Best smart speakers provide entertainment during working from home.
In order to stem Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 pandemic from getting out of control, most people are required to work from home. Fortunately, smart speakers can be entertaining during break time or anytime. In fact, smart speakers are speakers plus AI voice technology. Unlike passive smart home devices, they respond to our voice commands by providing entertainment, music, jokes or controlling smart devices.
In additional to smart home control, they provide updates on Coronavirus and stock market. Get weather forecast for up to 7 days. When bored, ask the smart speaker to entertain us with music, jokes, games and more. In fact, the control of smart plugs, light bulbs etc is only a tiny fraction of smart speakers’ capabilities. Meanwhile, their voice services are expanding exponentially due to the constant releases of new and improved free voice apps.
Important Considerations for Best Smart Speakers
Consider the following 3 factors to determine if the smart speaker is what you’re looking for:
- The most common spoken language is English although German and Japanese languages are also available in the respective country. Other languages will be rolled out in stages.
- If the device has not been released in your country officially, then download the app from US app store directly.
- Some voice services are US-based only and may not be available outside US.
Once you have this smart speaker at home, be ready to be entertained by her. Meanwhile, forgive her robotic apologies for not understanding your simple questions. After all, she’s only a few year old and has a long way to go.
Home Mini (SG version here).
Google Home mini is available locally and sometimes we maybe able to get it for free by purchasing partnering products or services . It has over 1 million Google Assistant actions or voice commands and close to 1000 actions for smart home controls. Even though it’s released 2 years after Echo products, it’s catching up fast and furious with more and more 3rd-party actions and local language support. Unfortunately, some of the features require manual settings in the app. The voice instructions for settings are not helpful either. Click on the title to learn more.
Models:
Smart Speakers – (1) Google Home Mini (2) Google Home (3) Google Home Max
Smart Displays – (1) Nest Hub (2) Nest Hub Max
Notes:
1. Some online services may not be available in all countries.
Echo Dot (UK version here).
It’s unfortunate that Amazon Echo devices are available in selected countries only and therefore it takes more effort to download the app. Meanwhile, the growing number of models can be overwhelming for new users. For a wide variety of applications and online services, Amazon Echo family has developed more than 50,000 free Alexa skills or voice apps. Over 1000 free Alex skills are available to control 3rd-party smart home devices. As the pioneer in this field, it’s the most popular smart home virtual assistant in the market. The latest edition can even show clock, alarms and timers on the LED display.
When you’re bored working at home, say “Alexa, entertain me.” She’ll give you options like music, puns, games, humors, jokes and more. Click on the title to learn more.
Models:
Smart Speakers – (1) Amazon Echo Flex (2) Amazon Echo Dot (3) Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition (4) Amazon Echo (5) Amazon Echo Plus (6) Amazon Echo Studio
Smart Displays – (1) Amazon Show 5 (2) Amazon Show 8 (3) Amazon Show
On the Go – (1) Amazon Auto (2) Amazon Buds (3) Amazon Loop (4) Amazon Frames
Notes:
1. Some online services may not be available in all countries.
Smart speakers provide more than just entertainment or jokes during working from home. They’re good at controlling other smart home devices for home protection and monitoring.
Explore here for more smart home devices which are working well with these best smart speakers.
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