Here are the best smart speakers with Amazon Alexa. This guide also includes alternatives to Amazon Echo to use Alexa.
What are the best smart speakers with Alexa virtual assistant? Are there any good alternatives to Amazon Echo devices with Alexa? Before answering these questions, let’s see what Amazon Alexa is. Amazon Alexa is the personal assistant developed by Amazon, which allows people to control via voice, the smart speakers of the Echo series or alternatives made by third parties.
Thanks to the interaction with Alexa, people can request and obtain information (weather, results, matches, news, etc.), play, communicate, play music, and above all control the home automation devices present inside the house.
Through the Skills, additional apps (comparable to smartphone apps) made by various developers, users can customize Alexa’s behavior by adding new features every day.
Alexa is not only released for Amazon (Echo) devices but is also available in many other devices and products, such as smart speakers, from major audio and video producers.
Now, let’s find out the best speaker speakers with Alexa voice assistant, both from Amazon and other companies.
Also, read our other guides on the best WiFi Thermostats, electronic door locks, and the best Google Home-compatible devices.
The best smart speakers with Amazon Alexa voice assistant
There are five intelligent Amazon speakers: Amazon Echo and Echo Plus which integrate the hub to manage smart home devices. Echo Sub with subwoofer, Echo Spot with a circular display, and Echo Dot. To use them you need a wireless Internet connection, considering that Alexa is reachable in Amazon’s cloud.
To activate Alexa, (also accessible from the web browser), all you need to do is install the app on your Fire OS, Android or iOS smartphone or tablet and switch on the Echo device. The latter will automatically connect to the home wireless network. Immediately afterward you can interact with Alexa who will have no trouble understanding you.
Amazon Echo Spot
Amazon’s Echo Spot is the best Alexa smart speaker with a display and a camera. The circular screen allows you to view the main information (time, weather, alarm, etc.), various information on what you ask via voice commands such as news, to use it as a baby monitor connected to compatible cameras or even to make video calls.
It is, therefore, something much more like a smartphone. However, compared to other models, the audio quality is affected, given that it has much less space for speakers. Like all smart speakers, Amazon has the Alexa voice assistant with all its related functions.
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Amazon Echo Plus
The most innovative and amazing smart speaker is certainly Amazon Echo Plus among those available in the market. Apart from the display, it has all the functions of Echo Spot that we have described above and also adds others even more important. It integrates a ZigBee hub that the other models do not have. This hub makes it even easier and more immediate to connect and interact with smart home devices, such as intelligent light bulbs because you can connect directly and without the need for external hubs.
It also has a temperature sensor, not present on the other Echo units. So it also acts as a smart thermometer. Then, it has the best audio quality of the range thanks to a very powerful 76 mm woofer and a 20 mm tweeter complete with a Dolby processor. It manages to quietly fill large rooms with full-bodied audio and incredibly sharp frequencies, both high and low, with mediums that border on perfection.
It has physical keys and in addition to WiFi Bluetooth. Its fabric upholstery boasts high quality and refinement. There is also the beauty of 7 microphones with beamforming technology that locates the voice precisely and noise cancellation technology. He can hear the voice even at important distances and during high-volume music playback.
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Amazon Echo Dot
Amazon Echo Dot is the smallest intelligent speaker in the series but also the cheapest. It comes with a 41 mm speaker and a 3.5 mm audio output with a light ring that lights up when the speaker is in use.
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) support for streaming audio content from your mobile device to Echo Dot or Echo Dot to a Bluetooth speaker. Audio / Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) to control mobile devices connected by voice command. Hands-free voice control is not available on Mac OS X devices. Bluetooth speakers that require a PIN code are not compatible. The dual-band Wi-Fi is compatible with 2.4 and 5 GHz 802.11 a / b / g / n networks. Not compatible with ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks. You can connect Echo Dot immediately to your Wi-Fi. The Alexa App is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices and is also accessible from your web browser.
The measurements of the Amazon Echo Dot are 43 x 99 x 99 mm for a weight of 300 grams.
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Amazon Echo Show
The Echo Show is the first Alexa device that integrates an HD screen, a 5-megapixel camera, an integrated digital home controller, and a high-quality speaker system.
The best thing about this Amazon Echo is that it allows you to make video calls with more free friends and family with other Echo Show, Echo Spot, or the Alexa app on your mobile. It also allows you to make voice calls and send messages to anyone who has an Amazon Echo.
It has an integrated web browser that can be opened by saying “Alexa, open Silk” or “Alexa, open Firefox”. Once opened, we can use the on-screen keyboard to write an address, search, or visit a website. Like other browsers, we can mark favorite websites for easy access.
It has a new matrix of 8 microphones integrated into the upper part of the device with Amazon’s technology so you can hear from any direction, even while playing music.
If we have more than one Echo Show, Echo, Echo Plus Echo Dot, or Alexa we can use ESP technology (Echo Spatial Perception) to respond to us from the Echo closest to us.
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The best Amazon Echo alternatives to using Alexa
Surprisingly, to take advantage of Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa, it’s not necessarily necessary to buy an Amazon Amazon Echo device.
The Alexa assistant does not have this exclusivity and can also be integrated into devices of other brands, with an important difference that can be seen as a limitation or advantage depending on your point of view.
In this guide, we will show you the best alternative speakers to the Amazon Echo with Alexa voice commands.
Sonos One
Thanks to a collaboration with Amazon, Sonos was also able to release a smart speaker. You didn’t expect it from a company other than Google and Amazon, did you? It offers something sensational in terms of audio rendering and build quality. It is not the most beautiful of all, but it is resistant to humidity and therefore it is durable even if used in the bathroom or very humid rooms.
The sound is really good, coming out of 2 class D amplifiers, a tweeter, and a woofer. For the music, it is a panacea, even if we are far from the models for audiophiles like those of Bose. However, you can pair it with other(non-smart) Sonos speakers to play the same music in multiple rooms. Also high-quality voice recognition thanks to 6 microphones and a noise cancellation algorithm.
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Harman Kardon Allure
It is the first and only high-end speaker with Amazon Alexa. It combines far-field voice recognition technology with 360-degree sound quality and the design that made Harman Kardon products famous. The set of 4 integrated microphones with advanced noise-cancellation technology allows hands-free voice control even on the other side of the room. The omnidirectional transducers and the integrated subwoofer ensure a rich and wide-ranging sound.
Its design is futuristic and has response lights that give it a unique look. Of course, the design and good sound have a price.
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August Venus Smart Bluetooth WiFi Speaker
Another case we can use to try out Alexa’s voice commands is August Venus. This case has a shape that “closely resembles” the Google Home speaker, but at the top does not have the colored lights but the control keys, including the touch button to start the microphone and ask Alexa anything.
In addition to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (which can also be used for DLNA playback), it also offers AUX input, so you can connect any playback device via a cable. Beautiful and elegant, we can also think of ourselves as a design object to put in the living room or bedroom.
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GGMM E2 Portable WiFi Bluetooth Speaker
One of the questions that users usually ask is if the Amazon Echo Dot, the smallest of the Amazon family, is portable. It is a logical doubt considering its size, but no, it has to be connected to the current.
The GGMM-E2 is one of the best intelligent speakers with Alexa, since it is tiny, has an integrated battery, and also has very good ratings on Amazon.
The power is nothing special, with two 5 W speakers, but it has a MediaTek processor to deal with the sound and, in addition, its battery is 14 hours in Bluetooth and 5 in Wi-Fi mode, for when we are in the home.
Of course, it is not as comfortable as asking “Alexa”, and what we want, since it is not always listening. Instead, it has a button that activates the microphone.
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Bose Home Speaker 500 – a smart speaker with Alexa and Google Home
We finish with the one that can be the best intelligent speaker compatible with Alexa. If you are determined to throw the house out the window, you can opt for the Bose Home Speaker 500, a smart speaker compatible with Alexa, which also has the best audio quality.
It has stereo sound thanks to two integrated speakers, an anodized aluminum design, and a complete set of touch controls.
In addition, it has a color LCD screen to show information about the music that is playing and, how could it be otherwise, it is compatible with Alexa, which will hear us thanks to a matrix of eight microphones.
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What is a smart speaker?
Many hear of smart speakers but it’s not easy just watching them understand what they are. They are aesthetically very similar to the wireless speakers most commonly known as Bluetooth speakers, but in reality, they are much more.
These are speakers with integrated microphones that also have an integrated virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence. They are powered by the current, can be configured via a smartphone app, and can also be easily connected to the internet using the home WiFi network. The most famous are Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod.
But on the global market, these speakers are also entering other manufacturers, including Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi. It is possible to interact with the smart speakers through voice commands, simply by calling their integrated voice assistant by name and then saying the question to be asked.
What are these devices for?
There are so many things you can do using smart speakers with Alexa. Let’s start with some examples. Among the basic functions, there is music reproduction. Just ask it to play a certain track, disc, or whatever: the speaker, being connected to the internet, can access the streaming services library like Spotify and reproduce what has been requested.
You can also ask him what time ago, to add something to our shopping list, to give information about a particular topic or to communicate the latest news. They can even book, and buy online by logging into accounts on e-commerce sites, calculating distances, and communicating with applications.
With them, you can safely entertain dialogues to know and do so many things. The functions can be further improved by using apps like IFTTT that can set specific triggers to make operations more sophisticated by opening up new horizons.
But a smart speaker can also do much more than these operations that are performed only by using the internet connection. Smart speakers can interact with the objects in your home: continue with the next paragraph to find out what they can do in this regard and how they do it.
Smart speakers and home automation: the implications in the smart home world
Smart speakers with Alexa can be used to check the objects in our home. It can, therefore, act as a real hub for home automation. When you come home and need to turn on the light or when you go to bed and want to turn it off, just tell the smart speaker by voice and he can turn the lights on or off for you.
It can also activate and deactivate power outlets by turning off the devices connected to them at your convenience. You can adjust the thermostat, lower the blinds, set timers, and much more. However, to interact with your home, you need to buy the right smart home devices. For example, if you want it to turn the lights on and off, you need to buy smart light bulbs that support the connection with smart speakers, like Philips Hue or Xiaomi Yeelight.
Or real advanced electrical systems. Fortunately, there are many devices to “house” the house and many of them are not even expensive. A perfect example is precisely that of intelligent light bulbs, which can also be found for just a few euros. With today’s technology, what was once a luxury isn’t even more expensive.