Miss the Hi-Fi? Google, Apple & Sonos amp up their smart speakers
Miss the Hi-Fi? Google, Apple & Sonos amp up their smart speakers:- SAN FRANCISCO — In another era, young tech geeks saved their money for a state-of-the-art stereo system: a great turntable, powerful amplifier and an absolute killer set of stereo hi-fi speakers.
That went away with the advent of digital and listening to music on computers, then phones and earbuds or tiny, portable speakers.
Cut to 2017, and it’s the odd return to the loud-speaker wars.
Thanks to the surprise success of Amazon’s Echo connected speaker, which via the Alexa assistant plays music and answers queries, Apple, Google, Amazon and Sonos have new “smart” models set for release in the coming months. They play music, some better than others, and they all talk back to you. And a subset are geared for modern audiophiles, sporting price tags of between $300-$400 and emphasizing their depth and clarity.
It can be confusing to keep track of them all, so Talking Tech is here to set you straight.
—Google this week unveiled its entry into the smart speaker category, the Google Home Max, a $399 model that touts fine music playback and the smarts of the Google Assistant to tell you about your day, when your next flight is, or who’s playing on Spotify. Like the speakers of yesteryear, this one has woofers and tweeters to boost up the sound, along with software smarts. Google’s software promises that you will “experience sound that optimizes to its surroundings, to whatever you’re listening to, and more,” the company says. The Max is set for a December release.
Hit pause: Smarts, not sound is what Google is known for. Its Google Home smart speaker was all about the brain, little about the music. So as the most expensive speaker in the race, consider this one a tough sell.
—Sonos: The company, which popularized the concept of listening to digital music on a fine wireless speaker, instead of a tinny computer one, announced its first smart speaker, the Sonos One. It’s smaller than the Max, half the price at $199, and will work with Alexa. With the One, you can use it to voice command listening to a wide array of music services like iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Amazon Music and Pandora. Spotify is “coming soon” to One, as is working with the Google Assistant.
Hit pause: The smallest company in the bunch is struggling to compete, but if it’s known for one thing, its how to make great sound in a small package. Serious music fans will find this one the most affordably priced option. Available October 24th.
—Amazon. Speaking of the e-tailer, the company just announced three new Echo speakers, with most coming at the end of the month. The Echo Plus adds home automation tools and a free smart light-bulb, for $149.99, plus advertises better audio with Dolby processing. The Echo Spot, for $129 and a late December release, adds a video screen to a smaller Echo and the second generation Echo Dot, for $49.99, improves upon the original by letting you make phone calls to any phone number except 911. Additionally, the original Echo price got lowered from $149 to $99.
Hit pause: Even if Amazon now has so many speakers a customer could get dizzy trying to navigate his or her way through the website and understand all the differences, the e-tailer knows which e-commerce buttons to press. It will surely sell more Echo speakers for the holidays than all the others combined. The company has a 70% market share, according to market tracker eMarketer.
—Apple HomePod – The iconic iPhone maker is selling music and the smarts of the Siri digital assistant for its speaker, which is set for a December release and a $349 price tag. The speaker is designed to have Siri control who’s playing in higher quality sound, along with making calendar appointments and alarms.
Hit pause: Siri is the most widely used personal assistant, thanks to the massive size of the iPhone user base, but it’s also considered to be a laggard in the voice computing wars. That said, Apple has a great vehicle to sell consumer products: c, which attracts 500 million visitors weekly. Even if the speaker is pricey and touts Siri, a hit-or-miss feature that’s unlikely to get wallets to open.
Source:- https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/10/07/miss-hi-fi-google-apple-sonos-amp-up-their-smart-speakers/737376001/
