This glorious smart speaker is the HomePod successor Apple fans have been longing for

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Wiim Sound astute talker is disposable successful Black and White for $299.
• It offers large sound, a neat touchscreen display, and an inoffensive design.
• The show is much for aesthetics than utility, and Wiim doesn't enactment Apple Music oregon AirPlay.

Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Google.

There's a displacement successful the astute talker market. More companies are investing successful multi-room streaming, intuitive displays, and higher fidelity. The Wiim Sound astute talker is the latest subordinate successful this game, eyeing competitors specified arsenic Sonos' Era 100, Amazon's Echo Show, and Apple's HomePod 2. 

The Wiim Sound talker some lacks features compared to competitors, but besides offers up immoderate of its own. Unlike Sonos and Apple, Wiim has a tiny touchscreen display. Unlike Amazon, its existent property crossed the talker is modest. Unlike Sonos, Amazon, and Apple's speakers, you request the included distant to summon the Wiim Sound's dependable adjunct capabilities.

Also: Should you bargain a Sonos oregon Samsung dependable system? I compared some brands to find out

Overall, the Wiim Sound has large dependable quality, a robust companion app, and a sleek, unassuming design. But is it worthy $300 and passing up connected much acquainted brands? Let's dive in.

Sonically impressive

The Wiim Sound features 2 full-range tweeters and 1 4-inch long-throw woofer, making for beardown bass and highs, with mids that don't request to vie to beryllium heard. I often listened to the Wiim Sound astatine precise debased volume, and the bass was ever-present. At a louder volume, you'll consciousness the antagonistic oregon array shaking. However, if you propulsion the talker excessively loud, you'll announcement immoderate distortion.

Due to its size and acoustic design, the Wiim Sound is astir comparable to the Sonos Era 100, but the Wiim Sound produces a much pronounced bass response. The Wiim Sound supports up to 24-bit/192 kHz, a higher fidelity committedness than its competitors.

The app is simply a enactment successful progress

The Wiim Home companion app houses your speaker's EQ settings, serves arsenic your hub for euphony streaming services, and lets you easy toggle root inputs. You tin besides make playlists successful the app utilizing tracks from the disposable platforms.

Also: 15+ champion Alexa commands to marque your location enactment smarter (Prime not required)

Wiim offers astir each euphony streaming work you tin deliberation of, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, Qobuz, Deezer, Napster, Tidal, and more. Wireless streaming options via Bluetooth and Google Cast are besides available. Notably missing are Apple Music and AirPlay, which are immense drawbacks for me, arsenic idiosyncratic who uses these services arsenic my superior streaming work and wireless streaming vessel.

Jada Jones/ZDNET

Wiim's Sound and Sound Lite speakers connection a grouping diagnostic akin to Sonos' multi-room pairing. Sonos has the limb up successful this category, from the app's idiosyncratic interface to the execution of the feature. Wiim's speakers run much independently than Sonos', which is fantastic for getting much retired of your speakers' functionality, but not arsenic utile erstwhile you privation aggregate speakers to run arsenic one.

A measurement up successful design

I truly bask the Wiim Sound's design; it's somewhat bigger than the Era 100, importantly larger than the Apple HomePod 2, and has a overmuch smaller show than the Echo Show. It blends easy into your room countertop, nightstand, oregon desk, and the show adds a idiosyncratic touch. You tin customize the show to diagnostic photos from your camera roll, enactment arsenic a integer clock, and amusement your existent track.

If you're adjacent the speaker, you tin prosecute the display's touchscreen, but it's mostly for aesthetics alternatively than function. Its astir utile relation is speedy entree to EQ settings, but you tin besides pat into section vigor stations. Otherwise, there's not overmuch to do. If you're similar me, you'd entree these things from your telephone anyway.

Additionally, there's a 3.5mm jack connected the speaker's underside for connecting to a compatible device. You get a interaction power sheet astatine the apical of the talker for pause/play, volume, and way skips. Wiim includes a wireless distant with the Wiim Sound, which is simply a bully touch, but thing phone-first users apt won't usage often. 

What the Wiim Sound is missing

The Wiim Sound talker is defined by its awesome dependable and unassuming, modern design. However, the Wiim Sound lags down competitors with much broad app and bundle support. There are nary on-device dependable bid features, which is simply a antagonistic for users who expect this diagnostic arsenic a default. The lone mode to entree dependable commands is to registry the Wiim Sound to the Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, oregon Google Home apps.

Also: I connected a Bluetooth Auracast receiver to my TV, and it's a worthwhile location audio upgrade

Additionally, the touchscreen show is missing a definite je ne sais quoi. If it could connection much utility, specified arsenic displaying events connected your Google Calendar oregon on-screen playlist search, it'd beryllium a much invaluable diagnostic worthy paying a premium for.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Wiim Sound astute talker is simply a large enactment for powerfulness users who privation much granular power implicit their device's dependable output, acknowledgment to its broad EQ settings. The Wiim ecosystem is somewhat looser than Sonos, offering greater flexibility for connecting to different devices. It's a great-sounding talker with a ocular element, but the interaction surface show isn't arsenic applicable arsenic you'd hope.

If you privation a astute talker with a much refined app and enactment for AirPlay and Apple Music, see the Sonos Era 100. If you privation a larger show that's smarter than it is simply a speaker, see the Amazon Echo Show 11.