8 best smart speakers to buy in Australia in 2024
Taking everything we liked about the Sonos One and bumping it up a notch, this little speaker sounds superb.
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In a world where convenience is key, smart speakers have become a hugely popular home addition.
Far from just being an audio device, these speakers can perform a range of helpful tasks – including setting timers, answering questions, checking the weather, controlling other smart home devices and even ordering your groceries – all with a simple voice command.
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Trying to find a model that meets your needs in an ever-expanding market, though, can be a little tricky.
To help you streamline your shopping experience, we’ve rounded up a list of top smart speaker options below. In addition to customer ratings and our own experience with the products, we’ve looked for models that offer a great balance of features, sound quality and overall user experience.
HOW WE CHOSE PRODUCTS
Our team of experienced writers spend hours researching products to include in articles. We find out what factors make a good product by talking to experts, reviewing test results and analysing thousands of customer reviews.
In this article
BEST SMART SPEAKERS
Sonos Era 100, $399 at The Good Guys
What You Need To Know
When you have a product as popular as the Sonos One, a direct follow-up model doesn’t always live up to the hype – but that isn’t the case with the Era 100. The speaker is an upgrade in almost every way, with a 25 per cent larger woofer that brings more bass and dual tweeters that create surprisingly rich stereo sound.
It may not have the spatial audio capabilities of the larger and more expensive Era 300, but we found the speaker delivers crisp and refined sound that fills small to medium-sized rooms. You can also pair two Era 100s for improved stereo sound or connect them to a Sonos soundbar to build your own home audio system.
There’s multiroom audio support, a microphone mute button, compatibility with nearly every audio streaming service and Bluetooth, making the Era 100 more flexible than other Wi-Fi based home speakers by the brand. You can also connect it to a turntable or other device via an aux cable, though you’ll need to pay extra for the line-in adaptor.
Unlike its predecessor, there’s no support for Google Assistant, but the Era 100 remains an excellent (though expensive) speaker choice for most people.
One five-star reviewer on The Good Guys site said the speaker has “brilliant sound”, continuing: “back in the day you would have needed speakers a meter tall to get better sound quality at 10x the price. Very happy customer”.
Sonos Era 300, $749 at The Good Guys
What You Need To Know
We may have rated the Era 100 higher due to its more affordable price point, but Sonos’ Era 300 beats out every other option on this list from an audio standpoint.
Play music through Spotify or Bluetooth and you’ll get hugely impressive stereo audio from what is still a fairly compact speaker. Pump out tracks from Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited with Dolby Atmos and you’ll meanwhile get spatial audio that feels like you’re being enveloped in sound. (If you want to use the spatial audio with your TV, however, you will need to connect it to a compatible soundbar).
Like the Era 100, the Era 300 is the first Wi-Fi based home speaker from the brand to offer Bluetooth, making it great for when friends or family want to play their tunes. You can also integrate it with other Sonos speakers or hook it up to a turntable through the USB-C port in the back.
With wide support for music streaming, detailed sound and punchy bass too, the speaker packs in plenty of standout features to help justify its hefty price tag.
The Sonos Era 300 holds a current rating of 4.8 out of five from more than 270 reviews on the Sonos site.
Amazon Echo Studio, $249 (down from $349) at Amazon Australia
Amazon Echo Studio
What You Need To Know
The Echo Studio may be Amazon’s most expensive smart speaker, but it’s also the brand’s most impressive option. Fitted with five speakers and 330W of power, the Studio is the first Echo to offer room-filling sound, though the large nature of the speaker may be off-putting for some.
Voice assistance performance with Alexa is great and the sound profile is neutral and balanced. It can also be further adjusted using bass and treble sliders in the companion app. There’s support for 3D audio too, though you will need a subscription to Amazon Music HD to access this feature.
If you’re after a home theatre experience you meanwhile have a few different options, including wirelessly connecting your Studio with the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, playing music across multiple Echo devices with multiroom music or pairing a second Echo Studio or Echo Sub for studio sound.
The Amazon Echo Studio has a 4.7 out of five star rating from more than 2100 reviews on Google Reviews.
Apple HomePod (2nd Gen), $479 at The Good Guys
What You Need To Know
One of the things we like best about Apple products is their ability to seamlessly integrate with one another, and Apple’s second generation HomePod is no exception. Setting up the speaker with an iPhone or iPad couldn’t be simpler, while linking it to an Apple TV 4K allows you to enhance audio for TV shows and movies.
Performance with Siri is decent, though the assistant still falls behind Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant when it comes to general knowledge and smart home skills. Siri can also only be used to control playback from Apple Music, rather than from other popular sources like Spotify, which definitely feels like an oversight.
It’s worth noting too that if you give Siri access to your messages through the HomePod, anyone in the room can listen to them, so we highly recommend turning this feature off unless you live alone.
The HomePod (2nd gen) does offer some notable upgrades from its predecessor, including temperature and humidity sensors, redesigned tweeters, more balanced sound and compatibility with Dolby Atmos so you can play spatial audio tracks (though only through Apple Music, of course).
As with most premium speakers, the HomePod (2nd Gen) also comes with a room correction tool for optimising sound, and it’s actually faster and less involved than some other options on the market. However, the speaker does lack sound customisation tools, which is unusual for a speaker at this price range.
It’s not perfect, but it’s an impressive-sounding option that works for those invested in Apple’s ecosystem.
Google Nest Audio, $149 at Myer
What You Need To Know
If you’re looking for an affordable speaker with Google Assistant, the Google Nest Audio offers plenty of worthwhile upgrades from its predecessor. Bringing louder and stronger bass, an eco-friendly design and more balanced sound, the mid-size speaker is now a great alternative to more premium options on this list.
Voice assistance performance is better than ever, with Google Assistant picking up commands from the other side of the room and offering speedy responses. The Google Home app meanwhile makes it easy to pair the Nest Audio to other compatible smart devices, while pairing two Nests together results in impressive stereo sound for the price.
The Google Nest Audio has been reviewed by more than 5000 people on Google Reviews and holds a current rating of 4.5 out of five.
Sonos Move, $536 (down from $699) at The Good Guys
Sonos Move
What You Need To Know
Sonos’ Move is something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s one of the best smart speakers around. On the other, the build of the speaker is so big and heavy that it doesn’t really make sense as the ‘portable’ option it’s marketed as.
If you do decide to lug it around with you, you can still take advantage of Sonos’ wide support for music services, and the Auto TruePlay function which adjusts the sound depending on your location. There’s also an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance and a built-in handle to make it a little easier to carry.
Use the Move at home and you’ll get excellent voice assistance that performs well at a distance with built-in support for Alexa and Google Assistant. Move out of Wi-Fi range and you’ll lose the smart functions of the speaker, but still have Bluetooth to fall back on, making it a truly versatile option.
When you’re done for the day, you can also drop the speaker into the handy wireless charging cradle to ensure it’s fired up and ready to go for your next listening session. Ultimately, there’s plenty to like here, but we still recommend it as a home speaker rather than a portable one.
The Sonos Move has a 4.6 out of five star rating from more than 13,600 reviews on Google Reviews.
Bose Portable Home Speaker, $549.95 at Myer
What You Need To Know
If you’re looking for a truly transportable smart speaker, Bose’s Portable Home Speaker is ideal. With a lightweight design and convenient carry handle, the model is easy to take outside or bring along with you on your next picnic.
Offering a choice of Alexa or Google Assistant alongside Bluetooth connectivity, the speaker is incredibly versatile and simple to set up. The sound profile is well-balanced and can be tweaked further in the companion app, while the 360-degree design offers good directivity.
We also like that the speaker comes with an IPX4 rating, so it can withstand splashes and sprays from sitting next to a sink, pool or shower. Battery life is respectable too, with around 12 hours of playback from a single charge, making it a great little companion.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker has been reviewed by more than 3000 people on Google Reviews and holds a current rating of 4.4 out of 5.
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Generation), $600 at Harvey Norman
What You Need To Know
It may be pricey for its size, but Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) is a truly impressive little speaker. With a stunning, sturdy design, up to 18 hours of battery life and a carry strap, we think it’s one of the best portable speakers currently available.
Using B&O’s “True360” technology, the A1 (2nd Gen) offers omnidirectional sound that gives much bigger rivals a run for their money. Audio is accurately reproduced and loud enough to fill an average-sized room, though the speaker does struggle when it comes to producing low-bass.
The companion app is incredibly intuitive and comes with a great range of audio customisation options, so it’s easy to adjust the sound to your liking.
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) holds a current rating of 4.6 out of five from more than 330 reviews on Google Reviews.
HOW TO CHOOSE A SMART HOME SPEAKER
First, you’ll need to check if the speaker you’re interested in is compatible with the smart devices you already own or plan to purchase in the future.
You’ll also want to consider which voice assistant you prefer. Smart speakers made by Amazon, Google or Apple all arrive with their brand’s own virtual helper installed. If you want a device that supports multiple assistants, you can meanwhile look to third-party brands like Sonos or Bose.
High-quality sound, price and design are also factors to keep in mind when selecting a smart speaker.
Looking for a smart soundbar instead? Check out our guide to the best soundbars for 2023.
WHICH VIRTUAL ASSISTANT IS THE BEST?
Every virtual assistant has its strengths and weaknesses, so the best one for you will largely depend on your personal preferences and the devices you already own.
Siri offers deep integration with Apple’s ecosystem, making it extremely easy to control Apple devices and services. However, it doesn’t seem to be quite as reliable as Alexa and Google Assistant when it comes to general knowledge and requests.
Google Assistant meanwhile offers better language processing capabilities and tends to be the most capable of the three when it comes to answering more complex questions. It also offers seamless integration with other Google services like Google Maps and Google Calendar.
Amazon’s Alexa is almost as good as Google Assistant when it comes to comprehension of human requests and is also compatible with a wide range of smart home devices. It tends to have a quick response time and great voice recognition too, so it will usually pick up your commands from the other side of the room.
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