We Tested All the Best Rooms to Put a Smart Speaker in Your House

There are arguments for putting smart speakers in literally every room in your home, but they tend to play different roles in different rooms. Here's what I learned when I gradually filled my home with smart speakers.

Living Room

Tyler Hayes / Review Geek

The living room is the obvious place to start when you buy your first smart speaker, especially if it's a speaker that delivers high-quality audio as well as an intelligent assistant. In my case, I opted for the original Apple HomePod, which has since been superseded by the HomePod (2nd generation). Other options here are the Amazon Echo Studio, Google Nest Hub Max and Sonos Era 300 (which supports Alexa).

If your aim is to replace your existing audio system with smart speakers, then my advice would be to go the stereo-paired route—that is, two speakers operating together to give stereo sound.

With HomePods, for example, you go into the Home app, tap on one of the speakers, tap the gear icon, and select "Create Stereo Pair." You'll then be prompted to select the second speaker, and the app will pair them and assign left and right channels. You'll be offered the option to identify the speakers as Left and Right and to swap them if required. This setup will give you a sufficiently beefy system to fill your living room with sound in all but the very largest of homes.

Once you have them set up, then you'll be able to use voice commands to play music. You can ask the speakers to play a particular song, album, artist, or playlist. Another option is "Play My Favourite Music," which will play the songs you listen to most frequently. Once you get used to this, it seems hard to go back to any other method of selecting music!

You can of course also issue all the usual smart home commands to set scenes and control individual devices. This allows you to change your smart light brightness or colors while on the sofa, trigger routines, or even answer the doorbell if you've set everything up correctly.

Bedrooms

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

If you like to listen to music in bed, this would be the second room I'd choose. I'm big on stereo sound, so I opted for another stereo pair here, but if you're happy with mono sound then a single speaker is likely to be sufficient.

Having a smart speaker in the bedroom has a number of other benefits, the biggest of which is being able to use it as your alarm clock. Instead of being woken by an annoying beeping or buzzing sound, you can instead wake to some soothing or energetic music, according to your tastes.

A smart speaker can also be handy when you're tucked up in bed and suddenly remember something you need to do tomorrow. A simple "Hey Siri, remind me to put out the trash at 8 am tomorrow" command means you can drift off to sleep knowing it's taken care of. If you prefer to keep your smartphone out of the bedroom, a smart speaker can provide a bit of redundancy for these sorts of tasks.

If you have trouble sleeping, a smart speaker can help there too. You can ask it to play white noise, rain, or an audiobook, setting a sleep timer so it automatically switches off. With HomePod, for example: "Hey Siri, play rain" and then "Hey Siri, go to sleep in 30 minutes."

When morning comes, you can ask a smart speaker to run through your schedule for the day, tell you the weather, or read a news summary. You can also tell it to raise your smart blinds, assuming you haven't automated that task.

Dining Room

If you like to entertain frequently, then a smart speaker can be a very sociable way to play background music. The big advantage here is that you can invite your guests to select the music they'd like simply by asking for it.

A dining room speaker also comes in handy if you have food in the oven, as you can set a timer to remind you when it's time to take it out.

Kitchen

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

The kitchen is an ideal place for a smart speaker! Kitchen timers are an obvious use, especially when you have several things on the go at the same time and need multiple timers. The ability to set and cancel timers by voice means you don't have to touch your smartphone when your hands are covered in flour or are busy stirring something.

Another key use for me is reordering supplies when I find that I'm running low. If I'm baking and go to the fridge for eggs to find that we're almost out, for example, I can immediately add them to the shopping list without having to stop what I'm doing.

Some people like to listen to music or a podcast when cooking. Hands-free control of your audio can be really helpful. On top of this, some smart speakers (like Nest devices with Google Assistant) are really good at quickly looking up information that can help you with your current task. Even Siri is good for a few quick unit conversions, should you need them.

Bathrooms

Ben Lovejoy / How-To Geek

A bathroom might not seem like the most obvious place for a smart speaker, but they can be useful in a number of ways.

I'm a fan of relaxing baths from time to time, and I love to listen to music while I soak. Trying to select music on a smartphone when you have wet hands isn't ideal, so it's great to simply tell your speaker what to play.

Conversely, if I'm getting ready to go out and hopping in the shower, a smart speaker lets me keep track of the time simply by asking for it. You may also find that you remember things you need to do when you're in the shower, so it's great to be able to simply tell your speaker to remind you at a more convenient time.

Garage or Workshop

A garage or workshop is another place where you're likely to have your hands full, whether you're working on your car or motorcycle, using a sewing machine, or operating a lathe. Voice commands are a great way to check the time, weather, play music, select a podcast, set reminders, or order some more glue to replace the tube you're about to finish.

For most people, the living room is a great place to start, especially if you intend on using smart speakers to replace your existing audio system. The bedroom is another good choice, and it's often the best place to start your smart home journey full-stop.

After that, your priorities will depend on how you spend your time. If you're a keen cook, the kitchen might be second on your list. If you spend most of your free time woodworking, the workshop might be your next call.

If you're unsure where you'll get most benefit, a great approach is to buy one speaker first and experiment with using it in different rooms.