Smart speaker showdown

THREE BIG PLAYERS OFFER VOICE CONTROL OVER YOUR HOME, SHOPPING, AND LEISURE TIME. TECHLIFE FINDS OUT WHICH ONE IS THE RIGHT FIT DOWN UNDER.

SOMETIME IN THE not-too-distant future, the very notion of speakers that can’t understand voice commands will seem preposterous. Archaic, even.

Smart speakers are a fast-growing segment of the market. Amazon, Google and Apple are currently the main players, each of which boast their own proprietary smart assistant platform, and we’ve reviewed each vendor’s main offerings. All combine a traditional audio speaker with an integrated, always-on voice technology. It’s essentially the same voice tech that smartphones have been offering for several years now, but planted into its own discrete device that’s designed to be the centre of your ‘smart home’.

Think of it as an all-knowing digital butler that can answer trivia questions, get you prepped for the day ahead, remind you about groceries you need to pick up on the way home from work, and control music playback and any smart home devices you have installed in the house, including lights, plugs, robot vacuum cleaners and smart TVs.

The beauty of a smart speaker is that you don’t need to fumble for your phone every time you want to perform a particular action. It’s a completely voice-driven interface that lets you, and anyone else in the house, access key functions simply by speaking to the speaker like you would a person.

Plus, the sophisticated microphone arrays in each smart speaker are far more advanced than the mics in a mobile device, and they’re able to pick up your voice commands in a rowdy living room. Veteran audio brands like Sony and Sonos have also entered the mix supporting one or more of the aforementioned smart speaker platforms, with plenty more tech companies on the way, including Lenovo, Samsung and Harman Kardon.

THE BEAUTY OF A SMART SPEAKER IS THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO FUMBLE FOR YOUR PHONE EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO PERFORM A PARTICULAR ACTION.