordings, and how the company protects your data. Keep in mind that you can manage and delete audio recordings. Here's how to clear your Alexa history and delete recordings and how to delete Siri recordings.

They double as a smart home hub

In addition to various sensors, the latest smart speakers support wireless smart home protocols to act as some of the best smart home hubs. This means you won't have to clutter your home with separate hubs to connect your Zigbee, Thread, and Bluetooth devices to your main platform. Amazon's latest Echo and Echo Dots even act as an Eero mesh router extenders to expand Wi-Fi network coverage and speeds if you're in the Eero ecosystem.

Smart speakers can activate unexpectedly

No, you don't have a ghost in your home. Sometimes either my Google Home or Echo speakers will randomly start talking in the middle of the night. It took some research to figure out but it was due to the sound of passing cars waking them up. Keep an eye out for potential unintentional triggers like how close your smart speaker is to your TV or window. Some things you just don’t have control over—my collection of Echos put in work when my cousin Alexa comes to visit.

Speak your commands slowly

If you don't want to repeat a command twice, you'll need to remember to take your time when speaking. Even the best smart speaker microphones can misinterpret a phrase. Whether it's to play a specific song or control a device, you should speak slowly and pronounce words clearly. Admittedly, even I can forget to do this while I'm multitasking. For this reason, I like to keep one of the best smart displays in loud rooms in my home like my kitchen and living room.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best Alexa skills
• Best smart home speakers
• Best Alexa devices

It feels like only yesterday I was adding smart lights to my backyard to liven up the mood while entertaining over the summer. Now that winter is officially here though, I’ve started thinking more about how I can use the best smart home devices to make my house feel a bit cozier to help me make it through these colder months.

While most people will likely be looking for a new comforter or maybe some snug sleep products, for me personally, I feel the most comfortable when I’m surrounded by tech. Odd I know but you have to love what you do, right? Over the years, I’ve tested dozens of smart home gadgets and though there’s nothing quite like unboxing and setting up a new device, sometimes though, it’s even more fun to figure out a whole new way to use the tech you already have.

Whether you picked up some new smart home devices yourself during Black Friday or you just want a reason to dust off that old smart speaker, here are three ways I’m using my own smart home devices to stay cozy this winter.

The sound of a fireplace in every room

From listening to music to making calls to setting up an intercom system throughout your home, there’s quite a lot you can do with one of the best smart speakers. Although I originally picked up my first Google Home Mini to control my Philips Hue lights, I’ve found the ambient sounds this little smart speaker can make to be quite useful when I want to relax.

For years now, I’ve used its ocean and rain sounds to help me fall asleep. However, I recently discovered the best Google Home speakers can also replicate the sounds of a roaring fire. I do have a fireplace but I just can’t be bothered with cleaning it and making sure I have a fully stocked woodpile. Plus, you can’t just leave your fireplace going unattended, especially as I now have a toddler running around my home. With fireplace sounds emitting from my smart speakers though, I can ask Google Assistant to turn them off or do so using my phone.

I may have started out building my DIY smart home using Google’s devices but I quickly realized that when it comes to the best smart lights, Alexa does a better job of controlling them. This is why I now have a mix of Google devices and Alexa speakers throughout my home. Fortunately though, Alexa can play fireplace sounds too. They normally stop after an hour but you can tell Amazon’s virtual assistant to “turn on Loop Mode” if you want them to keep playing for longer than that.

For those times when you want to watch a fire crack and pop as you listen to it, one of the best smart displays is what you’re after. On the Nest Hub Max and Google’s smart displays, you can just pull up a YouTube video of a fireplace. Meanwhile, on Amazon’s Echo Show devices you can find plenty of Alexa skills like Ambient Visions which you can use to bring up a fire on your smart display.

Sure, nothing beats actually sitting in front of a fire. However, having the crackling sounds of a fire playing on your smart speaker or watching one on a smart display is an easy way to feel cozy this winter with less hassle.

Christmas trees I don’t have to unplug

A few years ago, I decided to use a few of the best smart plugs to remotely control all of my holiday decorations and it’s been a game changer to say the least. As my wife’s birthday is on Christmas, we have a tree in every room of our house and having to manually unplug each one every night used to be a real hassle. That’s not the case anymore though, as I can turn them on or off using an app on my phone or with my voice using Google Assistant or Alexa.

While there are plenty of great and affordable smart plugs, I’ve been using Kasa’s smart plugs for years now after investing in TP-Link’s home security cameras. I really like how I can control all of my Christmas trees and even my outdoor decorations from the same app I use to check in on my toddler and my dog.

Besides naming each of my smart plugs, I can also take a picture of the Christmas trees they control and see an image of each one in the app instead of just a generic icon. The Kasa app allows me to schedule my Christmas trees to turn on or off at a certain time but since the app also shows their runtime, I can get a better idea of how much energy they use. This way, I can see how having a fully decked out house for the holidays will affect my energy bill.

Although there are now smart Christmas lights for your trees like the Philips Hue Festavia and the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights, they both cost a lot more than using traditional Christmas lights and a smart plug. In fact, you can pick up a four pack of Kasa’s mini smart plugs ($22, Amazon) at a discount even right now if you also want to remotely control or automate your own holiday lights.

Smart heating on a per room basis

I already have a smart thermostat in my home but since I live in a larger house, heating up all of the rooms to a toasty temperature can get expensive fast. This is why this year, I decided to invest in several of the best space heaters so that I can heat a single room at a time instead. While we already have two small space heaters for the bedrooms of our home, I decided to pick up a larger, smart space heater for the bigger rooms in my home.

Since I’m already invested in the Govee ecosystem thanks to the company’s inexpensive outdoor string lights, I picked up the Govee Smart Space Heater ($70, Amazon) during Black Friday. It’s actually on sale right now and thanks to a $30 coupon, you can get one for $10 less than I paid for mine just last month.

The Govee app does take some getting used to but once you figure it out, there’s a whole lot you can do. For instance, I can control the temperature of my smart space heater, its power and can have it oscillate or stay in one place. While there is a slightly cheaper version, I went all out and got the one with RGB underglow since I am a big fan of smart lights after all. In the app, I can pick from several different preset colors or use the color wheel but just like with Govee’s other smart lights, there are also a number of scenes to pick from including a fire and even a rainbow. I can even set a timer so it turns off automatically or ask Alexa or Google Assistant to turn my smart space heater off or on.

If using an app or your voice isn’t for you, there are also manual controls at the top which could come in handy if you have relatives who aren’t tech savvy coming to visit you for the holidays. While my new smart space heater continues to impress me, there are plenty of things you should never put near a space heater for your own safety.

The gift that keeps on giving

Building out your own smart home to stay cozy this winter can get expensive if you rush into it. However, if you shop smartly, look for the best smart home deals and don’t buy all of the gadgets you’ll need at once, you can actually put together a smart home without breaking the bank.

Once you’ve built your own smart home, you’re going to want to make sure you keep all of your smart home devices updated. This will help keep them secure but you’ll also get access to new features and functionality as Amazon and Google are constantly updating their devices.

Besides this, you’re also going to want to experiment and try new things with your smart speakers, smart plugs and smart lights. From setting up new Alexa routines to coming up with new use cases like how I used an Echo Dot to cool down my garage, smart home devices are really a gift that keeps on giving. You just need a bit of time and some curiosity to truly unlock their potential.

I for one plan to spend the rest of these cold winter months cozying up in my own smart home while trying to come up with new ideas on how these connected gadgets can do even more.

More from Tom's Guide

• Amazon Map View is a game-changer for your smart home
• How to use Philips Hue Sync with your smart lights on PC or Mac
• I bought this $20 gadget for my smart lights but it can do so much more

Sonos is already an established player in the premium wireless speaker market, distinguished for its lineup of smart speakers and soundbars. However, if there’s one area where the company doesn’t have any market share, it’s one other than the headphones space. That could change very soon.

According to Bloomber’s Mark Gurman, the company’s working on its own premium pair of headphones to rival Apple’s AirPods Max. People familiar with the matter in Gurman’s report indicate that it could be upwards of $400, and slated for release as soon as April. Rumors about Sonos working on headphones have been rampant for a while now, including a patent filing back in 2021, but nothing has ever come to fruition.

Furthermore, Sonos could be planning to broaden its portfolio in a more substantial way in the near future because it’s reported that the company is also working on its own set-top streaming box — all while continuing to push forward with refreshes on existing speakers and introducing higher-end audio products.

This all comes at a time when the company saw sales decline over the past year, so this is part of a new strategy by Sonos CEO Patrick Spence that could help reignite growth. Given the hyper focus attention that Sonos has placed on smart speakers, this new strategy could lead the company to new revenue opportunities.

Here’s everything we could see.

Sonos Duke: a $400 AirPods Max rival

If there’s one thing that Apple taught everyone, it’s that consumers are willing to pony up top dollar for a premium pair of headphones. We could finally get an AirPods Max rival from Sonos that could be introduced in March and subsequently released the following month in April.

Code named “Duke,” this would be an over-ear-style pair of headphones that’s aimed directly to compete against the AirPods Max — complete with two color options, voice control to navigate through songs, and the ability to synchronize with other Sonos audio products. The latter’s a feature that Sonos speakers are known for, so it’s a feature you’d expect to find here.

Beyond that, we could also see a Sonos version of the standard AirPods true wireless earbuds. There would be a lot of attention paid to its sound signature and the ability to customize it. 

Sonos Pinewood: streaming TV set-top box

One category you wouldn’t think Sonos would be tackling is TV set-top boxes and video. The company is said to be working on a streaming box code-named “Pinewood” that could stream all of your favorite streaming services. Given the robust ecosystem that Sonos has fostered, this set-top box could leverage existing Sonos home speakers for even more immersive sound, thanks to support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.

Gurman’s report reveals that “Pinewood” will be powered by an operating system that’s based on Android, but it will still have the ability to run different apps. This one’s still in the earlier stages, given that it’s hinted to be introduced in late 2024 or early 2025.

Sonos Lotus: a refreshed subwoofer

Sonos is reportedly looking to make refreshes on many of its existing audio products, including its subwoofer line with a new subwoofer code-named “Lotus.” This new subwoofer appears to have all the upgrades, including support for faster connectivity courtesy of Wi-Fi 6, which could mean improved latency to match other connected Sonos speakers. There’s no timeline on when it’ll be announced in the report, nor is there any indication about its price.

More Sonos smart speakers

The Sonos Roam is one of the company’s most popular audio products, so it’s not surprising that a follow up is in the works. Slated for mid-2024, the code-named “Sidecar” is a second-generation Roam speaker. One of the bigger redesigns it’s expected to get us a touch-controlled slider for volume control, which is very similar to the one featured in its newer speakers like the Sonos Move 2.

Sonos’ Era 100 is a recent addition to its lineup, but the company is looking to have a pricier version that’s aimed for commercial purposes than home use. Code-named “Raven,” this pricer version of the Era 100 would swap wireless networking connectivity in favor of an Ethernet port.

Sonos Lasso: a $1,200 soundbar

Good audio comes at a price. That’s exactly what’s anticipated with the Sonos “Lasso,” which is a $1,200 sound bar that could deliver ever better audio performance over the company’s existing Arc sound bar. The technology behind the sound bar is reportedly based on Sono’s 2022 acquisition of Mayht Holding BV, a Netherlands-based company that developed speaker components, which would ultimately deliver better bass and sound quality.

Sonos Premier: premium amplifiers

And finally, Sonos is rumored to be working on a new high-end amplifier that would cost between $3,000 and $4,000 each — and would probably require professional installation. Beyond the price range, nothing else was disclosed apart from the report that it will arrive in the second half of 2024, only to be preceded by new 8-inch in-ceiling speakers.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple could revolutionize the iPhone’s camera with this groundbreaking change
• I wore the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones on a 13-hour flight — and it just hit a record-low price for Black Friday
• AirPods Black Friday deals — new USB-C AirPods Pro hit lowest price ever

There have been plenty of reports of Apple looking to get into the smart screen game over the last couple of years. There’s been talk of iPads mimicking the Pixel Tablet’s ability to turn into Nest Hub-like devices when docked, a dedicated HomePod smart screen and even an Apple TV/HomePod hybrid.

But the first physical evidence of Apple working on a HomePod with a screen is something completely different. It looks just like a normal HomePod 2, only there’s a small LCD screen embedded in the top of the speaker.

That image is courtesy of the device collector and occasional leaker Kosutami, who was previously proved correct about Apple abandoning its silicone accessories for the iPhone 15. In the picture, you can see the HomePod running a (very faint) app called “LcdUTest”.

9to5Mac has confirmed with its sources that this isn’t a hoax. Codenamed B720, the “advanced-stage prototype” is real and, as you might expect, “LcdUTest” is an internal application used by engineers to test the display. Intriguingly, the site claims the device is being “actively worked on by Apple”, and isn’t “something that the company has experimented with in the past.”

The site’s sources have a few other interesting tidbits about the prototype. Like all HomePods, the speaker runs a fork of tvOS called audioOS, and Apple has apparently been tweaking certain tvOS apps to run in the different aspect ratio (something not required for Apple TV, as televisions have all coalesced around the same one).

There’s evidence in the tvOS 17 code that Apple Music and Apple Podcasts have been rewritten for this new aspect ratio, which makes a lot of sense given this will still clearly be predominantly an audio device.

While the site concedes that it’s too early to know for sure what the interface will look like, its sources suggest that the display will show a “blurred animation based on the colors of the album art when a song or podcast is playing.” There are also “hints that it will show some important notifications, potentially to answer phone calls and reply to messages.”

A screen, but not a smart screen

Should it ever see the light of day, this HomePod feels more like an evolution of the current design rather than a full embrace of smart screens. Another way to control the speaker rather than a method of absorbing information — after all, who spends much time standing over a smart speaker looking down?

Indeed, this feels more Apple CarPlay than Nest Hub: largely a way of seeing basic details and controlling playback.

But that doesn’t mean this isn’t a direction Apple is looking at more generally. And with Ming-Chi Kuo predicting a HomePod with a 7-inch screen for next year, it’s entirely possible that some of the software developed for this prototype will get a second life elsewhere, as Apple looks to make a bigger dent in the smarthome in 2024.

Amazon's second Prime Day sale for 2023 has so far brought some incredible deals to the table, but this deal on the online retail giant's own Echo Pop smart speakers is, for lack of a better word, insane.

The Echo Pop is already one of the smallest and cheapest Alexa speakers you can currently buy, but this Prime-exclusive offers takes value to a level that's frankly unheard of. 

Right now, Amazon is offering a 2-pack of its Echo Pop speakers for only AU$40 — that's a mammoth 75% off from the twin pack's usual price of AU$158. That's an incredible saving of AU$110!

Quite honestly, we really can't think of a more affordable way to create a multi-room smart home experience than this. 

While the Echo Pop is a tough sell at its regular price, which is more expensive than Amazon's own Echo Dot, this smart speaker is now far, far easier to recommend thanks to this exceptional Big Deal Days offer.

On top of bringing you access to tens of thousands of handy Alexa skills, the Echo Pop also lets you control music, check the weather, create shopping lists, listen to the news and even make calls — all using just your voice.

Of course, in order to take advantage of this awesome deal, you’ll just need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren't a member already, you can easily sign up for 30-day free trial in order to bag this bargain. Better hurry, though — this deal expires at 12am AEDT on October 12!

When the original Sonos Move launched in September 2019, it expanded the horizon of Sonos sound systems. With a built-in battery and the addition of Bluetooth connectivity, you could finally take Sonos-quality sound on the go. 

Now, you can take the new Sonos Move 2 out of the house for even longer. The second-generation speaker gets more than twice the battery life (up to 24 hours compared to 10 hours from the original) and support for stereo sound, among other user-friendly upgrades such as simultaneous Bluetooth and Wi-Fi pairing. 

Factoring these improvements with the continued effectiveness of Sonos’s Auto Trueplay ambient tuning technology, the Sonos Move 2 replaces its predecessor as one of the best Bluetooth speakers and best outdoor speakers you can buy. Yes, even with the high $449 asking price — my Sonos Move 2 review below explains why. 

Sonos Move 2 review: Specs compared

Sonos Move 2 review: Price and availability

The Sonos Move 2 costs $449 / £449 / €499 / AU$799. That's $50 more than the original Move, which is also available to buy directly from the Sonos shop. While we’ve seen Sonos trade-in deals and the occasional seasonal sale, Sonos speakers aren’t often discounted.

Since the launch of the first Move, Sonos introduced the Sonos Roam, its most accessible product yet from a price perspective. The $179 speaker is better suited for portability thanks to its compact size and higher IP rating. Going forward, the Sonos Move 2 and Sonos Roam are the two battery-powered brand offerings you’re able to purchase.

Sonos Move 2 review: Design

You probably couldn’t tell the Sonos Move 2 and Sonos Move apart just from a glance. The refreshed speaker has a familiar oval shape that stands tall, measuring 9.5 x 6.3 x 5 inches. Perhaps the biggest aesthetic difference is that the Sonos Move 2 comes in an olive color, in addition to the brand’s ubiquitous black and white options. 

The top control array is a bit different, too. While you’ll still find capacitive touch buttons, volume is now controlled with the same slider featured on the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 home speakers. Otherwise, there’s a pause/play button, skip/replay buttons and a microphone status button that illuminates when a voice assistant is actively listening for a hands-free command.  

The speaker mesh covers the majority of the exterior, giving way to a concave control panel on the back. This panel houses a power button, a button that lets you switch from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, and a button that toggles the microphones on/off. The top of the cut-out also doubles as a handle, so you can carry the Sonos Move 2 around. That said, weighing 6.61 pounds, it’s not fun to tote far distances. While it’s convenient enough to bring around my home and outdoor living areas, I wouldn’t throw the Move 2 in my backpack the same way I would the Sonos Roam or a number of other portable speakers.

To that point, the Sonos Move 2 has the same IP56 rating as the original, meaning it can be roughed around a bit if you do decide to take it on an adventure. The speaker is dust-proof and waterproof enough to withstand coarse sand or a damp night if left outside. Accidental splashes are totally fine, but I wouldn’t bring the speaker too close to the pool’s edge and risk total submersion.

Sonos Move 2 review: Performance

The Sonos Move 2 remains one of the few speakers that has both Wi-Fi connectivity for integrating with a home system and Bluetooth playback for listening to music beyond your Wi-Fi’s reach. When you’re home, you can use the Sonos Move as you would any other Sonos speaker. Then, when you’re away from your network, Bluetooth picks up where you left off. 

The Move 2 is even more versatile than the original with the option to be paired to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously. What’s more, you can stream via Bluetooth to a stereo set of Sonos Move 2 speakers connected over Wi-Fi via the Sonos app. The Sonos app lets you connect all your audio streaming services in one interface, and even has free streaming stations via Sonos Radio. Connection via AirPlay 2 is also available, and remains my preferred way of accessing the speaker quickly from my Spotify app. I often use the Sonos-compatible Victrola Onyx Stream record player to listen to my vinyl collection, or maybe try the more expensive Victrola Stream Carbon. 

But how does the Sonos Move 2 sound? I listened to a variety of genres in a variety of environments, and the speaker offered top-notch performance across the board. The emotional vocals in Taylor Swift’s “Getaway Car” sounded crisp, while the song’s subtle synths remained balanced even when I turned the speaker to its highest volume to belt out the bridge. Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” took on a sophistication I don’t regularly get to hear for one of my favorite songs as well. The iconic bass guitar riff reached rhythmic depths and the cymbal rang with a distinction that tends to get lost if a speaker muddles midtones together. If there’s one thing the Sonos Move 2 has, it’s conviction in delivering a dynamic audio experience. 

At least some of that is thanks to Auto Trueplay, a feature adapted from the Trueplay tuning technology found in Sonos’s home speakers. But unlike Trueplay tuning, which requires you to walk around a room waving your phone around for Sonos to balance the sound for optimal output to your environment, Auto Trueplay makes spatial adjustments automatically. It’s best recognized outdoors, where the speaker manages to make up for lack of reflection points and compensate for ambient sounds. 

Sonos Move 2 review: Voice control

In addition to physical controls on the speaker and in the Sonos app, the Sonos Move 2 can be controlled via voice assistant. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, so if you have the platform set up in your home, the Sonos Move 2 can act as any of the best smart speakers. Paired to Alexa, my Sonos Move 2 could control my Nanoleaf Lines wall lights, turn on my Clorox air purifier and add items to my Amazon shopping cart.

The Sonos Move 2 also has the Sonos Voice Assistant. Unlike Alexa, which only works when the speaker is connected to Wi-Fi, the Sonos Voice Assistant works on Bluetooth too. I find the assistant — triggered by the “Hey Sonos” wake phrase” — is best for hands-free playback controls, such as adjusting the volume. It can search songs on Sonos Radio and Apple Music as well, but can’t launch music from Spotify or YouTube Music yet unfortunately.

Sonos Move 2 review: Battery life and charging

Battery life is one of the biggest improvements the Sonos Move 2 offers compared to the original. It provides up to 24 hours of playback, whereas the previous-gen version lasted just 10 hours. That’s a huge stamina boost that results in not needing to recharge the speaker as frequently. Since it lived up to the estimate in my testing, I find this to be a huge point of convenience. It also matches the battery life of the $499 JBL Boombox 3, a close Sonos Move competitor. 

The Sonos Move 2 comes with the same charging base, giving it a dedicated spot to sit and recharge when you have it at home. If you need to charge the Sonos Move 2 when you’re out, though, you can take advantage of the USB-C port in the back. If I were worried about my Move 2 making it through the day, I might bring an external battery pack with a USB-C hookup for charging just in case. Luckily, the speaker will automatically power down when it’s not being used to preserve juice.  

Sonos Move 2 review: Verdict

Despite the popularity of the Sonos Move 2, there aren’t many other speakers with the same in-the-house and out-of-the-house functionality. This degree of versatility is why Sonos gets away with charging $449 for the unit. Of course, the sound quality, sleek build and smart features help justify the high cost, too.

If after reading about the Sonos Move 2, you don’t imagine actually move-ing it much, the Sonos Era 300 costs the same but is perhaps the better choice for immersive listening. With Dolby Atmos and impressive spatial audio, the Era 300 is a smart home speaker designed for audiophiles. Still, if you’re compelled by the flexibility of being able to take a great-sounding smart speaker with you around the home both inside and out, the Sonos Move 2 is the speaker to beat.

As an audio editor I've been fortunate to try out some of the best music systems for sound and style. I've seen them all, from the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin to the Sonus faber Omnia, and every luxury audio brand in between. But in terms of delivering audio know-how with bags of style, the new Bang & Olufsen Beolab 8 looks to have them all beat. 

Unveiled today (September 7) by the luxury audio brand known for its iconic style, Bang & Olufsen's Beolab 8 is the latest addition to its upmarket Beolab speaker series. Priced at $2,749 / £2,199 (around AU$4,268 at today's conversion rate) with table stand, the Beolab 8 is a lot more expensive than many of our picks for the best smart speaker or best Bluetooth speakers, but I can't think of any speaker design that looks more gorgeous.

The Beolab 8 is nearly three times more expensive that the $900 Devialet Mania, one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers I've heard, and incorporates both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connectivity. It's designed to work either as a standalone wireless speaker, in stereo as part of a paired speaker setup, or as part of a home theater arrangement. Users can also connect using B&O's Powerlink, integrating with Bang & Olufsen music systems and TVs, including models that are more than 30 years old. 

B&O Beolab 8: Smart sound in sumptuous style

Inside a sumptuous aluminum case it packs a 5.25-inch woofer, a 3-inch mid-range speaker driver, and a 0.63-inch tweeter all expertly tuned by Bang & Olufsen's acoustic engineers called "tonmeisters". The glass interface on top of the speaker creates a perfect curve that's said to guide the user’s finger along the surface effortlessly.

It's packed with tuning tech, and B&O's narrow and wide beam width control switches between two listening modes to put users in the sweet spot for the perfect soundstage listening experience. It even adapts to the user's location when using the Bang & Olufsen app, and LEDs on the speaker display which sound mode status the speaker is in. 

Optimum performance tuning based on the speaker's surroundings and placement is automatically taken care of, and B&O says that the speaker maps its environment to deliver optimum sound quality no matter the size or space of the room. 

The Bang & Olufsen Beolab 8 is expected to go on sale in October. Buyers can opt for silver, natural aluminum, gold tone, or black anthracite color options. Prices start from $2,749 / £2,199 (around AU$4,268) with a fabric speaker grille cloth. The wood grille option bumps the price up to $3,299 / £2,699 (around AU$5,099).

Prices given are for the table stand option, but there's also a wall/ceiling mount option, as well as a highly polished aluminum floor stand option available. These alternative stand options increase the Beolab 8's total price by $100 and $200 respectively.

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• I just tested the best Bluetooth speaker I've ever heard
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Following the rumors surrounding the potential arrival of a new Sonos Move speaker and the 5 features to expect, I'm pleased to reveal the next-gen Sonos Move 2 portable smart speaker has officially been announced today (September 6). 

Billed as Sonos' most powerful portable speaker ever, the Move 2 is set to go on sale on September 20 priced at $449 / £449 / €499 / AU$799 — around $50 more than when the original launched in September 2019. 

Like the original, the Move 2 is IP56-rated for durability, meaning it can tolerate rain and light water splashes without issue. The physical design may not look any different, but the next-gen model comes in a new olive matte finish option as well as the company's traditional black, and white finishes.

It's remarkable how the original Sonos Move managed to rank as one of the best smart speakers as well as one of the best Bluetooth speakers, and one of the best outdoor speakers when it launched. Its strong performance in each of these categories was undoubtedly due to Sonos' Trueplay tech that continually optimizes the speaker’s sound to its surroundings and the audio content that's playing. The same tuning software continues to be incorporated in the Move 2.

With the promise of even better performance thanks to several key upgrades, the Sonos Move 2 looks set to shake up even more speaker categories. Here's what to expect.

Sonos Move 2 gets stereo sound

Much like the Sonos Era 100, which superseded the Sonos One smart speaker when it arrived earlier this year, the new Move 2 has also morphed into a stereo speaker. The original Sonos Move was a mono speaker. For reasons best known to itself though, Sonos doesn't publish much on internal specifications for any of its speaker models. There's no mention of the power output except to say that the Sonos Move 2 is "powerful," and that the stereo driver configuration uses two angled tweeters and one mid-woofer speaker driven by individual Class D amplifiers.

Sonos Move 2 gets 24-hour playback

From the press images I've seen so far, it's tough to spot the differences between the original and the next-gen model. The dimensions are similar at 9.5 x 6.3 x 5 inches, as is the weight at 6.61 pounds despite doubling battery life capacity. Speaking of which, the Move 2 claims to deliver up to 24 hours playback on a single charge. That's more than 2x as much as the original, although we've yet to get a hands-on with the Move 2 to test that claim out under real world listening conditions.        

Sonos Move 2 gets stronger connectivity 

In terms of wireless smarts, the Move 2 sports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Both are connected simultaneously rather than requiring users to toggle between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This feature made it to the Sonos Roam but the original Move missed out. Additionally, owners can stream via Bluetooth to a stereo pair of Move 2 speakers when connected to Wi-Fi, or even group Move 2 with the rest of your Sonos system. Connection via AirPlay 2 is also available. 

Sonos Move 2 gets improved USB-C port

Sonos tells us that the Move 2 has an upgraded USB-C port that can be used to top up devices via the Move 2's built-in battery. There's also a proprietary adapter for connecting to external audio sources using a Sonos Line-in Adapter, or to a router via the Sonos Combo Adapter. Both adapters are sold separately and were launched along with the new Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 speakers in early 2023.

Sonos Move 2 gets better control  

Although it might be tough to spot the external differences between the original Move and the next-gen portable smart speaker, the Move 2 has the same controls as the Era 100 and 300. This doesn’t change too much, but it does add the volume slider control, which is pretty neat. There's also a switch on the back to disable the Move’s voice assistant microphones. 

Speaking of which, there's no mention of voice assistant support. Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control were expected to be supported, but there was no mention of it in the Sonos press announcement. I'll update this news story with more information when it becomes available.

Once again, the Sonos Move 2 will be priced at $449 / £449 / €499 / AU$799 when it goes on sale on September 20. It will be available directly from the Sonos shop as well as online retailers. It comes in three matte finishes including olive, white, and black. Look out for our full hands-on review coming later this month.

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IFA 2023 doesn't officially start at Berlin's Messe building until September 1, but I've been lucky enough to get a preview of a raft of new audio products from JBL ahead of the consumer electronics trade fair opening. 

What's in store from the iconic audio brand?

At IFA JBL is launching three smart speakers, along with two new wireless headphones with active noise cancelling, an open-ear earbud built for active lifestyles, plus a new flagship Bluetooth speaker joining the company's all-singing PartyBox series of light-up party speakers. 

Here's a breakdown of all the new JBL audio products announced at IFA 2023 that will be available to buy from September.

JBL Authentics smart home speaker series

JBL Authentics is a brand new series of three multi-room smart speakers wrapped in leather and fitted with Quadrex speaker grille inspired by the company's JBL L100 speaker from the 1970s. Despite the retro looks of the new Authentics series, each model is equipped with modern Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity smarts. The series is also the first to integrate both Alexa and Google voice assistants, allowing users to register both assistants and communicate with either by simply saying “Hey Google,” or “Alexa” to get started. 

The flagship JBL Authentics 500 smart speaker will be priced at $699 / £579 / €629 and additionally incorporates Dolby Atmos support for immersive listening. It's rated at 270W total power output and employs three 1-inch tweeters and three 2.75-inch midrange woofers partnered to a 6.5-inch down-firing subwoofer.

The JBL Authentics 300 is the middle model with a built-in battery for 8-hour playback between charges. It's set to be priced at $429 / £379/ €429, and has a pair of 1-inch tweeters partnered to a full-range 5-inch woofer, and a down-firing 6-inch passive bass radiator.

The JBL Authentics 200 is the smallest model in the new series, and will be priced at $329 / £299 / €329. Like the Authentics 500, the 200 is a home speaker, meaning that there's no battery pack on board. It has all the same connectivity and voice assistant smarts as its two larger siblings, while the smaller cabinet is fitted with a pair of 1-inch tweeters, a single 5-inch woofer, and a down-firing 6-inch passive bass radiator. 

JBL says the new Authentics smart speaker series are easy to set up using the JBL One app, and come with AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music (MRM), Spotify Connect, and Chromecast built-in support. There are fully customisable EQ settings so that users can personalize the listening experience to their own tastes.  

The JBL Authentics series is said to be made from 100% recycled fabric, 85% recycled plastic and 50% recycled aluminum. All models are available in black on the JBL website from mid-September 2023.

Look out for our reviews coming soon and to discover how this new JBL smart speaker series compares to the best smart speakers around.

JBL Live 770NC and 670NC wireless headphones

The JBL Live 770NC and JBL Live 670NC noise-canceling headphones are the latest additions to the JBL Live headphones lineup. They replace the popular JBL Live 660NC noise-canceling headphones. Carsten Olesen, president of consumer audio at Harman told Tom's Guide that the new models "bring significant technology upgrades to an already well-loved family of headphones."  

The new mode;s both feature True Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient technology, advanced personalization features via Harman’s advanced Personi-Fi 2.0 technology, 40mm dynamic drivers and JBL's Signature Sound — something we found very enjoyable on the JBL Live 660NC.

Additionally, both models come with immersive JBL Spatial Sound, Bluetooth 5.3, while LE Audio support is said to arrive via a firmware shortly after launch. Battery life is said to be boosted from a maximum playtime of 50 hours on the Live 660NC, with up to 65 hours of playtime, while speed-charging gives up to 4 hours of play from just a 5-minute charge. 

The JBL Live 770NC and JBL Live 670NC go on sale in the U.K. and Europe from August 31 at £159 / €179 and £119 / €129 respectively. JBL tells us the these models will launch in the U.S. in early 2024. They are available in black, white, blue, and sandstone from the JBL website and online retailers. 

Check back to see where these new models rank among the best noise-cancelling headphones.    

JBL Soundgear Sense open-ear earbuds 

Soundgear Sense are the first-ever true wireless open-ear earbuds from JBL. They're designed for all kinds of activities including active lifestyles where wearers want to maintain a level of awareness. They are IP54-rated to protect from sweat, dust, and rainfall. The open-ear design uses ear hooks that rest on your ears without obstructing the ear canal, while the design and shape are said to reduce sound leakage. They can be rotated, and there are size adjustments to aid personalized, all-day comfort. There's a detachable neckband provided for an added level of security.

They feature JBL's OpenSound Technology with air conduction to maintain a natural connection to surroundings. Open-ear designs often mean some sound compromises and sound leakage, but JBL promises to deliver a performance that's akin to its well-regarded Signature Sound quality thanks to the use of unique 16.2mm drivers and a bass-enhancing algorithm. It also says that sound leakage has been kept to a minimum thanks to its super directional drivers, which is something I'm keen to try out.

As with the new Live series of headphones mentioned above, Bluetooth 5.3 is on board with LE audio support coming via a firmware update shortly after launch. Multi-point makes connectivity with all your devices seamless, and the four integrated microphones means that call quality has been considered too. 

In announcing JBL's Soundgear Sense, Carsten Olesen, president of consumer audio at Harman, told Tom's Guide "Developing Soundgear Sense challenged us to produce JBL's renowned audio quality in air conduction earbuds. I am delighted with the results. Thanks to our incredible audio know-how, our class leading JBL OpenSound Technology ensures that even in this new form factor, we deliver the exceptional sound experience that JBL is known for." 

The JBL Soundgear Sense cost £129 / €149. They are available to buy now in black or white color options through the JBL website as well as other online retailers. 

JBL PartyBox Ultimate wireless speaker system

The JBL PartyBox Ultimate speaker is the new headline act for the company's big and bold light-up Bluetooth speaker series, and introduces Wi-Fi smarts to the party. 

The PartyBox Ultimate is IPX4-rated, meaning it's splashproof and its bulky size is fitted with sturdy wheels to enable it to easily be moved around. There's an easy-to-grip handle, and a cable compartment to store the power cord when not in use. 

It features JBL's Original Pro Sound and has two high-sensitivity mid-range speaker drivers and dual tweeters, as well as a pair of 9-inch subwoofers. There wasn't any power output mention at the time of the announcement, except to say that the PartyBox Ultimate is said to provide thunderous bass you can feel from anywhere in the room, and can rock the size of two basketball courts. 

Dolby Atmos support and automatic self-tuning are on board, along with multi-dimensional light show capabilities including a new starry night effect, cool light trails, and dynamic strobes that sync with the music. 

Users can customize their own party flow with the interactive JBL PartyPad on the PartyBox top panel while playing a playlist. Or take to the stage with guitar and dual mic inputs and karaoke EQ tuning. 

The JBL PartyBox Ultimate goes on sale from August 31 priced at $1,699 / £1,299 / €1,499 and will be available from the JBL website and dealers. JBL tells us the these models will launch in the U.S. in early 2024.

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The Sonos Arc is one of the best soundbars thanks to its excellent sound and a wide array of features. However, one of those features has a problem.

One of the biggest reasons to get the Sonos Arc — a $899 premium soundbar — is that it supports Dolby Atmos. This spatial audio technology can produce 360-degree 3D audio using just your soundbar. While a true surround sound home theater setup can still outperform Atmos, the bubble of sound created by Atmos gives your A/V setup a serious upgrade without needing tons of equipment.

But it seems that Atmos isn’t working as promised on the Arc. Tom Warren from The Verge is one of the latest to run into issues with Dolby Atmos on the Sonos Arc, but he’s not alone. For years, Sonos Arc owners have complained about “extremely loud pop sound[s]” on Sonos’ community forum. We didn’t run into any such issues in our testing when we reviewed the Sonos Arc, but clearly, this is not an isolated incident.

And Sonos is aware of the problem. In its response to The Verge, Sonos said “We are aware that a small percentage of customers have experienced an interoperability issue which is causing a popping sound on Arc.” This is similar to comments that it has left in response to the now 1,000+ reply thread on its community forum.

What causes Sonos Arc to ‘pop’ — and how to fix it

Unfortunately, nobody seems to know exactly what causes the loud popping sound on the Sonos Arc. While it is aware of the issue, Sonos still has not figured out a fix for the issue or been able to consistently replicate it in its own testing.

It’s also not just limited to particular devices. While both Tom Warren and the original forum post both claim issues specifically when using an Xbox — in Warren’s case, specifically an Xbox Series X — Sonos has said that “Some users have reported it with in-built TV apps, so it is not limited to X-Box and Apple TV owners.”

And if you thought that this was bad news, it gets worse. The only current solution to fixing the loud pop is to disable Dolby Atmos entirely. 

Warning: The video in the embedded tweet below shows the 'pop' in action and it is very loud. Please set your volume to a reasonable level before listening.

It doesn’t seem like this is changing soon either despite Sonos being aware of the issue. In the r/Sonos subreddit, Sonos employee KeithFromSonos states that “I hesitate to say a "fix" is in the works. Only because I don't want anyone to get tied to the idea that something is coming "soon".” They stress that “The team has been and is actively working towards a solution” but it seems that Sonos’s difficulty in recreating the popping sound is preventing a permanent solution from being implemented. Well, at least one that would let you still use Dolby Atmos.

So for now, proceed with caution before buying a Sonos Arc soundbar. Again, we had no issues in our testing, and Sonos claims the issue is limited to a small number of customers, but there’s no way to guarantee that your Arc soundbar wouldn’t develop this issue — possibly after it's too late to return the soundbar. Which is a shame, because when the Arc works, it’s a great soundbar.

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The Sonos Move is one of the best smart speakers out there, but it’s not quite perfect. Luckily, Sonos is coming out with a brand-new version — the Sonos Move 2.

We already had some inkling that the Move 2 was coming this fall thanks to an FCC filing for the upcoming Bluetooth speaker, but The Verge has now published a massive leak that pegs the release date as sometime in late September. 

The Sonos Move 2 is expected to launch at $449 in the U.S., which would be a $50 increase over the original Move. The good news is that it looks like it’ll be worth the money to upgrade to the Move 2 over the previous generation. 

The leak reveals a ton of new features and upgrades coming to the Sonos Move 2, and personally, they have me pretty excited for Sonos’ next portable speaker.

Here are the five biggest upgrades to expect from the Sonos Move 2 this September.

Sonos Move 2 upgrades: Two tweeters are better than one 

Features are great, but none of it matters if the Sonos Move 2 doesn’t sound great too. And thankfully, the Move 2 is getting a serious boost to the Move’s already superb audio quality. 

According to the leak, the Move 2 will get two tweeters rather than one — rather apt given the name. These angled tweeters should give the Sonos Move 2 true stereo audio playback rather than the mono audio playback the first generation Move was limited to. Combined with the Move 2’s woofer, which will be brought over from the original Move, the Move 2 should continue to provide excellent audio quality.

And the woofer isn’t all that the Move 2 is stealing from its older sibling. It’s also keeping Sonos’ Auto TruePlay, which uses microphones to automatically tune the Move speaker’s sound output for its surroundings.

Sonos Move 2 upgrades: All-day battery life 

The original Sonos Move had pretty decent battery life. It originally promised 10 hours, though a later update boosted this number by an additional hour. Our testing found that the Move managed to hit this mark, with the battery dropping around 10% every hour of audio playback.

But the Move 2 will reportedly double the Move’s battery life — and then some. The Move 2’s projected battery life is now rumored to be 24 hours, giving you 24-hour party people an entire day of audio playback. 

The Move 2’s battery will also remain replaceable like the Move’s battery was, but the wireless charger is also getting a boost. The wireless charging base for the Sonos Move 2 will reportedly be removable rather than hardwired, which is a small but welcome improvement.

Sonos Move 2 upgrades: A useful USB-C port 

Speaking of welcome upgrades, the Move 2 is getting a significantly more useful USB-C port. If this leak is true, the USB-C port on the Move 2 will be able to turn your portable speaker into a portable charger as well, giving you the ability to charge mobile devices with the Move 2’s battery. Of course, this will drain the Sonos Move 2’s battery, but if you’re in a pinch it’ll be a nice feature to have.

And if you’re willing to spend up for a proprietary adapter, you can also turn the Move 2’s USB-C port into an audio line-in port. This adapter already exists for the Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 but didn’t work with the original Move. 

Sonos Move 2 upgrades: Boosted Bluetooth 

There had been a few upgrades we were already expecting for the Sonos Move 2. The FCC filing from June hinted that the Move 2 would be able to connect via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously rather than requiring you to toggle between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 

This is a feature that made it onto the Sonos Roam but was notably absent from the original Move. This latest leak seemingly confirms that this feature is indeed coming.

However, there is still one connectivity feature we still have yet to see get confirmed. When we reported on the FCC filing, we mentioned that the Move 2 may also borrow switching connectivity modes based on location, another connectivity feature that the Roam got but Move missed. 

While this feature may still ultimately come to the new Move 2 speaker, this latest leak didn’t give us any new information on that front.

Sonos Move 2 upgrades: New controls

Finally, the Move 2 will reportedly get one other minor tweak. According to this new leak, the Move 2 is going to ditch the controls of the original and instead steal the controls of the Era 100 and 300. This doesn’t change too much, but it does add the volume slider control, which is an improvement.

Aside from the volume slider, the Sonos Move 2 will also get a new switch on the back that can disable the Move’s voice assistant microphones. 

This does bring us to the lone downgrade we have to highlight — Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control are reportedly supported on the Move 2, but it appears Google Assistant remains left out of the party, which it has since the launch of the Era 100 and 300 speakers.

Will it all prove true? We'll have to wait until September to find out.

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The HomePod often gets criticized for a lack of usability, despite its awesome sound and attractive design. We said as much in our revised HomePod review earlier this year. The list of apps that work natively with the smart speaker is limited, and all too often users have to rely on AirPlaying content from their phone rather than just asking Siri.

That could be about to change as iOS 17 will introduce the option for users to ask Siri to work as the middle man and stream content over AirPlay directly from any app installed on their iPhone or iPad.

First revealed at WWDC, the process works even if the app in question doesn’t have HomePod support — because it’s instead relying on the SiriKit API.

In practice, that means you could finally ask Siri to play Spotify (famously not supported on Apple’s speaker) through your HomePod rather than having to AirPlay it yourself instead.

“Once HomePod processes a request, a SiriKit intent is sent to the iPhone, where Siri starts your app and AirPlays content back to the speaker,” Apple explained. 

Unfortunately, the drawback is your iPhone or iPad will need to be present and on the same Wi-Fi network as your HomePod for this to work. So native HomePod apps like iHeartRadio, Pandora or Apple Music still have the edge in that regard.

But even so, this development opens up the HomePod in a way that’s never been possible before when it comes to the hands-free experience. Audiobooks, podcasts, radio stations and guided meditations are all examples of media you’ll soon be able to access on the speaker through Siri.

According to Apple: “Any app supporting SiriKit Media Intents today will be able to use this capability with no additional changes.”

The company added: “Everything your app can do on iOS today will work on HomePod. For example, app users can ask to play artists, albums, songs, music genres, and hits.”

To avoid confusion when more than one person is registered to a Home app, Apple says it will use voice recognition to make sure the request is routed to the correct person’s device.

And, just as a cherry on top, Apple has also confirmed that AirPlay will be more reliable with iOS 17 and the software will intelligently learn your listening habits to suggest AirPlay when there’s a compatible speaker nearby and on the same network.

Of course, that’s just one of the new features coming with the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system. We expect it to touch down in the fall alongside the iPhone 15 series and we’ve detailed all the 11 best iOS 17 features coming to your iPhone right here.

More from Tom's Guide

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Our guide to the best smart speakers rounds up the most popular models out there. But for me, by far the best-sounding smart speaker is the Sonos Five, and I've never written about it.

The new Sonos Era 300 ($449 / £449 / AU$749) is the smart speaker grabbing most of the headlines right now, thanks to its eye-catching design built to maximize the spatial audio experience. But despite the fanfare and its immersive audio capabilities, it's not actually the company's flagship speaker. That honor goes to the Sonos Five ($549 / £499 / AU$799), which has been around for more than 10 years in various iterations and launched its most powerful version in 2020. 

Despite its status as the flagship model by the multi-room speaker champion, it's fair to say that the Five's more traditional box-like design and Hi-Fi categorization are likely to be main reasons it's often overlooked. I haven't seen any sales figures for any Sonos speaker, but my gut feeling is that it's not the most popular model on the smart speaker market. 

There aren't too many reviews of it around, and we haven't reviewed the flagship model in Tom's Guide mainly because of the higher price tag and bulky styling that gives it a more niche appeal compared to the majority of smaller and more style-lead smart speakers on the market. But I think the Sonos Five deserves a closer look for anyone seeking the best sound from the heroes that introduced the wireless music system to the home.

I can almost hear potential buyers asking why they need to spend more than twice as much on the Sonos Five compared to the new Sonos Era 100 ($249 / £249 / AU$399) smart speaker, or $100 more than the Sonos Era 300? But there are plenty of reasons to consider building a home music system around a Sonos Five (or two), and here's why I think it's Sonos' best-sounding speaker ever.

Forget the Sonos Era 300, the Sonos Five is bigger and better

First, I'll address the elephant in the room and confess that the size and slightly bland styling are the reasons I didn't factor the Sonos Five into my recent rundown of my 5 favorite systems for sound and style. Nevertheless, the Five's size is one the factors that makes it the company's best-sounding speaker, and important to take into account when considering the kind of sound you want to hear when playing music at home.

It's no secret that smaller speakers simply can't push out the amount of air that's needed to achieve the kind of infectious bass energy to make anyone who hears the beat want to get up and dance. Although many of the best Bluetooth speakers do a stellar job at defying the laws of physics and achieve a bigger sound than they have any right to given their compact dimensions, the Sonos Five's (8 x 14 x 6 inches) proportions are a big part of why it sounds so good. While the fact that it can be placed in an upright orientation and configured as a left or right channel speaker when partnered to a second and spaced apart for Hi-Fi stereo sound, is the reason why Sonos categorizes the Five as a Hi-Fi speaker.

Sonos Five: A practical solution with premium sound

As the owner of a pair of Sonos Fives configured in stereo in my kitchen (and a third Sonos Five speaker placed in the space that is my upstairs landing) taking care of music playback from many of the best music streaming services I'm subscribed to, I am well acquainted with the sound of Sonos' premium speaker. 

Additionally, I have a Sonos Era 300 in my home office, and have been enjoying trying out its room-filling spatial audio capabilities from a single speaker with some of the best Apple Music spatial audio tracks I've discovered. Spatial audio is a fundamental part of the Era 300's distinctive design, and although certain audio tracks sound so big they defy belief that they're coming from a relatively compact speaker design, the Sonos Five sounds better.

For a bit of extra context, another confession is that even though I have a main hi-fi setup in my living room made up of large floor standing speakers driven by a 500W power amplifier, it's my Sonos Five 'second-room' setup that gets the most use.

My Sonos Five speakers are in use all day, every day I'm at home, with both the kitchen speakers and the landing speaker linked together, filling the areas of the house I use most often with sound. As a morning radio listener, they're literally the first thing I switch on when I wake up. I even have a timer set to automatically switch them on at 8:00 A.M. when the daily routine allows, all controlled by the robust Sonos S2 control app.

Sonos' Trueplay allows me to tune the speakers to integrate the sound to the slightly odd L-shaped kitchen/dining space, and the sound delivery is always seriously impressive. Even though I have one speaker placed on the floor and the other on the bottom shelf of a bookcase, the way the two speakers integrate and deliver a great stereo sound in the challenging acoustic space never fails to impress anyone that hears them. 

The sound is big enough to mean that they still sound great even when I throw open the doors to the backyard, and let the sound of my Sonos Five setup spill out. It projects just the right balance of sound while I'm outside doing yard work, and has enough sonic balance to let me listen to whatever my mood has me playing while keeping the level low so as not to disturb the neighbors. When the circumstances are right, though, the Sonos Five can kick out an impressive amount of bass energy but with more finesse than most party speakers I've heard, which for me is what it's all about.

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The Sonos Move is an excellent smart speaker. It gives you phenomenal audio quality while remaining somewhat durable — though not as durable as the smaller Sonos Roam — and can be used indoors or outdoors with ease. 

But even though it's one of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever tested, it’s still not perfect. So we’ve been keeping our eye on a possible Sonos Move 2 and hopefully some potential upgrades along with it.

And now it looks like our wish may have been granted. As reported by The Verge and other outlets, the Sonos Move 2 has been assigned an FCC ID for the model number RM044 (The Verge refers to it as S44). This is a necessary step before a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth speaker can hit the market, so it is a strong indicator that a new product is incoming. The FCC ID documentation was first spotted by tech reporter Janko Roettgers on Mastadon. 

But that’s not the best news. The Sonos Move 2 is also getting a much-needed upgrade, at least according to the FCC documentation. Instead of needing to physically toggle between Wi-Fi connectivity, which is the default for Sonos speakers, and Bluetooth, the new Move portable smart speaker will support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously.

This is a major upgrade over the original Sonos Move, which had a switch you needed to toggle to change from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth connectivity and vice versa. Most likely, this functionality will be based on the same connectivity tech currently implemented in the Sonos Roam, which lets you stream Bluetooth music to it and then stream it to other Sonos speakers via the Sonos app and your Wi-Fi connection. 

Another connectivity feature the Move 2 may borrow from the Roam is automatically switching between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modes based on location. Hopefully, this feature works a bit better than it did on the Roam. In our Sonos Roam review, we found that while the Roam switched from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth quite well, switching back to Wi-Fi was often a struggle. 

Unfortunately, we don’t know more about the Sonos Move 2 other than it's now closer than ever and should fix one of our biggest issues with the original. Hopefully, the portable Sonos speaker will come just in time for some end-of-summer parties, and at a price that doesn’t break the bank. 

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Sonos speakers are great for building a home-wide audio setup. I use a fair amount of Sonos products myself, including the Sonos Amp, which is the best part of my audio setup. But me and a lot of other Sonos users are getting a downgrade — and it’s a bummer.

As reported by The Verge, Sonos is removing support for the “On this device” feature from Android devices. This feature allowed users to play music stored locally on their Android phones directly through their Sonos speakers using the Sonos app. 

This feature was a big win for audiophiles that had already amassed large digital music collections or preferred to eschew popular music streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music. Or for people like me who would buy records and get free digital codes for the album and would download the album to their phone. 

Unfortunately, it seems the investment simply wasn’t worth it for Sonos anymore. According to a Sonos support post, Sonos rep Marco B. states: “As newer versions of mobile operating systems are released, it can sometimes change the way information is shared between devices, and this feature will no longer be compatible with newer versions of the Android operating system.” 

Even if there was a workaround, Sonos clearly didn’t feel that it was worth it. And to be fair, Sonos ditched this feature for iOS years ago. So now that “On this device” is gone for everyone, let’s look at possible solutions for Sonos users.

Solution #1: Use a music streaming service

This is the simplest solution. If you want an easy way to play your favorite tunes on a Sonos speaker, a streaming service will get it done. 

And some will even let you upload your existing digital library to the streaming service so you can still play local files on Sonos — albeit in a roundabout way. Sonos says to use Apple Music, YouTube Music (which I use to play local files), Deezer and Plex.

Solution #2: Use Bluetooth

Using Bluetooth seems like such an easy fix, but if you’re someone like me who has built a Sonos ecosystem over the years, you know it’s not that simple. That’s because Sonos has only recently adopted Bluetooth in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity for its speakers.

So if you have a Sonos Era 100, Sonos Era 300, Sonos Move or Sonos Roam you can just switch to using Bluetooth. For the rest of us, there’s only one other option if these first two don’t work — and it’s the most complicated. 

Solution #3: Use a NAS drive

No, this isn’t a reference to the greatest rapper of all time. A NAS drive, or network-attached storage drive, allows you to create a standalone hard drive connected to your Wi-Fi network filled with your favorite music (including Illmatic). However, this solution takes a bit of technical know-how, as you first need to create the drive — which isn’t the simplest (but is doable!).

Once your NAS drive is set up, then Sonos has you covered. Sonos has a guide to using a NAS drive with Sonos that has steps for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows.

Personally, I still recommend using a music streaming service, even if you are tech-savvy. Between Spotify Premium and YouTube Music Free, I am able to play just about anything I want on my Sonos, including my local files. If you want to simplify things, Apple Music is excellent and allows you to play local and streamed files in one place. Hopefully, this is enough to get around this sudden feature loss.

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After a few years of inactivity, both Sonos and Apple refreshed their smart speaker lineup with the Sonos Era 100 and the Apple HomePod 2. When it comes to price, size, features, and performance, both of these speakers are fairly matched, but there are some key differences which may affect your buying decision. Below, we’ll compare the Sonos Era 100 vs the Apple HomePod 2, so you can determine which smart speaker is the best for your home entertainment needs.

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Specs

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Price

No contest here: The Sonos Era 100 costs $249, while the Apple HomePod 2 costs $299. Moreover, Sonos gives you a little discount if you purchase multiple devices — pick up a pair of Era 100s, and you can save $30 versus buying them separately. Apple offers no such discount.

Both speakers are offered in either white or black. Apple could really do itself a favor here and offer the HomePod 2 in the same variety of colors available with the HomePod mini. 

Winner: Sonos Era 100

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Design

One goes for form, while the other goes for function. The Apple HomePod 2 is definitely the more attractive of the two speakers; its acoustically transparent fabric and rounded shape makes it feel more homey than the harder-edged, all-metal Era 100. The HomePod 2 also has a circular touchscreen on top that lights up in a swirl of colors when you say “Hey Siri.” It’s a fun effect. 

The Era 100 might have a more workmanlike exterior, but I found its controls much more intuitive. A touch-sensitive groove along the middle of the top lets you increase or decrease the volume by sliding your finger. There are also separate buttons for play/pause, advance, and back, as well as a button to summon Alexa or Sonos’ voice assistant. By comparison, the HomePod 2 has + and - buttons for volume control, and you have to double- or triple-tap to switch tracks. It’s a little bit more to remember.

Winner: Sonos Era 100

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Sound quality

But, which speaker sounds better? Before we get to that, let’s take a look at what each speaker is packing. Inside the Era 100 is a single woofer that’s 25 percent larger than that in the Sonos One, and two tweeters, so that a single Era 100 is capable of producing stereo sound on its own. 

The HomePod 2 also has a single woofer, but it’s augmented by five tweeters angled upwards and arrayed in a circle. Not only does this allow the HomePod 2 to support spatial audio tracks, but it also means that music sounds just as good from the rear of the HomePod 2 as it does from the front. 

When we listened to music on both the Era 100 and the HomePod, there was a noticeable difference as we walked around both speakers; the HomePod 2 sounded good from just about every direction, while there was a definite drop-off as we moved behind the Era 100. 

The HomePod supports spatial audio via Dolby Atmos, but the Sonos Era 100 does not — you’ll have to upgrade to the Sonos Era 300 for that feature.

To see which offered the better audio, we placed a cloth over both speakers, and had three coworkers listen to the same tracks — the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute, Thus Spake Zarathustra (a.k.a. the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), and Eruption by Van Halen — on both speakers. Two of our coworkers preferred the HomePod to the Era 100, noting that Apple’s speaker produced a warmer sound than the Sonos. 

I also listened to a number of tracks on both speakers and also came away with a mixed reaction, but ended up leaning towards the HomePod 2. 

When I played U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” from the Songs of Surrender album (a Dolby Atmos track), Bono’s voice was in the center, and had a warmer sound on the HomePod than the Sonos. Not surprisingly, the sound was not as expansive on the Era 100, either. 

However, when I played “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen (another Dolby Atmos track), Freddie Mercury’s voice sounded more watery on the HomePod than on the Era 100. Sonos’ speaker also bested the HomePod on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the Concert for George album; the audio sounded more compressed on the HomePod than the Era 100, and the vocals were tinny. However, Prince’s solo sang out more on Apple’s speaker. 

Switching over to “Tom Sawyer” by Rush, Geddy Lee’s voice rang out and the music seemed to radiate out more around the room on the HomePod. Similarly, when playing “Somebody to Love” from Spotify (which was not an Atmos track), the Era 100 felt a little deeper, but Freddie Mercury’s voice felt more centered and present on the HomePod 2. 

One last example, before I tire you out: “Get me Away from Here” by Belle and Sebastian was more room-filling with the HomePod, with greater separation between the vocals and the instruments. 

Winner: Apple HomePod 2

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Audio features

Both the Era 100 and the HomePod 2 have adaptive audio; that is, they use their microphones to listen for the room’s acoustics, and then tailor the output of their speakers based on pre-existing audio profiles. However, if you have an iPhone, you can create an even more precise audio profile of your room with the Sonos Era 100.

If you want to hook a turntable into your smart speaker, the Era 100 has a USB-C port in the back; purchase a line-in adapter ($19.99, sold separately), and you’re good to go. Sonos also works with far more audio streaming services than the HomePod.

If you have an Apple TV device, you can stream audio from whatever you’re watching through the HomePod 2, which saves you the trouble of needing to purchase a soundbar. You can also connect the Era 100 to your TV via Bluetooth, though.

The Era 100 and HomePod 2 both have Bluetooth, AirPlay, and Wi-Fi, but Sonos’ speaker has Wi-Fi 6, whereas the HomePod has Wi-Fi 5, so the Era 100 is a little more future-proofed in that regard. You can also connect the Era 100 via Ethernet, though this requires an adapter (sold separately). 

Winner: Sonos Era 100

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Smart home capabilities

Siri or Alexa? While your choice of voice assistant is probably secondary to audio quality in a smart speaker, choosing between the Era 100 (Alexa) and the HomePod 2 (Siri) could also dictate your smart home setup. It remains to be seen how much Matter will shake things up, but at the moment, far more smart home devices work with Alexa than they do with Siri and HomeKit. However, the HomePod 2 has temperature, humidity, and occupancy sensors, so it can be used as part of your smart home routines. 

If Sonos and Google weren’t locked in a legal battle, there’s a good chance that the Era 100 would have worked with Google Assistant, too, as it does on the older Sonos One. 

The Era 100 also works with Sonos’ own voice assistant, which is limited to controlling just music. It’s handy if you want to use voice controls but are creeped out by Amazon knowing too much about you. And, if voice assistants in general aren’t your thing, the Era 100 has a physical switch to disable its microphone, something I wish the HomePod had.

Winner: Apple HomePod 2

Sonos Era 100 vs. Apple HomePod 2: Which smart speaker wins?

On a round-by-round basis, the Sonos Era 100 beats the Apple HomePod 2 by three to two; the Era 100 is less expensive, it has a more functional design, and I preferred its audio and streaming features. However, the HomePod 2 has better smart home functionality, and it bested the Era 100 in the area that matters most: sound quality. 

That’s not to say the Era 100 is a bad speaker; far from it. In fact, the Sonos speaker is better suited for those who want to connect it to their turntable, want to stream music from a variety of sources, or don’t want to be confined by Apple’s ecosystem. 

Ultimately, the choice will be yours as to which of your needs and wants weighs more heavily. Either way, you’re getting a quality smart speaker.

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