Smart speakers are very popular thanks to compatibility with voice assistants: here are the best with integrated Google Assistant.
Google Assistant is an excellent voice assistant. Not only does it bring the power of Google search, but it is also conversational. Like Amazon’s Alexa, the Google Assistant can set alarms, read news reports, tell you what the weather is like, control smart devices and play music, among many other features.
Google offers its own Google Assistant enabled speakers in the form of Google Home devices, but there are also many Google Home alternatives. From Harmon Kardon and Sony to Panasonic and Sonos, here are the best Google Assistant speakers available.
Why do we like them so much?
The reasons are simple and mainly to be found in the compatibility of these speakers with the various intelligent voice assistants available on the market. Whether it’s Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri and – timidly – Cortana doesn’t really matter either. Having such a device available allows us to manage many aspects of our home.
A smart home for everyone, far from the concept of hyper-expensive home automation, which can only be achieved with the help of industry specialists. All you need is a smart speaker and the right accessories. Most of these assistants are cross-platform and well integrated between the various devices on which we configure our personal account. Therefore, once we have created our ideal smart home, we will be able to manage it remotely with our smartphone or with the infotainment system of our car.
But a smart speaker with an integrated voice assistant isn’t just that. It is also a flow of information always available and entertainment, simply by using the voice. From Internet searches to the reproduction of our favorite streaming music services, few interactions are enough and the rest will do the assistant.
The perspective is that of a category of products that are cutting a niche based on the distance of the device from the user: when the smartphone is not at hand (for example when you are inside a home), the speaker it becomes the most immediate and rapid tool for finding information or issuing commands. A matter of convenience and immediacy, in short, such as to give the smart speakers a complementary (and in synergy perspective) role to what is instead the personal smartphone.
Also, read our other guides on the best spy cameras, home alarm systems, smart door lock systems, smart thermostats.
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The best smart speakers with integrated Google Assistant
In our selection of smart devices, we have included only the best products that support Google’s smart assistant. We have divided the selected speakers according to their most interesting feature. However, it is not excluded that some of them could fall into several categories.
Panasonic GA10 Google Smart Speaker
The Panasonic GA10 features a retro design, which may not be to everyone’s taste, but some will prefer it to the Google Home air freshener look. The GA10 does not offer the calling features like Google Home, but it offers excellent sound quality, a versatile audio input selection and is as smart as Google Home, which means many smart integrations for the home.
The GA10 is an excellent Google Home alternative for those looking for decent audio. It is both a speaker in the living room and an intelligent assistant and, although it costs more than Google Home, it is much cheaper than Google Home Max and is offered in the sound department.
Discover more and the price here
Polk Audio Assist Wireless Smart Speaker
The American audio company Polk Audio offers the Polk Assist speaker enabled for Google Assistant. This speaker has excellent design and build-quality with black and white color options and quick access buttons to start the Google Assistant if the music is too loud to hear the “Hey Google” or “alert” words. Ok, Google.”
The Polk Assist comes with all the capabilities of Google’s home speakers, and while it does not offer 360-degree sound like others on this list, it comes with a 1-inch tweeter and an average 3.5-inch woofer. Although it is a little more expensive than Google Home.
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LG ThinQ Speaker WK7
The WK7 LG speaker has a cylindrical shape with front speakers and provides a serious look. There are a number of touch controls on the top, including the volume, a function button to change the input modes and play/pause, while there is a mute button on the back to turn off the Google Assistant and the LEDs They are on the front indicating that the Google Assistant is listening.
The WK7 speaker features the tuning of Meridian Audio, which extends to the management of bass and vocals, and LG also includes high-resolution music support in this speaker enabled for Google Assistant, along with improved sampling and the improvement of scale to obtain lower quality sources.
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Harman Kardon Citation One
Harman Kardon not only offers a speaker enabled for the Google Assistant, but the company has a full range. The Citation series consists of the One, 100, 300, and 500 speakers, with the One being the smallest and the 500 the largest. However, there is also a soundbar, subwoofers, surround speakers, and tower speakers in the series.
All speakers in the Harman Kardon dating series have a Google Assistant on board, except the sub and surround speakers. Only the One, 100, and 300 are available for purchase at this time, but the other Citation speakers will arrive soon. We listened to them briefly and we were impressed by their sound capacity, so it’s worth analyzing them.
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Sonos One Smart Speaker With Google Assistant
Sonos One is the smallest speaker available in the Sonos portfolio and although it still does not offer support for the Google Assistant, it is enabled for the Google Assistant and the support will be available soon. The Sonos One offers excellent sound quality, along with great design and multi-room audio without problems with other Sonos speakers.
For those looking for an excellent intelligent speaker, the Sonos One is, without a doubt, one to consider. With Amazon Alexa already on board and Google Assistant voice control coming soon, it means you do not need to choose between attendees, while gaining access to Alexa and Assistant features, including Alexa skills and smart home control.
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Sonos Beam Smart Soundbar
Like the Sonos One, the Sonos Beam soundbar is enabled for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The Beam is significantly more expensive than the Google Home but offers a serious sound for its compact size.
In addition to offering once again the option of voice assistants when adding Assistant support, and therefore more functions thanks to the incorporation of Alexa skills, the Beam is not just a speaker. It has multi-room seamless audio like the Sonos One, but the Beam also offers TV sound so you can get an intelligent speaker and a soundbar in one.
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Sony LF-S50G Smart Speaker
The Sony LF-S50G is a charming speaker, with a solid and superior construction that will be combined with the decoration of any home. It looks similar to Apple’s HomePod, which offers 360-degree sound and comes in three color options. The LED lights indicate the time and, when Google Assistant is activated, four more lights appear on the digital clock below the material cover.
Apart from voice control, the Sony LF-S50G speaker has gesture control, so you can move the top of the device to skip a track or adjust the volume. Inside, the LF-S50G has a full-range speaker driver for mid-range and high-pitched voices, while a separate subwoofer handles low-end bass.
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Google Home and Home Mini
At the moment Google Home and Home Mini are the only 2 smart speakers available in Italy with Google Assistant. They are the first smart speakers to have arrived in our country and they also have very competitive prices, especially the Mini version which is now available for purchase at less than 40 euros. Starting from the standard Google Home, it comes with a design suitable for virtually any room, universal but refined.
It has 3 speakers in it and is very powerful indeed. Also, it has a touch zone to control music playback and volume. It also picks up the voice several meters away and always responds quickly with acoustic feedback and activates its LEDs on the top. The same goes for noisy situations and different voices (among other things, it can recognize which user is speaking based on the voice).
In addition to a more compact design and a different level of aesthetic care, the only difference between the features of the Google Home and Home Mini smart speakers is the audio quality. While the first is able to sound well even in a large room, the second is less powerful and is more suitable for small or medium rooms. The app to configure them is available for both Android and iOS. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
Bose Home Speaker 500
Among the best smart speakers on the market and the biggest rivals of Sonos One, we also find Bose Home Speaker 500, another WiFi device with integrated Amazon Alexa. Being aware of the limitations of most smart speakers, Bose, a US company leader in the audio industry, just like Sonos, has decided to launch its own loudspeaker to satisfy audiophiles who love smart home. Also, this speaker foresees future integration with Google Assistant and Apple Airplay 2; therefore, the potential is really high. The smart features are the same as the Echo devices with some limitations (it is not possible, for example, to make calls or use the drop-in).
In terms of audio quality, this is definitely the best smart speaker around (its direct rival would be Apple Homepod, not yet arrived in Italy). With its two 6.35 cm drivers oriented in opposite directions, it is able to simulate a stereo sound from right to left. The yield is clean and without distortions, even at very high volumes (the power is impressive). Unlike Sonos One, Bose Home Speaker 500 features Bluetooth connectivity and 6 very convenient touch preset presets to store your favorite stations or playlists. Unfortunately, however, it does not have technologies similar to Trueplay. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
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JBL Link View
Among the brands synonymous with the high audio quality it is impossible not to mention JBL. Of the brand, there are two smart speakers, with integrated Google Assistant, certainly noteworthy. JBL Link View could be considered a quality product equal to Google Home Max but with more compact dimensions. The very simple design focuses on the integration of 360-degree audio diffusion technology, all around the speaker.
JBL Link 20 also comes from the same line-up. This is a speaker that could also be among the best in the portable category. In fact, the integrated battery allows you to carry it around the house and beyond. A little bigger than the micro speakers described in the previous paragraph, but definitely smaller than those just described. This medium is perfectly compatible with Google Assistant and with more than satisfactory audio quality for its segment. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
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What to choose between Google Home and Amazon Alexa?
Comparing the smart speakers of the two giants, I can tell you that my advice is to try to buy the cheapest models, in order to understand their usefulness and effectiveness.
Both intelligent Google and Amazon speakers can be connected to more powerful audio systems and support the best music services like Spotify, Google Play Music, and Amazon Music. They also broadcast music from Italian radio stations thanks to the TuneIn app.
The substantial differences are in the hardware sector. While Echo Dot, for example, has seven microphones, an audio jack output, and Bluetooth support, Google Home has only two microphones and has no audio jacks.
If Google can use the Chromecast device, useful for sending audio/video streams to a TV via Google Cast. Alexa manages Fire TVs and can access the Kindle library for reading books by voice (Audible). The choice is yours.