2020 Gift Guide: Best Smart Speakers and Displays

Even if you don’t have a boatload of smart home accessories, these smart speakers and smart displays still deserve a place in your home. Some have built-in smart home hubs for connecting those products, while others provide great sound quality that you wouldn’t expect.

Our Smart Speakers & Displays gift guide is sponsored by MediaTek. Many of the best Smart Speakers and Smart Displays on the market are powered by MediaTek chips. Be sure to check out the Powered by MediaTek site for more details and look for the Powered by MediaTek badge below.

MediaTek powers the biggest brands around the world from smartphones, TVs, and voice assistants to Chromebooks, fitness equipment, and Wi-Fi routers. We power the brands you love and make great technology available to everyone – so you can do more of what you love. Expect incredible when it’s powered by MediaTek.

For more amazing gift ideas, make sure you check our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide.

Best Smart Speakers

Smart Speakers are a dangerous and slippery slope. You can never just pick one up after you find out how useful these really are. Just ask it a question, stream some music, or control your smart home, with nothing more than your voice.

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Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

For the sake of cohesiveness, the new Echo features the same design as the smaller Echo Dot. But what you’ll get in a bigger package is Dolby Digital audio quality, along with a built-in Zigbee hub for all of your smart home products.

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Sonos One

If versatility is the name of the game, then you can’t go wrong with the Sonor One. Picking one up will make you want another, and then you’ll want to spring for a Sonos Soundbar.

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Sonos Five

If you’re looking for a bit more oomph than what the Sonor One delivers, the Sonos Five will take your smart speaker experience to the next level. The speaker delivers exceptional audio, though it doesn’t offer Google Assistant or Alexa integration

Bose Home Speaker 300

Bose has been in the sound game for years and years, and it still kicks out great options like the Home Speaker 300. Amazon Alexa is built-in, but also works with the likes of Google Assistant and even Apple AirPlay 2.

Google Nest Audio Smart Speaker

The new Google Nest Audio is the true successor to the original Google Home, bringing an all-new design and vastly improved speakers. There’s a mute switch on the back for the microphone and capacitive touch buttons for quick controls of your media.

Google Nest Mini

The Google Nest Mini is the speaker you should have in every smaller room in the home. When paired with the Nest Audio, you can put Google Assistant everywhere, so your smart home can be controlled, or you can just ask Assistant some questions in a pinch.

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen)

Amazon finally updated its Echo Dot with an all-new design, moving away from the iconic shortened cylinder and instead, providing something that looks like a mini bowling ball. Nonetheless, this is a great way to get Alexa in all of the rooms in your home, and makes for easy controlling of your other smart home products.

Best Smart Displays

Smart displays take things up a notch when compared to smart speakers. For the most part, the audio quality may not be as good as a dedicated speaker, but the extra benefit comes with the display. You can use these for video calls, check out your security camera when the doorbell rings, or use it as a nightstand clock.

Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)

Amazon finally updated the Echo Show with the 3rd generation, and brought with it an all-new design. The 10.1-inch display will show off your favorite pictures when not in use, or you can hop on a video chat thanks to the built-in 13MP camera. Plus, the Echo Show acts as a smart home hub with Zigbee integration.

Amazon Echo Show 5

Those wanting a smart display without needing to take up a bunch of space will enjoy Amazon’s Echo Show 5. This smart display measures in at 5.5-inches, while still making it easy to get some help from Alexa, or answer the video doorbell, whenever you need it.

Google Nest Hub

The Google Nest Hub is perfect for those who want the combination of a smart speaker along with an interactive display. Whether it’s to use as a digital photo frame, or to keep an eye on your security cameras, the Nest Hub is pretty much perfect.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential

Those who want a smart speaker that doubles as an alarm clock will love the new Smart Clock Essential from Lenovo. The speaker itself is just fine for the nightstand, but also shows off the weather, time, and date, all at a glance.

Phandroid’s 2020 Holiday gift guide

While the list above highlights a few of our favorite gadgets of 2020, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of 250 products in 19 different categories to make it easy for you to find the best gifts for your family members, friends (or yourself) this holiday season. We’d also like to thank MediaTek for sponsoring the Chromebooks, Smart Home, and Smart Speakers & Displays sections of our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide.

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