SMART SPEAKERS

STARTER SYSTEM AMAZON ECHO (£79.99 from amazon.co.uk)

I WOULD recommend the Echo Dot, Amazon’s mini Alexa smart speaker that was just updated with better louder speakers – but they won’t be back in stock until after Christmas, so popular have they been. If you can’t wait till then, the Dot’s big brother, the Echo itself, is reasonably-priced and packs an even better sound. It’s the best way to get Alexa in your home in time for Christmas...

HI-FI HIGHLIGHT SONOS ONE £199 from sonos.com

THE Sonos One is a fully-fledged Alexa-enabled speaker, too, but adds sensational sound quality into the mix. If you’ll be listening to a lot of music, and care about how it sounds, this is the Alexa speaker to go for. Get two for a stereo pair.

SOUNDS SUPERB APPLE HOMEPOD £319 from apple.com/uk

IF smart-home capabilities are low priority and you care deeply how your tunes sound, the Homepod is the audiophile king of the streaming castle. It features Siri, too, so smart home control is possible, but only on devices that support Apple’s own Homekit standard.