I have, in ten years of inviting small listening devices into my home, owned four smart speakers. The first was an Amazon Echo, bought in 2015 and returned in 2016. The second was a Google Home, bought in 2017 and given to my mother in 2018. The third was an Apple HomePod mini, bought in 2021 and sold on eBay in 2022. The fourth was a Sonos Era 100, bought in 2023 and still on my kitchen counter, where it has been for thirty-one months.

The Sonos is the only one I have bought a second of. The second Sonos sits on my partner's desk. The two Sonoses do, between them, most of the things I ever wanted a smart speaker to do. They play music. They set timers. They tell me the weather when I ask. They do not, on most days, do anything else. The other three speakers — the Echo, the Google, the HomePod — were, in the end, evidence of how hard it is to get a smart speaker right.

Below is what I bought, what I kept, and what I unplugged. I have changed my mind about several things I used to believe about voice-controlled speakers. I have opinions on what to skip. There is a brief history of how the smart speaker went from a 2014 Amazon experiment to a 2026 category that ships more than 80 million units a year. And there is, at the end, an honest summary — because anyone who tells you the smart speaker question is simple has not, in fact, listened to four of them in a row.

The list: what I bought and what happened

1. Amazon Echo (1st generation), $99 (December 2015). The first one. The Echo was, in 2014, an Amazon experiment sold by invitation only. By December 2015, the Echo was, by Amazon's accounting, a real product on real shelves. I bought it because every tech publication I read said it was the future. I returned it in 2016 because the sound was bad for music, the privacy disclosures were unclear, and I had, on most days, no reason to use it.

2. Google Home, $99 (March 2017). The second one. The Google Home had, by 2017 standards, better sound than the Echo, better search results, and a more conversational voice assistant. The Google Home also had, by 2017 standards, the same always-listening microphone array as the Echo. I gave it to my mother in 2018 because she had, on most days, a use case I did not — she is, by her own admission, "not a tech person," and the simple voice interface worked for her. The Google Home is, on her counter, still in use.

3. Apple HomePod mini, $99 (December 2021). The third one. The HomePod mini had, by Apple's accounting, "amazing sound for its size." The sound was, by every review I have read, the best in its price range. The HomePod mini was also, by every review I have read, the most limited smart speaker — it worked only with Apple Music, it had no real smart home integration, and Siri was, in 2021, behind both Alexa and Google Assistant. I sold it on eBay in 2022.

4. Sonos Era 100, $249 (October 2023). The fourth one. The Sonos Era 100 is, by Sonos's accounting, a smart speaker for people who care about music. The sound is, by every review I have read, audiophile-grade for a $249 speaker. The Era 100 supports AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, and Sonos's own multi-room system. The Era 100 has Alexa built in (which I disabled) and Sonos Voice Control (which I use for timers). I bought a second one for the partner's desk in 2024.

5. JBL Authentics 300, $300 (alternative I considered). The JBL is, by JBL's accounting, a retro-styled smart speaker with both Alexa and Google Assistant built in. The JBL has, by every review I have read, a warmer sound than the Sonos Era 100. The JBL was, for me, the wrong shape.

6. Echo Dot (5th generation), $49 (my mother's house). The cheapest smart speaker Amazon makes. The Echo Dot is, in 2026, the gateway drug of smart speakers — cheap enough to impulse-buy, good enough for timers and weather. The Echo Dot is, by every review I have read, not a music speaker. The Echo Dot is, in my mother's kitchen, exactly the right answer.

7. Apple HomePod (2nd generation, 2023), $299 (relaunch). The one I almost bought instead of the Sonos. Apple relaunched the HomePod in 2023 after discontinuing the original in 2021. The 2nd generation HomePod had, by Apple's accounting, "computational audio" that adapts the sound to the room. The sound is, by every review I have read, exceptional. The HomePod is, by every review I have read, still limited to Apple Music — my family is on Spotify.

8. Google Nest Hub Max, $229 (skipped). The smart display with a camera. I considered it in 2024 for the kitchen, where a screen for recipes would have been useful. I decided against it because the Nest Hub Max has, on the front, a camera I cannot physically disable. The camera is, in 2026, the single most concerning part of the smart display category. Skip the camera.

9. Sonos One (the Era 100's predecessor), $219 (the one I almost bought in 2022). The Sonos One was, by every measure, the predecessor to the Era 100. The Sonos One is, in 2026, still available for $179. The Sonos One has, by every review I have read, slightly worse sound than the Era 100. The Era 100 was, in 2023, the right choice. The Sonos One is, in 2026, still the right choice on a budget.

10. Amazon Echo Studio, $199 (the one I returned in 2019). The high-end Echo. The Echo Studio had, by Amazon's accounting, "studio-quality sound." The sound was, in 2019, comparable to a $200 bookshelf speaker. The Echo Studio also, by Amazon's accounting, had a built-in Zigbee hub for smart home devices. I returned it because the smart home integration was, in 2019, half-baked. The smart home integration is, in 2026, much better. The Echo Studio has been discontinued.

Total spent on smart speakers, by my estimate across ten years: $497. The two Sonos Era 100s still in use cost $498. The math is, by my standard, embarrassing.

What I have changed my mind about

A few beliefs I held in 2015, that the last ten years have killed.

I used to think smart speakers were gimmicky. I was wrong. Smart speakers, in 2026, are, by every measure, infrastructure. There are more than 200 million smart speakers in active use in US households. The category has, in the way a category becomes, become invisible. The timers, the weather, the morning music — all of it is, in 2026, expected. The gimmick is, by my standard, over.

I used to think Amazon was fine with privacy. I was wrong. In 2023, Amazon admitted in a letter to Senator Chris Coons that Alexa retains recordings indefinitely, even after users delete them, in some cases. The disclosure was, by every privacy researcher I have read, less than the public had been led to believe. The disclosure was, for me, the moment I disabled Alexa on my Sonos. The Sonos Voice Control I now use is, by Sonos's accounting, processed entirely on the device. The voice never leaves the speaker.

I used to think I didn't need a smart home. I was wrong. I have, in the last three years, installed Lutron Caseta dimmers and four Philips Hue bulbs. The smart home integration is, in 2026, the part of the smart speaker category that has, by my standard, actually delivered on the original promise. Matter (the smart home interoperability standard, launched October 2022) has, by every measure, made the integration real.

I used to think more speakers meant better sound. I was wrong. Two well-placed speakers in a small apartment are better than five poorly-placed speakers. Two speakers, with one in each main room, give you stereo separation when you want it. Five speakers, in five rooms, give you a sound system that is, on most days, overkill for a 900-square-foot apartment. The smart speaker category has, by my standard, sold you on the idea that more is more. The opposite is true.

I used to think Sonos was overpriced. I was wrong. The Sonos Era 100 at $249 is, by every measurement, more expensive than the Echo or the Google equivalent. The Sonos is also, by every measurement, a better speaker for music. The premium is, in 2026, real. The premium is, by my standard, worth it.

What to skip when buying a smart speaker

If I were advising a friend who was about to buy a smart speaker in 2026, I would tell them to skip these categories entirely at the start.

Echo Dot for music. The Echo Dot is, in 2026, the cheapest gateway to the Alexa ecosystem. The Echo Dot is also, by every review I have read, terrible for music. The 1.95-inch driver cannot, in any meaningful way, reproduce bass. The sound is, by my partner's description, "a phone speaker pretending to be a speaker." Buy the Echo Dot for timers. Buy a Sonos for music.

Google Nest Hub Max. The smart display with the camera. The camera cannot, on most models, be physically disabled — the slider covers the lens but does not disconnect the microphone. The microphone, even with the camera covered, is, in 2026, still on. Skip the camera. Buy the Nest Mini if you want cheap Google.

Facebook Portal. The Portal was, in 2018, Facebook's answer to the Echo Show. The Portal had, by Facebook's accounting, the best video calling of any smart display. The Portal also, by every privacy researcher I have read, the worst privacy record of any smart display. The Portal was, in 2023, discontinued. Skip the Portal if you find one used.

Any speaker with an always-on camera. The smart display category has, by my standard, normalized the always-on camera in the kitchen. The camera is, in 2026, not necessary for any feature I actually use. The camera is, in 2026, a permanent surveillance device in the room where I eat. Skip the camera. Buy a speaker.

Cheap no-name brands. The $30 smart speaker on Amazon, from a brand you have never heard of, is, by every measure, a privacy risk. The brand has, in most cases, no public privacy policy. The brand has, in most cases, a microphone that sends audio to a server you cannot audit. The $30 speaker is, by my standard, the single riskiest connected device on the market in 2026. Buy a brand you trust.

Speakers you cannot update. The smart speaker you bought in 2016 cannot, in most cases, be updated to the latest firmware. The unmaintained firmware has, in many cases, known security vulnerabilities. The unmaintained firmware is, by my standard, a permanent back door into your home network. Replace speakers more than seven years old.

A brief history

The smart speaker is, by every measure, a 2014 invention. Amazon announced the Echo in November 2014, designed in Amazon's hardware lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by a team that had previously built the Kindle. The first Echo was a tall black cylinder with a single 2.5-inch speaker, a seven-microphone array, and a wake word — "Alexa" — chosen for its hard consonant. The wake word choice is, by every speech recognition researcher I have read, the reason the Echo caught on. "Alexa" is, in a noisy room, easier to detect than "Hey Siri" or "OK Google."

By the end of 2015, Amazon had sold an estimated six million Echos. By 2017, every major consumer electronics company had a competitor — Google Home in 2016, Apple HomePod in 2018, Sonos One in 2017, countless third-party speakers with Alexa or Google Assistant built in. The category, which did not exist before November 2014, became, by 2018, a $20 billion annual market.

Apple HomePod launched in February 2018 for $349. Apple discontinued the HomePod in March 2021, reportedly because it was not selling enough units. Apple relaunched the HomePod in January 2023 for $299, with the same chip and most of the same features. The original HomePod was, in my opinion, the best-sounding speaker in its category. The original HomePod was also, in my opinion, the most limited — Siri was, in 2018, the weakest voice assistant, and the HomePod worked only with Apple Music.

Sonos, founded in 2002 in Santa Barbara, California, launched the Sonos One in 2017 with Alexa built in. The Sonos One was, by every review I have read, the first smart speaker that did not sacrifice sound for voice control. The Sonos Era 100, launched in 2023, replaced the Sonos One and added Bluetooth. The Sonos Era 100 is, in 2026, the smart speaker for people who care about music.

Matter, the smart home interoperability standard, launched in October 2022. Matter was, by the Connectivity Standards Alliance's accounting, a collaboration among Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and hundreds of other companies to make smart home devices work across ecosystems. Matter is, in 2026, the reason a Sonos can control a Lutron dimmer, a Hue bulb, and a Schlage lock from a single app. Matter is, by my standard, the part of the smart home story that actually delivered on the original promise.

The honest summary

A smart speaker is, in the end, two things: a music speaker and a voice interface. Everything else is, by my standard, "an excuse." The two Sonos Era 100s I have are, by every measurement that matters, the only smart speakers I will buy.

What works for me: two Sonos Era 100s in two rooms, Spotify Connect for music, Sonos Voice Control for timers, and a tablet on the counter for recipes. That is the kit. The kit has been, in thirty-one months, more reliable than the four speakers I tried before it.

What does not work for me, and may not work for you: the assumption that any smart speaker is fine. The Echo was, for me, bad at music. The Google Home was, for me, a privacy trade-off I was not willing to make. The HomePod was, for me, the wrong ecosystem. The Sonos is, for me, the first one that did not force a compromise.

Ten years in, the smart speaker category has, by my standard, finally matured. The Sonos Era 100 at $249 is, in 2026, the answer. The answer has not changed in three years. The answer is, by every measure, the one I will keep.

The kitchen, on most mornings, has music playing. The Sonos, on most mornings, is the source. The dog, on most mornings, is asleep under the counter. The compromise is, on most mornings, exactly the right size.