Hubs & Displays

1 guide · prices re-checked weekly

Before you buy

Pick the assistant first, then the hardware. Whichever ecosystem your phone, speakers and existing devices already lean toward will do more for your daily satisfaction than screen size or speaker quality, because the friction of a mixed setup shows up every single day.

Then work out whether you need a hub at all. Matter and Thread have changed that answer: plenty of newer devices connect directly, while Zigbee and Z-Wave gear still wants a bridge. A display earns its place in a kitchen, where hands are busy and a timer plus a recipe plus a doorbell feed is worth the counter space. In a bedroom, a screen with a camera in it is a choice to make deliberately rather than by accident, so look for a physical camera shutter and a microphone mute if the device lives anywhere private.

Our guides compile manufacturer specifications, published testing and verified buyer reviews, with attention to which features stop working when the internet does.