There’s never been a better time to treat yourself to a smart speaker. That’s because Best Buy has knocked $150 off the Google Assistant-driven Sony LF-S50G — sending the price plummeting down to a more affordable $50.
So, what does the poorly named Sony LF-S50G bring to the table? Well, at $50 it’s an absolute steal, bundling several high-end features, like 360-degree omni-directional sound, touch-free gesture control, and Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi.
The device itself is not too dissimilar from the rival Apple HomePod in form, with the main difference being that the Sony has an integrated LED clock, which can be dimmed or disabled altogether if the light it emits is a little too bright for your liking.
It excels in functioning with Google Assistant rather than (of course) Apple’s Siri. That means you can use it to control all the Google Smart Home devices in your house, including Chromecasts, Philips Hue lights and Nest thermostats.
The most attractive feature — for us, at least — is the integration of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which means that you can instruct it to play songs from your smartphone over the former, or through a streaming service like Spotify over the latter.
Being a Wi-Fi-connected device, the LF-S50G can also be hooked up to Google Home’s Multi-Room, letting you stream audio across all your Google Home devices at the same time — creating a Sonos-like playback experience.
Strangely, the LF-S50G can handle a little splash of water. That doesn’t mean you should take it for a dip in the pool, though — it’s just a little reassurance that if you do happen to spill a glass of water nearby, it should emerge unscathed.
There’s no word on how long the deal will last, so we’d urge those who like the sound of the Sony LF-S50G, or who are looking for a high-end bit of kit for a bottom-of-the-barrel price, to head over to Best Buy and snap it up right away.
But if you’re in the market for something a little more versatile, we’d recommend consulting our round-up of the best smart speakers currently on the market. It outlines what makes a fantastic smart speaker for each and every scenario.
