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The Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers with Google Assistant

Author: Cameron Summerson / Source: reviewgeek.com

Google Assistant is growing rapidly, getting new features and more smarthome support every day. If you’re looking to bring all those new features on the go, here are the best Bluetooth speakers with Assistant integration.

The next time you’re out by the pool and need to turn the lights on, or can’t remember if you set the thermostat before you left for vacation…or anything else you use your Google Assistant for, having a speaker that packs your Assistant is incredibly helpful.

And while the current crop of Google Home speakers are great for all those things, there’s one problem: they require an external power source. If you’re always on the move and need a speaker that can keep up, though, there are some good options out there.

The only thing you’ll need to keep in mind when looking for a portable smart speaker is that Assistant requires Wi-Fi to function. They can’t pull data queries from your phone over Bluetooth—they’ll need to have their own connection to use any Assistant features. You’ll still be able to use them for audio playback over Bluetooth, of course, which is a big part of the appeal here.

The Best of the Best: JBL Link 10 and 20 ($149-199)

If you’re looking for the best Bluetooth speakers on the market in the first place, I’d urge you to look at JBL—it seriously makes some of the best portable speakers these ears have ever had the pleasure of hearing.

So, when you combine how great they already are with Google Assistant, you get a winner. A family of winners, in fact: there are four different speakers in the Link family—though only two of them are portable. Here’s a quick rundown:

Link 10 ($149): This is the smallest, most portable, and most affordable speaker in the Link family (it’s a big bigger than a Google Home).
But don’t let its small size fool you—JBL can do amazing things with small packages.
Link 20 ($199): Bigger number means bigger speaker, right? In this case, yes. The Link 20 is essentially a bigger version of the Link 10, so if you’re looking for more bass and bigger overall sound, opt for this one. Just know that you’ll be sacrificing some portability here.