CNET
Comparing all THE BEST smart speakers
We brought in CNET smart home expert Andrew Gebhart to find out which smart speaker reigns supreme against the others. The Google Nest Mini, the Amazon Echo Dot, the Apple HomePod and the Sonos One compete for the crown.
Nathan5791
May 2, 2020 at 1:57 pm
This video is beyond stupid. Why are they comparing the mini versions of the speakers from Amazon and Google to full fledge nearly 5x expensive counterparts when they could have easily gotten an Echo Studio and a Google Home Max for the comparison? Even if you feel like comparing, then why would you include a category like ‘sound quality’ or ‘value’ cause it is literally comparing apples to oranges. This is a reason why no one take you guys seriously.
collingdale1
May 2, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Homepod does not use Bluetooth! It only uses Airplay according to Apple
*
May 2, 2020 at 2:06 pm
$50 speakers. Nah.
Tech1Tv
May 2, 2020 at 2:33 pm
Apple HomePod is not a speaker without Bluetooth, what was Apple thinking in 2019?
Horse Radish
May 2, 2020 at 2:38 pm
No google max? K sure
carrot
May 2, 2020 at 3:03 pm
It’s not a fair comparison! Thumbs down!
Victor Da Silva Rodrigues
May 2, 2020 at 3:04 pm
What a more unfair comparison, I even lost the desire to see the whole video, they put two big boxes, and two small ones, without logic.
Mike Nielsen
May 2, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Comparing them this way for a winner is only click bait and misleading. None on these products live in isolation as almost no one has only one nor uses it as is. The best advice is for a customer to pick a primary smart platform and the within that choose all the needed devices including smart speakers based on specific use. So, pick either google, amazon or Apple as primary platform to fit you needs then look from there for devices noting that Sonos can work withe all three. The third way is that Sonos supports AirPlay. That said, video was fun diversion from pandemic news and forced lockdown.
Z25tech
May 2, 2020 at 3:12 pm
Not all the regular size devices? Man CNET has fallen off a cliff in recent years
jacob cardon
May 2, 2020 at 3:16 pm
It’s not even remotely fair, you based the review off of your previous recommendations…well that’s an easy fix, recommend something that’s actually fair for this comparison…shocked that only the smallest weakest speaker from Google was compared amongst “the BEST” speakers your video says…that’s like comparing a golf cart and a Lamborghini and then saying that the lambo is the best in the world…Apples doesn’t even have Bluetooth compared to Google.
Michael Boys
May 2, 2020 at 3:22 pm
I would like to add a 5th. The bose home portable. It is compatible with google and Alexa. The sound quality is amazing and it is not restricted to using a plug. Also, you cannot compare the mini speakers to full size speakers. This review is a bit wonky.
Oh, one more thing, you guys should not be that close to each other at this time.
AJM0201
May 2, 2020 at 3:32 pm
Why didnt you guys review the echo studio instead of the small echo?
Streaming Junkie
May 2, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Totally stupid comparison. Why would you put the Apple HomePod against entry-level Amazon and Google speakers when both Amazon and Google have speakers in the same price point as Apple’s device?
Nathan Cardon
May 2, 2020 at 4:02 pm
Someone’s not sponsored 🧐
Because your telling me a well know tech news company magically doesn’t know about the $300 Google home MAX? Not even the standard one, they use the mini??
Jack Booth
May 2, 2020 at 4:04 pm
What about the Google home max? That’s a competitor to the sonos
Tristan Goddard
May 2, 2020 at 4:07 pm
See I have an echo dot in the kitchen and a show in the bedroom, I love them, I have never found the sound quality bad, my grandmother comes over a lot and she is 60% deaf and she can hear them fine.
I have a number of smart devices dotted around the house and plan to get more, I have loads of routines set up as well (command phrases or automations based on time) which have become increasingly handy as I have come up with more ideas and devices.
Overall I love Amazon’s smart speakers, but the only drawback is that you have to download special apps to use them as there are a lot of smart devices (including the smart speakers themselves) which require an app to set up and manage, for the speakers you need the amazon smart app and then for the devices you need to add the app to the speakers for the specific devices, I did have an issue with the smart lightbulbs I bought, the app they said to look for on the Alexa didn’t show up in Alex as App Store, after hunting for almost an hour online I found that different countries have different apps for the bulb and the app had a completely different name and logo to the one specified with the bulb and the video on amazons product page!
I would love to have the Google smart speakers, I find the google assistant way better than Alexa, it’s responses and it’s ability to understand me and what I’m saying, though one thing that wasn’t mentioned was ease to wake the various devices! Just saying “Alexa” and then the command is so much better and easier than “ok Google” or “Hey Siri”, it feels so much more natural and fluid, but I must say, an update a couple of weeks ago really messed up Alexa’s ability to hear, sometimes she has no issues hearing me at all and others I have to say “Alexa” multiple times before she will hear me.
With a Google speaker I should imagine set up and fluidity between devices and as I mentioned earlier, I do find Google assistant more intelligent.
cop con
May 2, 2020 at 4:39 pm
0:01 bestest ?? is it a word?
Matt Caffrey
May 2, 2020 at 4:40 pm
Isn’t anyone curious about why Google and Amazon are tripping over themselves to give these things away? There’s a reason they’re $50 – often massively discounted or free with another purchase. The value to Google and Amazon isn’t your money, it’s your data.
I’d rather pay $300 for a secure smart home hub/great sounding speaker than let surveillance-ware into my home. Also, I like how the reviewers didn’t score the privacy/security section.
Mr.Roboto
May 2, 2020 at 5:01 pm
How in the FRACK is Sonos a smart speaker?!!! Sonos is just a speaker unless you connect it to an actual smart device like echo or nest. I connect my echos via Bluetooth to wireless speakers and it is freaking loud. That doesn’t mean my wireless speakers are smart speaker. Again, Sonos is just a speaker that works with actual smart devices. It’s misleading to say that Sonos can tell you a joke without being connected to an echo or nest.
Kayden Fowler
May 3, 2020 at 5:15 am
The device has built in Alexa / Google Assistant support
southdowns2009
May 2, 2020 at 5:27 pm
What a strange array and comparison video surely
Masquirrel
May 2, 2020 at 6:09 pm
CNet is an Apple shill. How do you compare these speakers when the Homepod is $300 and the echo and Nest Mini are $50. The Homepod is also severely limited on any sort of bluetooth and music streaming.
funkspinna
May 2, 2020 at 10:02 pm
LOL at Apple. Totally forgot they had a smart speaker.
Joe D
May 2, 2020 at 10:41 pm
This review is such a joke. “It kind of looks like we are comparing apples and oranges”… that’s because you are…
Joe D
May 2, 2020 at 10:59 pm
Step 1, choose what assistant you want. (Siri, Alexa, google)
Step 2, Mix and match the multiple devices with that assistant based on your sound and assistant needs.
It’s pretty obvious, most people will want a bunch of satellite assistants and a couple of mains for speaker quality.
Why you are leaving out the better half of a coupled home setup is beyond me.
Omar Aly
May 2, 2020 at 10:54 pm
who even owns a homepod
Brian Boswell
May 3, 2020 at 5:07 pm
Omar Aly I do. Stereo pair. Sounds great. Not as good as a dedicated stereo system. But not bad either
Lachlant1984
May 2, 2020 at 11:10 pm
Why are you comparing the Sonos and HomePod against the Home Mini and Echo Dot? Why not use the Home Max and Echo Studio? Don’t you think that’s a fairer comparison?
Will Newcomb
May 3, 2020 at 2:12 am
Smart Speakers: say goodbye to security. (And you’re worried about Huawei and 5G???)
-• • • •
May 3, 2020 at 2:19 am
Don’t bug your homes, people!
venom5809
May 3, 2020 at 3:23 am
I have Nests, Alexas and Home Hubs all over my house. Still not buying a damn Home Pod though 😂
Mouctar Diallo
May 3, 2020 at 3:28 am
I vote for the nest mini
Benjamin Malave Jr.
May 3, 2020 at 3:29 am
I’ve had a pair of Google Home Maxes for over a year, I recommend.
sherri moquin
May 3, 2020 at 4:17 am
What about the Amazon Alexa
Craig Merkey
May 3, 2020 at 6:36 am
sorry but what’s up with the lemon jacket!?
Seeyay
May 3, 2020 at 9:11 am
“Apple as usual is pretty restrictive”
Sean Godsell
May 3, 2020 at 9:54 am
2:20 Izakar and Andrew said you could use Bluetooth with Apple’s speaker. Not true at all. You can use Bluetooth with the other speakers, but not Apple’s HomePod.
Orbital Tube
May 3, 2020 at 10:07 am
What the fudge. You need more speakers in this test. Minis don’t count.
erikincph
May 3, 2020 at 2:42 pm
Comparing apples and pears indeed…😒 how serious is this …tells a lot about CNET…I wonder what was the idea behind this …did they just lack the money of buying the larger Alexa and Google home devices?
erikincph
May 3, 2020 at 2:47 pm
Of course when making very stupid comparisons you will get a lot of views… must be the only explanation behind this “review”
Top Ten Gadgets for Pros
May 3, 2020 at 4:15 pm
What the video should of said is if you willing to pay the money and you want the best speaker/voice assistant , then get the sonos and but if you want the cheapest voice assistant with a ton of features get the Alexa or google home
SPORTCAR111
May 3, 2020 at 5:37 pm
in thumbnail they look like Whey Protein
Hasse Edqvist
May 3, 2020 at 7:19 pm
Hey! U can do Amazon shopping on the Sonos one too. Also worth mentioning is that you can’t have both google assistant and Alexa active at the same time…. also Alexa google and Siri offer way better language support. (Hint Swedish). Also Alexa calling is not supported on Sonos one in any language.
appolospbvxr
May 3, 2020 at 8:04 pm
Half expected Google to win this as the guy in Yellow is a major Google fanboi you can tell by all his other CNET videos. Pretty sure he has ‘Sponsored by Google’ tattooed on him.
Chris
May 3, 2020 at 9:13 pm
I don’t even need to explain how stupid this comparison is, anyone with half a brain already knows…
Shahar Rozenbloom
May 4, 2020 at 1:16 am
HomePod and AirPods Could Translate words iPhone in killer Patent with Dictionary in a Patent.
Jason Neal
May 4, 2020 at 2:01 am
Have you heard Tesla might buy Tweel?
Lord Adams
May 4, 2020 at 7:23 am
This video is beyond me! 🍏 Vs 🍊
Stupid stupid!
Ion Bulgac
May 4, 2020 at 2:55 pm
The bestest🤔
Maximus Crown
May 4, 2020 at 6:46 pm
How are you going to compare an orange to an apple to a strawberry to a banana. They are all completely different.
gaurab
May 5, 2020 at 12:48 am
jbl xtreme 2 is best bluetooth speaker under 250$ or what else can u pls.tell me which one is best under 250$