The Digital Voice assistant smart speakers have gained tremendous ground and popularity among the people with the launch of Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod. Amazon was first to enter the field with Alexa followed by Google and Apple. Moreover, Samsung is also rumored to launch their own Bixby-enabled speakers. In this article, we will examine the top five digital voice assistant smart speakers.
Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo (starts at $49.99) is one of the most popular digital voice assistant speakers in the world. Powered by Alexa, the Echo provides an ability to fetch answers from across the web in addition to management of smart home devices. The e-commerce giant has released several variants such as standard Echo, Dot, Plus, and Spot to suit the requirements of different people. The Echo Dot comes with a small speaker, while the tower-shaped Echo includes powerful Dolby sound. The Plus is a higher model and looks much taller than the standard Echo. It is possible to connect external speakers to Echo for a powerful listening experience.
Google Home
Like the Amazon Echo, Google also released several models of their Home smart speaker. In addition to Google Home, the company also released Mini and Max variants. The Home speakers (starts at $49) are powered by the Google Assistant, which is available on all Android smartphones. The Home speaker can be paired with Chromecast to enable streaming on the TV. The speaker can also control smart devices such as lights and thermostats. Although all the three variants of the Home are integrated with Google Assistant, the difference will be in the speaker volume.
Harman Kardon Invoke
The Harman Kardon Invoke speaker ($199.95) is powered by Microsoft Cortana. It includes the same features as in the other speakers including the ability to perform hands-free calls with Skype.
Powered by the 360-degree adaptive technology, the Harman Kardon Invoke features seven microphones to recognize voice commands from all directions. The speaker makes effective use of echo cancellation and advanced noise algorithms to work in any extreme circumstances. The product offers three 45mm woofers and three 13mm dome tweeter to deliver crisp audio output.
Apple HomePod
The Apple HomePod make use of Siri voice assistant to fetch answers to queries. The speaker is equipped with spatial awareness technology, high-excursion woofer, seven horn-loaded tweeters, and customized amplifiers including six far-field recognition microphones. The main disadvantage of HomePod is that the weight of the speaker is 2.5kg, which is quite heavy for a digital speaker.
The product will be available from December 2017 in the US.
Fabriq Portable Smart Speaker
Fabriq speaker ($49.99) make use of Alexa voice service to fetch information in the form of news, music and to control smart home devices. The speaker is embedded with a 2-inch precision active driver paired with a 5W power delivery to produce crisp and clear sound. It is possible to establish connectivity with up to 10 speakers via Wi-Fi.
When it comes to the digital voice assistant smart speakers, we have several choices since several third-party companies are coming out with their own products. However, Amazon entered the field much early than other top companies. The overall market share of Echo is more when compared to competing speakers in terms of features and availability. Let’s talk digitally.