Featuring everything from news reports and journey planning to the ability to set timers and make calls, Google Assistant is one of the most powerful AI services on the market today. And it’s becoming one of the most popular.
Smart speakers from premium brands such as Sonos and Sony are now packing in Google’s AI helper, making it even easier to get the power of Assistant in your home – as well as top-quality sound.
To make your buying experience easier, we’ve put together a list of the best speakers with Google Assistant already baked-in.
Best Google Assistant speakers
Sonos is already known in the hi-fi community for offering premium sound with the ability to create a wireless audio network, and now it's added Google Assistant to the mix. We've chosen the entry-level Sonos One for this list, but there's a whole range of speakers you can use it on. The One is a great place to start your Sonos journey. Sound is great – mainly thanks to two Class-D amplifiers, a tweeter and mid-woofer – and the One will easily hear your commands, thanks to a far-field microphone array. And if you really like the Sonos One, you can pair two together.
One of the best-value Google Assistant speakers comes from the search giant itself. Now in its second generation, the Nest Mini gives you a very quick way to get almost all the features of some significantly more expensive speakers on this list. Sound quality is better than last time, as is voice recognition, but don't expect miracles. After all, the Nest Mini costs under £50, and at 42 x 98mm it'll struggle to fill a room with sound.
Google's smartphones offer a great example of baked-in Assistant tech, and unsurprisingly its smart home products are no different. We had to add the Google Nest Hub Max on the list because while it's a fantastic speaker, it also has the added benefits of a smart display – so you can stream shows and easily control your home. Combining two 18mm, 10-watt tweeters, one 75mm 30-watt woofer, along with a 10-inch screen and a 6.5MP camera, the Nest Hub Max genuinely does it all. But it does cost £219…
Like the Google Nest Max, but don't really need the camera or touchscreen? For an even stronger focus on just audio with room-shaking, but balanced sound, we suggest the £299 Home Max. The flagship version of the Nest Mini, the Home Max features a pair of 114mm woofers and a pair of 18mm tweeters for powerful, room-filling sound. Google has used its tech prowess to boost sound performance: the Home Max uses machine learning and a quad-core ARM processor to maximise and adapt its sound performance to its location in the room. That way you get the best possible sound, wherever you put it.
Essentially Sony's take on the Sonos One, the LF-S50G combines some smart, useful features with the power of Google Assistant. A two-stage diffuser and two-way-facing speaker means it spreads sound 360 degrees, and a bass reflex duct makes better low-end thump than you'd expect from something this size. Throw in a clock display along with IPX3 splashproof certification, and this Sony is a versatile addition to your home.