Tech

Best connected speaker: which model to buy in 2022?

Google Home, Amazon Echo, HomePod… In 2022, connected speakers are more and more widespread and sought after. Between the various leaders of the sector, the war is already raging. But what is the best connected speaker in 2022? We take stock.

Our selection of the best connected speakers

In the connected speaker market Google, Amazon and Apple are the most prominent brands. But there are other players who are also qualitative in this segment. This is the case for Bose and Sonos, which feature in our selection of the best connected speakers available in 2022. Of course, the classic Echo from Amazon, Nest from Google or even HomePod from Apple are among the safe bets on the market.

The best high-end smart speakers

Bose Home Speaker 500: sound quality above all

Bose Home Speaker 500 at the best price

  • Fnac

    379.99€

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  • Shopping street

    465€

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  • Amazon

    479.93€

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We start our buying guide for the best connected speakers in 2022 with Bose. The manufacturer renowned for the audio quality of its products offers with the Speaker 500, a connected speaker of the most premium. Designed in anodized aluminum, this model offers a design that is both sober and elegant.

It is equipped with a color screen on its facade which allows you to display the covers of the songs you are listening to or the podcasts broadcast. It is controlled via physical buttons. In addition to its compatibility with Amazon and Google Assistant voice assistants, the Home Speaker 500 unfortunately does not support all music streaming services. Last point, its price, rather salty at around 350 euros. Bose audio quality is there, but it comes at a price.

Sonos One SL: the best connected speaker for multiroom

Sonos One SL at the best price

  • Amazon

    198€

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  • Fnac

    199€

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  • Shopping street

    199€

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  • Cdiscount

    199€

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  • Baker

    199€

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  • Darty

    199.99€

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  • Rakuten

    208€

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The Sonos One SL is a rather high-end connected speaker. The latter is controllable directly from the Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2 and more. You also have the option of using a pair of Sonos One SLs as surround back speakers to create a home theater by pairing them with the Sonos Playbar, Playbase or Beam.

The Sonos One SL has dimensions of 161.45 X 119.7 x 119.7 mm and weighs 1.85 kg. It is equipped with an Ethernet port, Wifi. No Bluetooth. It is a model that we will favor indoors rather than in portable mode in view of its rather imposing dimensions and its weight of almost 2 kg.

The + The –
multi-room system
No Bluetooth
Homogeneous and natural reproduction
Neither 3.5 mm jack port
Ease of use
Closed system

The best consumer smart speakers

Google Nest Audio: the replacement for Google Home

Google Nest Audio at the best price

  • E.Leclerc

    79.9€

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  • Cdiscount

    79.99€

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  • Darty

    79.99€

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  • Fnac

    82.99€

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  • Shopping street

    86.99€

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  • Baker

    99.99€

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  • Rakuten

    99.99€

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The Google Nest Audio speaker replaces the Google Home. It retains its curves, but adopts a slightly more flattened shape than the old version. What transport it more easily and slip it quickly into a bag. Weighing 1.2 kg and measuring 17.5 x 12.4 x 7.6 cm, the small connected speaker is available in 4 colours: pink, blue, black and grey. Note in passing that only the gray enclosure and the black enclosure will be marketed in France.

In addition, Google has bet on the audio quality, which was, it must be admitted, a bit limited on the first Google Home. Google announces 75% more powerful sound than on the old speaker. “More than 500 hours of adjustments have been made to balance the levels and deliver a sound that is clear, deep and as faithful as possible to the studio version,” explains Google.

To adjust the volume, just tap the corners of the device. At the top of the speaker, an area allows you to start playback or pause the device. Unlike the old edition and respect for privacy requires, we now have a small button accessible at first glance which allows you to mute the microphone. The speaker can be coupled to a second in order to play stereo sound.

The + The –
Impeccable design and finishes
No wired audio connection
Solid size/power/sound performance ratio
Power supply via proprietary connector
High-performance voice recognition

Echo 4: the best connected speaker on Amazon, full of talents

Amazon Echo 4 at the best price

  • Rakuten

    99.62€

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  • Amazon

    99.98€

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  • Baker

    99.99€

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Amazon’s Echo 4 features Alexa, the voice assistant found on all products in the Echo line. With a simple voice command, you can stream songs from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and more. Start playing music, audiobooks and podcasts throughout your home with Multiroom for your music.

You can also control all the devices in your connected home and use your voice to, for example, turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat and lock the doors. The new Echo 4 delivers crisp highs, dynamic mids, and deep bass for rich, detailed sound that automatically adapts to any room.

The + The –
Compact design and solid finishes
No display
Simple Setup
button design
New equipment (HP and temperature sensor)

The best mini connected speakers

Google Nest Mini: a compact version of Nest Audio

Successor to the Google Home Mini, the Nest Mini is an improved version of the small format Google speaker. Powered by Google Assistant, it takes care of all your daily complaints, while offering balanced and sufficiently audible sound quality despite its small size.

Visually identical to the Google Home Mini launched at the end of 2017, the Nest Mini differs essentially from its predecessor thanks to its twice as powerful bass. The speaker indeed seeks to correct the main defect of the Home Mini: its deplorable audio quality at full volume.

The + The –
Efficient speech recognition
Disappearance of the micro-USB port
Correct performance/size ratio
No wired connection
Neat, compact construction
Very average sound precision in the bass and treble

Apple HomePod mini: for Apple fans

HomePod Mini at the best price

  • Cdiscount

    99€

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  • Baker

    99€

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  • Fnac

    99.99€

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  • E.Leclerc

    99.99€

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  • Darty

    99.99€

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  • Rakuten

    99.99€

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  • Shopping street

    107.38€

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The HomePod Mini is a miniature version of the HomePod. The device is barely 8.38 cm high against 17.27 cm for the classic HomePod. Like its big brother, the HomePod Mini is covered with a woven mesh coating without visible seams – in two colors, either white or space gray.

The device is also rounder. In fact, the shape is almost perfectly spherical on this model. It is crowned with an interface with a few simple controls such as changing the volume and giving orders to Siri. A network of colored LEDs also causes the same animation on top as the previous generation when you invoke the assistant.

The + The –
Sleek body design
A cheap rubber strap
All expected apps are there and working
A sometimes unintuitive OS
An affordable price Autonomy far from the announced promise

🤔What is a voice assistant used for?

Voice assistants have been democratized since their appearance in France a few years ago. But what are they for. First, they allow many of your questions to be answered, whether oral or written. Through an artificial intelligence, their functionalities have become more and more diversified over time. If it was possible when they were launched to only ask them questions, today they also allow remote control of all the connected devices in a house.

Their main purpose is therefore to make life easier for their users. In addition to informing them about the weather forecast, they are able, for example, to launch an application such as Netflix on a television, directly by voice command. When before, you had to physically go to the parameters of the latter. Saving time and ease of use have propelled them to where they are today.

👍Google, Siri or Alexa? What is the best voice assistant?

Each manufacturer has its own voice assistant. Alexa at Amazon, Google Assistant on the side of the Mountain View firm or even Siri at Apple. Other manufacturers have developed, with varying degrees of success, voice assistants specific to some of their products. We think of Samsung with Bixby on its Galaxy smartphones or even Microsoft with Cortana, the personal assistant of Windows 10. But what is the best voice assistant.

Let’s go back to those that are the most popular in France: Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. Even if the possibilities they offer in broad outline are all alike, some stand out on certain points. For example, Google Assistant and the most powerful voice assistant on the market. Thanks to its higher level of understanding, the answers to queries that uol offers are most of the time the most relevant. Quite logical since it is the giant Google, which has held the monopoly of Web browsers for years already, which is behind it.

If you shop on Amazon often, Alexa is a great choice. In addition to offering the traditional search functions, it offers a series of services that are exclusive to it, in particular thanks to its “skills”. Finally, Siri, probably the most closed voice assistant since intended and compatible only with the Apple ecosystem. It is currently a notch below what the other two offer. That said, it just keeps getting better over the years.

Also read: Best Bluetooth speakers 2022: which model to buy?

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