Speakers are foundational to the way we enjoy music from Spotify, Apple Music, and other services — and our own music collections. And increasingly, they’re also a convenient way of controlling smart home devices compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Siri. Companies like Sonos offer multiroom audio platforms capable of synchronizing music across speakers of all different sizes. Whether you’re looking for a smart speaker or a simple Bluetooth speaker to take everywhere, The Verge covers the best of what’s out there in 2025.
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With stereo sound, twice the battery life, and line-in playback, the Move 2 improves upon the original at every turn — unless you need Google Assistant.
Very early this morning, the new UE Epicboom was announced. It’s a pricey chonk of a Bluetooth speaker that should produce some powerful sound with the help of adaptive EQ tuning.
But it turns out that somehow, this is the first Ultimate Ears portable speaker to finally make the change from Micro USB to USB-C. Thanks to the commenters who pointed that out. And praise be, UE.
The service agnostic company was first to market with a speaker featuring both Alexa and Google Assistant, but JBL is first to allow simultaneous use of the two most popular voice assistants. Sonos previously said it was Google’s fault for blocking “concurrency” — a feature Sonos had been working on since at least 2017 — presumably out of spite for losing that lawsuit. We’ve reached out to Sonos for a reaction and will hopefully have something to publish soon.
JBL announced a new wireless party speaker today as part of a host of new products, like new earbuds and new smart speakers, debuting at IFA.
The company says the PartyBox Ultimate self-tunes, has Wi-Fi 6 and LE Audio-ready Bluetooth connectivity and supports the company’s multi-speaker connection feature. Oh, and RGB lights. It has those too.
We’ve rounded up a number of inexpensive gifts that dad will love, from portable speakers to camping stoves.
We found a wide range of gifts that’ll help graduates as they embark upon their next adventure, whether that’s college or a career.
The long-running patent dispute between Sonos and Google is headed to the courtroom on Monday. The whole-home audio brand is insistent that Google copied its smart speaker technology. Sonos has already picked up a win at the ITC, but next week the federal trial kicks off.
US District Judge William Alsup is openly frustrated that these two companies have been unable to work something out and just settle already.
“By the end, our parties’ legal bills will likely have been able to build dozens of schools, pay all the teachers, and provide hot lunches to the children,” he wrote in a previous filing.
