Being smart is good. Making your home a smart home is more easier now than any time before. There are may options available to change the way you interact with your home appliances and gadgets. As we know all android and iOS devices come with assistant inbuilt. Android phone have Google assistant and iOS have Siri. There are some other popular assistants that can make your life easy like Amazon’s Alexa and Cortana from Microsoft. Also Samsung recently introduced their assistant in market called Bixby. Smart assistant will be more useful if they are always listening and do things that we ask them to do. Today let’s check out best smart speakers in India that have built in Smart assistants.
Won’t it be great if you can just play any video or movie on your TV sitting in your couch by just saying the movie name.
OR
It will be great if you can play a song in your music system or play multi room music with just giving a command to the speaker with your voice.
It was a dream or an illusion some years back but now a days this thing is becoming possible in simple ways with the use of smart speakers.
These are not only the things that you can do. In case you have a connected home and all your appliances are smart then you can control them with a command given to your smart speaker. This thing surely will make people lazy but it’s a very cool technology to have. You might have seen movies like Iron man where Jarvis controls the home. When we had seen this before it was like a fiction but now it is becoming possible.
Getting a smart speaker is easy now a days. You can get them in local stores or thorough online.
Let’s check some of the best smart speakers in India that you can buy for making your life smarter and easier.
Best Smart Speakers in India
Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation
Features:
1.6 inch Speaker included
Small form factor
Easy to setup
Light weight design
Good quality build
Low price
When echo was introduced in the market it was the beginning of smart speakers segment. There were many models brought into the market and based on price Echo Dot was one of the most feasible one. It is still the best budget segment smart speaker that you can buy in India.
Being a smart speaker from Amazon, its powered by Amazon’s own assistant called Alexa. Its really smart and knows lot of things that a user want it to do.
In case you need to play a song earlier, you may have to search for the song in internet or your smartphone and then use a player or download it and play but now the headache is handled by Alexa.
Giving the Echo dot a voice command to play a specific song will do the trick. You need to wake your smart assistant with the wake word and ask it to play a song mentioning the song name.
Small form factor
In a small form factor the Amazon Echo dot can for into any small place. It can be used in Kitchen counter top or over the refrigerator or any place that you like it to be.
Yo u can place it in bedroom for setting up alarm and also control all the equipments if they are smart just by sitting in one place.
Music playing
Even though it’s small in size the sound it produces is great. In case you like to listen music, amazon play music has a vast library of collection which you can access through your voice.
It can play any song even if it’s old classics or the latest jazz echo dot will have you covered.
Assistance in Cooking
If you like cooking then the echo dot being a small device can be placed near your gas stove and you can ask Alexa questions about a recipe that you are planning to cook today.
Calling features
This is one of the latest development in smart speakers. You can call your contacts who have setup Alexa in their devices or in smartphones. This can be done by just giving a voice command to your echo dot.
Portability
With small size echo dot can be taken from one place to another easily. It can even fit in your pockets. With the micro USB port you can even use an echo dot by connecting it to a power bank. In case you are going for a picnic, you can carry Echo dot with you and listen to music with your family and friends easily.
It just needs a wifi connection that you can hotspot from your smartphone and a power bank thats it. You will be having a large database of songs within your pocket.E
Features in detail:
Echo dot 3rd generation comes with a 1.6 inch speaker driver which is not that big but still it produces good sound and the treble is clear. In the bass department this will lack a bit as the driver is small.
This device comes with a 3.5mm jack though which you can connect a a speaker system and resolve the issue of low bass with the echo dot.
It has 4 buttons at the top for mute, voice control and waking the device. The build quality of this product is excellent and the buttons are very tactile to press.
Echo Dot has an indication light ring which shows various colours based on the activity that your echo dot is doing.
It has a weight of 300 grams which is very light and easy to carry around.
Echo dot has a micro USB port at the back which is used to connect the power source through power brick that comes in the box.
Having a micro usb port enables it to be used with a power bank as power source and adds to its usability.
Bluetooth is another feature that comes handy in some cases. You can connect your echo dot to any other bluetooth speaker to boost the sound in your music. It adds value to the speaker when you want to hear room filling music. With great sound quality and build, this is one of the best Smart Speakers in India that you can buy.
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All-new Echo Dot (4th Gen)
Amazon has introduced their latest Echo dot in 4th Generation. It has a design change and comes with more powerful speakers compared to the 3rd generation that we checked in the previous section.
Features:
- 1.6 inch front firing speaker
- 3.5mm jack
- Smart home control
- Has a clock option included
Even though this version of echo dot is similar to the 3rd generation the difference here comes in the design. It has a a more taller design compared to the echo dot 3rd generation.
Due to more space in the chamber, I felt that the sound in the 4th generation is comparatively better than the 3rd generation
The LED ring is now placed at the bottom of the speaker which gives a refreshing.
Most of the part over the echo dot 4th generation is covered by soft cloth in grid design. It gives it a unique look.
The buttons are placed at the top most part of the speaker and are as tactile as the previous generations.
With a height of 3.5 inch and a diameter of 3.9 inches it wont be that space friendly as the 3rd generation of echo dot.
This version also comes with a 3.5mm jack that you can use to connect any other speaker system to boost the sound.
The main difference here you can notice is that this comes with a pin type power port and not the micro USB port that we had in the 3rd generation of echo dot.
This can be a problem for using echo 4th generation while you are travelling. You cannot use this speaker with a power bank as you did with the 3rd generation of echo dot.
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Echo Input
Here I have mentioned earlier that you can carry echo dot with you in case you are going for a picnic or a get together but the problem here is in that case you need to have a power bank with you to use the echo dot.
Amazon has recently introduced the echo input portable smart speaker edition which comes with an inbuilt battery that you can use anywhere and it works for long time if you listen to music on the go.
Features:
- Fabric design with 360 degree sound
- 4800mAh battery
- Smart home control
- Micro USB power input for charging
- 3.5 mm jack for connecting to other speakers
This version of Amazon echo solves the problem or portability. You can carry this around as it has an inbuilt battery powering.
The features of Echo Input portable edition smart speaker is same as a wired version of echo dot.
With 1.6 inch speakers it gives similar sound as an echo dot 3rd generation. In case of button layout it has the volume control buttons at the side instead of the top.
At the tip we have the microphone on/off button and the action button.
It comes with a single LED light instead of ring as we have seen in an echo dot. The LED light shows similar indications as the Echo dot shows with a ring.
The main highlighting feature here is the included battery. This version of echo input portable has a 4800mAh battery which can play music upto 10 hours and has a standby of 11 hours which is great for a trip that you are planning for.
Echo Input portable version weighs 448 grams which is slightly higher than the echo dot but added battery is an advantage.
It works with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, so you have all the needed connectivity options here. It also has Bluetooth inbuilt, which can be used to connect to a larger speaker with Bluetooth to enhance your music listening experience. With the portability and sound this is one of the best Smart Speakers in India.
Google Home
Features:
- White colour matching any home
- Stereo sound quality
- 2 inch Speaker driver included
- 2 Inch radiators for powerful bass
- 4 LED indicators at the top
- Minimalistic design
Google Home, is similar to Amazon echo models that we have checked earlier has all the options available in it.
The design approach that google follows is a bot different compared to amazon. Google home comes in minimalistic looks that can suit any places at your home.
Google having wider range of applications used, its smart speaker can have more info related to your daily activities and needs. As we all might be using a Android smartphone which will be having many google apps connected to our goole account a google assistant can help us better in this case.
It will be having knowledge about our calendar events or the videos that we usually watch on youtube and Netflix. So in case if we give a command to google assistant the google home it can identify the needs better than an Amazon Alexa would.
Both smart smart speakers form Google and Amazon does the basic things in a similar way like controlling smart home and giving search updates and news.
Google home speaker comes in a form factor of amazon echo plus which is the larger version of Amazon’s echo dot added with a hub inside.
Google home comes in a white colour with plastic body on top and fabric design in the bottom. It looks and feels unique and has an excellent build quality to it.
It works in both 2.4 and 5Ghz networks which is convenient to be used in case you any of the two wifi networks in home.
In sound department this comes with 2 in Speaker drivers and 2 in Passive radiators for excellent sound and bass. In my experience, Google home produces a richer sound and bass is good. This will be suitable for music lovers.
It can stream music from different music services like Jio savn, Ganna, Wynk etc which is an added advantage.
As mentioned above, google home handles the smart home automation very nicely. It also can control any kind of smart home devices linked to its system.
Echo Studio smart speaker with Alexa
Features:
- Automatic acoustic sensing
- 5 Speaker system
- Dolby Atmos technology
- Smart home control
- 2 Inch Upward firing speaker
- 5,25 inch woofer
- 1 inch tweeter.
Echo Studio is one of the smart speaker that comes with Dolby Atmos technology. This can produce thumping bass and balanced sound needed to fill a large room.
It follows the same design pattern of other smart speakers from Amazon. It has a cylindrical design and is covered with a mesh fabric which adds to its aesthetics.
It is powered by 2 inch upward firing and 2 inch right and left firing midrange speakers for vocals and a 5.25 inch downward firing subwoofer which can produce excellent bass.
The woofer is connected to a Bass aperture to maximise the bass output. It also has a 1 inch forward firing tweeter that can add to the voice output.
In the weight department it is quite heavy due to large number of speakers included. It comes around 3.86 kg which is quite heavy for a speaker.
Amazon has included the basic connectivity features like 2.4 and 5Ghz wifi and 3.5mm jack in case you need to boost the sound further by connecting an additional speaker.
In case you have arranged a home party or a get together with your friends at home, Echo studio will provide the best music listening experience. In our testing this speaker had a balanced sound and great bass even at high volume making it one of the best Smart Speakers in India.
As other echos it has a blue light ring at the top for basic notification purposes and a power port at the bottom. It has a height of 8.1 inch and a diameter of 6.9 inches.
Echo Show 8 Alexa smart speaker
Features:
- 8 Inch display
- Touch screen ability
- 4 Mics for far field communication
- Built in 1 MP camera
- Solid build
- Minimalistic design.
If you want to get an even more smarter smart speaker there are speakers with displays added. Variety of models are available in the market and Amazon is the leader in this segment as well. It has models like Echo Show 5 and Echo show 8 which comes in a budget segment. If you need a smart speaker with display the this is one of the best smart speakers in India with an 8 Inch display.
Display in a smart speaker make it even more useful as you can watch content directly without using a TV. You can as the assistant like Alexa to play any content from Amazon prime video or Netflix directly to the display present in the Echo Show 8.
Having an 8 inch display adds to its value as you get a better viewing experience than the Echo show 5 model.
It also has all the same features that a non display echo has plus the advantages of the display being another way of interacting with the smart speaker.
Other things that you can do with a speaker like this is calling with Video . You can call others who are using similar display smart speakers directly from your contact list and with the included camera you can video chat with them.
Even kids can take advantage of this to attend video classes online which come really handy in certain situations.
Echo show 8 comes with a HD display having resolution of 1280 X 800 which is great for watching movies in Amazon prime video or Netflix. You can also watch youtube videos through this. So incase you are cooking and you need to know a recipe then this is a great addition in your kitchen to have.
Echo show 8 has an 8 mp camera which can be used for video calls. You have a dedicated camera shutter button which you can use to disable the camera if its not needed.
As other echo devices, Echo show 8 also comes with a 3.5mm jack so that you can connect it to other speakers to enhance the music playing experience.
It has 4 mics at the top that are enabled with far field recognition technology and can listen to you even from a long distance.
As a smart speaker it can control your smart home devices as well. With the other speakers listed above you can use your voice to control smart home but in the Echo show 8 you can even use touch to turn off any devices connected to Alexa ecosystem.
Main advantage is for music lovers as this smart speaker can display lyrics of any song that is being player. So you can sing with the song played by reading the lyrics.
Google Nest Hub
Features:
- Good build quality
- Excellent software
- Google ecosystem
- Photo frame with google photos
- 7 inch display
- Nice sound
As mentioned in the Google home section if you are in a Google ecosystem and you use all the apps from google then you should use a google assistant enabled smart speaker. It will track your activities better and suggest you based on your interest.
Google Nest hub is a smart speaker from Google with display added. It comes with a 7 Inch HD display that can play videos from Youtube and Netflix or any video streaming service available.
You can use your voice command to start playing videos from youtube or audio from youtube music.
As other smart speakers, google home can also control your smart home devices but here we have touch functionalities as well. You can turn on/off any device added to google with a touch.
In case you are a google photos user then this will be a perfect digital photo frame that can show your favourite photos as a carousel which is great to remember special moments in your life.
Google nest hub can display recipes that you need from youtube which comes really handy if you are cooking.
Also it has google maps added so that with your voice you can ask google to show your destination if you are going to travel and the distance you need to cover with all other information about the route.
In sound department also google nest hub performs well but the bass is comparatively less than the echo show 8 that we had checked above. Having a display makes this a best Smart Speakers in India for people who want to setup a smart home.
Buyer’s guide for best Smart Speakers in India
Smart speakers can make things easy for you incase of music listening or controlling your smart home. There are certain things you need to consider before selecting a smart speaker.
Sound quality
You should first check if the speaker is good in music playback. Smart speakers are usually less powerful in bass department . In case you are a bass lover then you should select a smart speaker that has dedicated woofer added to it so that it will give an excellent music listening experience to you.
Ecosystem
This is another part that you need to consider. In case you use more services from Amazon then you should consider buying an Echo based smart speaker so that it will adapt more easily to your daily routines and usages.
In case you are a Google ecosystem user then you should use smart speakers from Google as they support google services better like youtube , youtube music , Google photos, Maps etc.
Price
This can be a major factor. In case you are looking for a smart speaker in budget segment but you need good sounding experience then you should get a smart speaker that can have attachments like a 3.5mm jack using which you can connect another larger speaker and make the sound better.
For this an echo dot will suit your need as it has a 3.5mm jack and is less pricey compared to other smart speakers in the market.
Features
If you need to make video calling through your smart speakers then you should consider a speaker like echo show 8 which has camera inbuilt and also has a display which will enable video calling feature so that you can call your contacts with your voice command,
What can smart speakers do?
Controlling Smart Home
Smart speakers make your home smart. In case you have smart devices in your home like smart washing machine, refrigerators and Smart Tv’s or Air conditioners you can control them with your voice commands given to echo dot.
Now a days smart lights are getting more and more popular and controlling smart light is easy with echo dot if a particular skill is setup with the Alexa app.
Routines
We have a daily routine that we follow once we get up or when we go to sleep. By a single command to your echo dot ot any other smart speaker you can activate many things like.
- Turning OFF your fans
- Starting your favorate morning music
- Turn on your coffee maker
- Turn on you geyser
Similartly at night time with a single command you can
- Tun off all the lights
- Turn your night light ON
- Turn your bedroom fan or AC ON
This makes things really easy and confortable.
Help in cooking
If you cook at home then you can get easy help from all the recipes available online for your favourite dish that you want to eat easily. This comes really handy if your smart speaker is kept in the kitchen
Timers also could be set for your cooking so that your food does not get over cooked or get spoiled.
It also can set reminders to you if you have set during cooking time.
Setting Alarms
This is the most common feature that many people use. Setting alarm has never been so easy. You can just say to your assistant to wake you up at a time in the morning and it will do it as needed.
Adding things to shopping list
When we start cooking we come across a situation where the needed ingredient wont be available. This can happen in any other scenario as well. So having an assistant around can help to add any thing that you want to buy into your shopping list so that you can remember it when you go for shopping.
which are the best smart speakers in India?
Any speaker listed above can be considered as best smart speakers in India that you can buy. All are good in some features that they have and also in common features like smart home control and music play back they perform really well.
Conclusion on best Smart Speakers in India
Here I have listed some of the best smart speakers in India that you can buy. This was done based on testing different types of speakers available and also based on reviews from users. I can tell that you wont be disappointed if you buy any of the options mentioned above.
In case you a have anything to add please tell us in the comment section below so that others can also know about it.
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