Source: Best Alexa speakers 2022: Top Amazon Echo alternatives
(Pocket-lint) – Amazon’s Alexa is great, a voice assistant that can control all manner of smart home products, answer your questions and play the music you want. The Amazon Echo devices aren’t the only speakers to offer the powerful Alexa assistant, though – there are plenty of third-party options that have adopted Alexa, too.
From portable speakers to Alexa-compatible soundbars, we’ve rounded up the best Amazon Echo alternatives. If you’re looking for Google Assistant speakers, we have a feature for those too.
The best Alexa speakers you can buy right now
Sonos One (2nd Gen)
Sonos entered the Alexa-enabled speaker market with the Sonos One. In addition to Alexa, it also offers Google Assistant, making it one of the most powerful smart speakers out there. As you’d expect, it sounds fantastic and looks just as good, although not all of Alexa’s capabilities are available just yet.
However, if you’re looking for one of the best-sounding speakers with Sonos multi-room capabilities and built-in Alexa functionality, you’ve come to the right place. Sonos also offers a stripped-down version of the Sonos One – the Sonos One SL – that doesn’t have the smart element if you’re not that bothered about it.
Libratone Zip 2
The Libratone Zipp 2 is a great sounding portable speaker with interchangeable jackets. The audio is delivered in 360 degrees and the overall profile can be customized using the companion app.
In its second generation, the Zipp 2 is like an Amazon Echo Plus on steroids. It sticks to its successful roots, combining great design with good sound, voice control, and a decent app. The fact that it’s portable also means you can take Alexa with you wherever you go.
Bang & Olufsen has refined an already impressive speaker with this refresh of its small but powerful A1 wireless speaker. One of the key innovations is built-in Alexa support, making it a smarter speaker than ever.
Elsewhere, though, you get superb sound and a truly distinctive and classy design, along with the build quality that B&O is known for. It’s by no means the best value for money on this list or on the broader market, but if you’re looking for a quality mini speaker then it’s a superb choice.
UE Megablast
Ultimate Ears offers the Megablast (and the smaller Blast), both of which offer always-on Alexa voice control that’s always listening to your voice. The only limitation is that you need a Wi-Fi connection, so it can only be used at home.
Being a dedicated speaker first and foremost, the UE Megablast sounds fantastic and is portable and waterproof. While Alexa doesn’t work outside of your Wi-Fi connection, the Megablast stills offer great portable speaker capabilities around the house.
Kit Sound Voice One
The KitSound Voice One is essentially an Amazon Echo Plus, but with even better audio grunt. It’s been developed in collaboration with Amazon, so you get the full Alexa experience, meaning it can answer questions, play music from multiple sources, and control smart home devices.
It’s capable of hearing you speak from across the room, and up to eight Voice One speakers can be linked together for multi-room playback.
SonosMove
Sonos took a leap into the future (or present, if you prefer) by finally releasing a portable speaker towards the end of 2019, and it’s a really impressive piece of kit. With that textbook Sonos sound balance and great volume even when you’re outside, it’s a brilliantly versatile speaker.
When you’re at home, however, you can dock the speaker and connect it to your home Wi-Fi to become a truly capable smart speaker that’s Alexa compatible, just like the Sonos One. It’s arguably the best of both worlds, although it comes at a pretty hefty price tag.
Bose HomeSpeaker 500
The Bose Home Speaker 500 features a familiar Bose design but adds a front-panel display that’s pretty unique for smart speakers. The Home Speaker 500 has eight microphone arrays to ensure it hears your Alexa commands, and there’s a chance other voice assistants will be added in the future.
The Bose Home Speaker 500 supports Amazon’s Multiroom platform, so you can group this speaker with other Alexa speakers, and it sounds great too.
Writing from Britta O’Boyle.
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