Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) and Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) are two of the best budget smart speakers available in 2024. Smart speakers are important components of a smart home setup, serving as hubs for systems like Matter and Zigbee. They should excel in playing music, audiobooks, and podcasts, as well as offering smart features for internet searches and voice-activated control of connected devices. Most speakers today run Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, but Apple’s HomePod Mini with Siri is an option for those fully committed to the Apple ecosystem.
The Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) is a feature-packed budget smart speaker that offers a wealth of capabilities, including a temperature sensor, Eero mesh extender, and alarm clock functionality. It provides clear vocal clarity, decent bass weight, and sensitive microphones for voice commands. On the other hand, the Google Nest Mini is a slightly more sophisticated option with flexible responses and intelligence through Google Assistant. Overall, Google Assistant is considered slightly smarter compared to Alexa, making the Google Nest Mini a solid alternative to the Amazon Echo Dot.
Apple’s HomePod Mini is a Siri-enabled smart speaker that bridges the gap between competitors with a practical design, great sound quality, and features like intercom, audio handoff, and stereo pairing. However, it is limited to devices that work with Apple’s smart home platform, HomeKit. Similarly, the Sonos Era 100 offers improved sound quality and functionality, but it no longer offers a choice between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa due to a change in Google’s rules. The Sonos Era 100 is a great option for Alexa fans looking for a smart speaker with great sound.
When it comes to stereo smart speakers, most Amazon Echo, Google’s Nest Audio, Apple’s HomePod, and Sonos speakers can be paired for stereo sound. In terms of the smartest voice assistant, the race is close between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, with Google Assistant having an edge in cadence, tone, and understanding of human requests. When looking for a smart speaker with high volume output, the Amazon Echo Studio is considered the loudest, while the Sonos Era 100 offers powerful sound and is a top choice for sound quality. Amazon and Google smart speakers offer various options for playing free music, with Amazon Prime Music being free with a Prime subscription and Google including a YouTube Music subscription with its smart speakers.
