Smart speakers: the best for your home entertainment

Bring entertainment into your smart home with music from connected speakers. Smart speakers are connected to each other via Wi-Fi to create a multi-room sound system that you can control directly via app with your smartphone or tablet. This eliminates the need for a separate remote control. The music comes either from your own digital music collection on your smartphone, a network hard drive, or from a streaming service on the Internet to the speaker. Some speaker models can also be connected via Bluetooth in addition to Wi-Fi. Despite their compact size, the speakers offer a convincing sound.

Compared with normal multi-room speakers, smart speakers usually also have a built-in microphone and an integrated voice assistant, such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Some brands also rely on their own voice control assistants. Via the voice assistant, you can not only control your smart speakers and play your music, but also operate other smart devices and functions in the connected home.

For example, you can use a voice command to the speaker to switch on the light, lower the blinds, or preheat the oven. Useful automations and scenarios can also be started in your smart home system in combination with other smart home devices. Those who use their smart speakers as an output device for the home security system can set them to sound loud dog barking or a warning siren when the alarm is triggered, which is sure to send uninvited guests fleeing.

In everyday life, smart speakers can also play jingles or selected songs as a signal when the washing machine is finished or someone has rung the smart doorbell. 

Furthermore, smart speakers not only serve as remote controls for your smart devices, but also have access to the Internet. You can make search queries on the web via the voice assistants and receive information about the weather, bus schedules, and much more from your smart speaker. It can also be used to make entries in your digital calendar. The voice assistant can then remind you of important upcoming appointments. You can also create shopping lists or make online purchases directly with a voice command.

Compact smart speakers are the entry point into the world of smart speakers. They are usually flat and inconspicuous and are best placed on the table or a dresser. With small speakers, the main focus is on voice control via a smart assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Of course, you can also play your music via them, but you will have to accept some small reductions in the quality of the sound for the compact size. On the other hand, these devices are already available at a pretty reasonable price. 

Smart speakers also provide a solid basis for an expandable smart home system, because you can connect other smart home devices to the compact speaker and control them via customizable scenarios. With the command “Start couch mode”, for example, you can have your favorite music played via a streaming service, while your smart lighting dims and the electric blinds lower.

If you want to use your smart speaker primarily for home entertainment, you should go for a larger model. Large smart speakers offer more power and a much better sound. You can usually connect them with each other and use them as full-fledged multi-room speakers. In addition, you can easily connect them with other Wi-Fi speakers such as a subwoofer or a soundbar for the smart TV. Of course, most large smart speakers are also equipped with a voice assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Alternatively, you can control them with your smartphone and app.

A special form of smart speakers are speakers with a smart display. In addition to the voice assistant, they have a large touchscreen that can display information like the weather forecast. You can also watch YouTube videos on the screen, for example. The pictures from a smart surveillance camera can also be transferred to the display. The touchscreen can also be used to control your smart home devices.

What does an intelligent home look like in reality? We’ll make it easier for you to get started in the world of smart homes and show you – using real-life examples – how your own personal smart home can support you in your everyday life.