Hands On: Sony LF-S50G pairs Google Assistant with added smarts and superior sound

Get ready – the robots are taking over, well, the voice assistants certainly are – and we’re seeing more and more products feature the amazing smarts of online voice assistants. Today Sony announced the LF-S50G speaker with Google Assistant.

Sitting taller and wider than the original Google Assistant “Google Home” the Sony LF-S50G is all about sound.

The inside smarts are the same, with Google listening for your command and following your instructions.

The difference is the 360 degree sound which is deeper, richer and just downright better.

We’ve been listening to the Sony LF-S50G in our Apartment here in Berlin and it’s a great sound.

Where Google Home is what I describe as an $80 Bluetooth Speaker with a bunch of smarts bumping it up to $199, the Sony LF-S50G is a $250-300 speaker in terms of sound expectations, with all the Google Assistant smarts built in.

At $299 that’s cracking value.

There’s a digital clock which displays through the speaker mesh, and four lights that blink when Google is listening.

A range of gesture controls also allow for stop and starting music and controlling volume, represented by a ring of LED lights around the top of the device.

At a glance, this is a great alternative to Google Home, in fact, it’s really putting Google to shame.

Sony’s LF-S50G Speaker will be available early December for $299.00 and will come in blue, black and white

Trevor Long travelled to Berlin for EFTM with the support of our sponsors including Sony, Vodafone and Samsung.  For full details of our commercial interests and disclosures click here.